Nigeria, Oct 5, 2016 – Over the past months, Pop star, 2Baba has dedicated a lot of time and resouurces in the pursuit of peace in Nigeria.
In his most recent campaign on the 4th of October, the singer led an eight-man delegation to Sokoto, in the northwest of Nigeria on a two-day peace campaign.
In a campaign against religious intolerance, especially in northern Nigeria, 2Baba who is himself a Christian, accompanied by Muslim long standing friend and colleague; Sound Sultan, Manager; Efe Omorogbe, Hypertek team member; Helen Abutu, and his wife; Annie Idbia, among others visited Sokoto state for a Peace Campaign organized by 2face Idibia foundation ( A Million Voices For Peace) in collaboration with Voices Of Peace from the Sahara and the Justice, Development & Peace Commission (JDPC), Catholic Diocese of Sokoto.
This development interestingly is coming barely weeks after his conferment as Peace Ambassador for the Ooni of Ife’s Newest peace project. The music icon was given a boisterous welcome at the airport by friends and members of the Idoma community in Sokoto state.
From the airport, the singer visited Vision FM for a brief chat with the media, also informing them of the purpose of his visit. He expressed his excitement to be back in Sokoto for the second time. After his brief tete a tete with the media, 2baba and his delegation proceeded to visit the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah. The excited Bishop Kukah, a renowned advocate of peace and religious tolerance, welcomed 2Baba warmly, appreciating his consistency and fight against violence in Nigeria. The highlight of events was the meet and greet session organized for the artiste to meet with both Christians and Muslims living in Sokoto.
2Baba spoke to the excited crowd that ranged from young people to the middle aged and the elderly, on the many virtues of maintaining peace in the state especially through peaceful coexistence and religious tolerance. Citing his long standing relationship with friend and colleague, Sound Sultan who is Muslim and he Christian as the perfect example of religious tolerance, 2Baba emphasized that religion should not bring about violence but a tool to bind people together. The event came to an end with Bishop Kukah thanking the pop star and his team for bringing their message of peace to Sokoto.
In addition to his peace talks, 2Baba also promised to support the fight against Polio in the state after being decorated by Polio activist, Onyinye Ralp.
As at the time of filing in this report, our correspondent reports that 2Baba was set to pay a courtesy visit to the Sultan of Sokoto later (Wednesday 5th October, 2016), followed concurrently by a meeting with the youth at the Town hall and a gala night.
Easily the most celebrated artiste of his generation, Innocent Ujah Idibia is credited with being one of the key figures in the rise to global prominence of what has been described as the sound of 21st century Africa. His distinctive blend of reggae, R & B and traditional African musical influence creates a vibe that is contemporary and universal while maintaining a clear African identity.
Born in Jos, Plateau State on September 18, 1975 to Mr. and Mrs. Michael Idibia, the young man fell in love with music from a tender age and journeyed to Lagos after a diploma programme at IMT Enugu with Austin Ahmedu popularly known as Blackface in 1997 and alongside Chibuzor Orji aka Faze. They launched the boy band, Plantashun Boiz that took the nation by storm and created the template for a new Naija pop sound. Plantashun Boiz disbanded in 2004 and 2Baba released his debut solo album in the same year.
The celebrated artiste has five very successful albums to his name; Face 2 Face (2004); Grass 2 Grace, (2006); The Unstoppable (2008); plus the revolutionary Unstoppable : Int’l Edition (2010), Away & Beyond (2012) and almost two dozen hit collaborations . The Otukpo, Benue State native has proved his class, versatility and staying power beyond doubt and earned the status of a superstar and cultural icon.
Innocent Idibia is a recipient of countless awards/honours, and has achieved enviable milestone in his music career. A peep into his trophy cabinet reveals that 2Baba is recognized internationally. He has performed in over 100 cities in more than 50 countries around the world including Australia, Switzerland, Russia, Barbados, Seychelles, Malaysia, Jamaica, Canada, Ukraine, Trinidad and Tobago, Namibia, France, Cyprus and Kenya.
He is married to Annie Idibia and is the founder of Hypertek Entertainment.
