Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, known as Davido, and Hausa praise singer Dauda Kahutu, known as Rarara, exchanged public insults today after Rarara criticized a tribute Davido wore for schoolchildren abducted in Oyo State.Â
The dispute also drew in Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, and a former Southeast spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh.
The disagreement traces back to May 15, when gunmen abducted more than 40 schoolchildren and teachers from Oriire Local Government Area in Oyo State. Some of the victims were killed during the attack. The rest remain in captivity while the government continues efforts to secure their release.
On June 10, Davido performed at the FIFA World Cup 2026 Countdown Concert in Los Angeles wearing a custom jacket reading “Bring Them Home,” with the names of the abducted children and teachers written across the Nigerian flag. Nigerian Democratic Party presidential candidate Peter Obi praised the gesture afterward.
However, Rarara objected. In a video posted to his Facebook page on June 16, he called the jacket “barbaric” and questioned why Davido would raise the matter internationally. “How can you promote Ansaru terrorists or insecurity-related issues to the whole world?” he asked. He went on to suggest a political motive behind the gesture, noting that Davido’s uncle is running for office under the Accord Party, which opposes Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress.
“Is it because his uncle is contesting an election on Accord Party?” he said. Rarara also claimed the abduction followed the arrest of suspected terrorists by security forces, and that the kidnappers seized the children to pressure authorities into releasing them.
Davido responded on X by quoting Rarara’s post with a single word, “Debidooo,” playing on how his name is sometimes pronounced in Hausa. Rarara replied, “Kashiga taitayinka,” telling him to come to his senses. Davido then wrote, in Hausa, “Da ace kana da ilimi da na tsaya nayi magana dakai.”
“If only you had knowledge, I would have stopped to speak with you,” then proceeded to call him a fool.
In a follow-up statement shared in Hausa, Davido argued that patriotism requires speaking against insecurity rather than staying silent for political convenience. He said prioritizing party loyalty over public welfare was nothing to be proud of.
A separate but related dispute involves Reno Omokri, who also criticized Davido’s gesture in an open letter. Davido answered on Instagram by insulting him directly. Onoh then accused Omokri of inconsistency in a statement to journalists in Abuja, pointing to Omokri’s years of advocacy for Leah Sharibu, the Dapchi schoolgirl held by Boko Haram, including a book he wrote about her case. “This was the exact approach Omokri now condemns Davido for,” Onoh said. He also recalled that Omokri had once labeled Tinubu a “drug lord” and an “international drug baron” during the 2023 election campaign, language he described as far harsher than anything Davido has said.
As of Wednesday, June 17, the schoolchildren and teachers abducted from Oriire remain in captivity, and no resolution to their case has been announced.
