By Priscilla Osaje
Nigerian youths under the auspices of the I AM THE FUTURE OF NIGERIA (IFON) Youth Initiative have called on Nigerians to become sources of hope to internally displaced children, families and communities across the country.
The youths made the call as part of activities marking the 2026 World Humanitarian Day, using music and creativity to promote compassion, unity and hope among vulnerable Nigerians.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the initiative, led by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Noni Okocha, delivered an emotional humanitarian message through a song titled “PASS THE HOPE ON.”
Okocha, alongside young artist and mentor, OG Abbah, whose real name is Mohammed Abubakar, performed the song at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Durumi, Abuja.
The performance was witnessed by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Mr Tijani Ahmed, and other distinguished guests.
Okocha said the message behind “PASS THE HOPE ON” was simple but powerful, as it encouraged Nigerians to show compassion toward people affected by conflict, displacement and hardship.
According to her, the young performers used their voices to remind the nation that every individual has the capacity to become a source of hope to another person.
She urged Nigerians to “see the human being before the difference,” stressing that humanity should always come before ethnic, religious or social differences.
Okocha said her relationship with OG Abbah represented the kind of Nigeria she hoped to see, where citizens looked beyond tribe and religion and chose humanity, compassion and unity.
She explained that although she is a Christian from the Igbo tribe while Abbah is a Muslim from the Hausa community, she chose to see the child, talent and human being before their differences.
She said someone had once given Abbah hope and changed the course of his life, adding that she was privileged to continue that journey by supporting his growth and encouraging him to inspire others.
Okocha said such relationships demonstrated the Nigeria that citizens should build, where people reached across their differences, supported one another and created opportunities for those in need.
She urged Nigerians to understand that hope was not something to be kept by individuals, but a gift that should be shared with others, especially vulnerable children and families.
Abbah, who was once a displaced child, described the occasion as deeply personal, saying he wanted to give back the hope he had received from others.
Speaking as a mentor to the young performers, he recalled that he was once a child in an IDP camp waiting for someone to believe in him before Okocha gave him the encouragement and hope that changed his life.
He encouraged other young Nigerians to understand that their backgrounds should not determine their future, stressing that every child deserved an opportunity to discover and develop his or her potential.
Abbah urged youths who had received opportunities to create similar opportunities for others, saying that people should continue to pass hope from one generation to another.
He said talents could be used as powerful tools for inspiring people, building confidence and encouraging young Nigerians facing difficult circumstances to believe in themselves.
Also speaking, the IFON Creative Producer, Zee Michael, said creativity provided young people with a platform to express themselves and reminded society that every young voice mattered.
The music producer, T. Zamani, urged Nigerians to nurture young people through support, encouragement and opportunities, stressing that investing in youths would give them reasons to believe in their future.
The performance was therefore more than entertainment, as it represented a message from Nigerian youths to the nation and the world that whenever hope was given to anyone, it should not be kept but passed on to another person in need.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Deji Abdulwahab