Nigeria Artiste, Innocent Idibia, also known as 2baba, has been appointed a regional goodwill ambassador of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
UNHCR is an agency targeted at protecting refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people by assisting their voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement to a third country.
According to a statement by the agency, Innocent Idibia becomes the first Nigerian to be appointed as a UNHCR goodwill ambassador.
The award-winning singer also took to his Instagram page to break the good news, stating that it would deepen his commitment to supporting the efforts of all UNHCR personnel.
For the past three years, 2Baba has been a committed High-Level Supporter of UNHCR’s LuQuLuQu campaign – a pan-African movement of people from all walks of life investing in a better future for forcibly displaced people across the continent. In this role, he has dedicated his time to uplift the narrative of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP) in Africa. In 2017, 2Baba visited IDP camps in north-eastern Nigeria’s Borno state.
“These families shared heart-breaking stories of watching loved ones being kidnapped or killed, forced to flee the comfort of their homes and leave everything they knew behind. I saw how they struggled to access basic things that we take for granted – like food, water, education and healthcare,” said 2Baba.
“I witnessed UNHCR’s work firsthand during my visits and commend the organization for being on the frontlines, providing emergency relief and support to forcibly displaced families. I believe in this organization and I’m proud to be associated with UNHCR.”
“Nigeria hosts 60,239 refugees in south east Nigeria and over 2.6 million internally displaced persons in north east Nigeria. With such staggering numbers of people forced to flee in Africa, 2Baba’s support and advocacy is instrumental for Nigeria and the continent,” said Chansa Kapaya, the UNHCR Representative in Nigeria. “We look forward to his continued incredible commitment.”
The appointment of 2Baba comes as the world is facing unprecedented levels of forced displacement globally, with 79.5 million people forcibly displaced. More than 26.4 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa have been forced to flee their home, the largest number of displaced people in the world.
