25th September, 2013
Music star, 2face Idibia has extended his benevolent spirit to three young peace advocates with a grant of N1 million each.
The three Kyenpiya Jessica Makan-Nyabam, Aminu Garba Sidi and Zainab Sandah got the lifeline after they emerged winners at the maiden edition of 2Face Peace Awards held on Saturday, 21 September (World Peace Day) at the Nicon Luxury Hotel Abuja. They received the money to be used in furthering the various peace causes they have been involved in.
Speaking during the awards, 2Face charged the winners to continue in their efforts to support the poor and promote peace in Nigeria. “As award winners, you are now peace ambassadors. People will be more interested in what you do. You have to continue to maintain the high standards you have set,” 2Face said.
The winners were selected from a pool of young people aged between 18 to 35, and whose initiatives helped in promoting peace in their areas for at least 18 months.
The Awards kicked off the “Million Voices for Peace” campaign being run by the 2Face Idibia Reachout Foundation.
The music star explained that the MVP was meant to re-orientate the “mind-set of Nigerians to realise the senselessness in many of the conflicts and killings going on and let them know that peace is the only condition for progress.
Kyenpiya runs Child Love And Protection Advocacy Initiative Orphanage, Jos; Aminu leads the Christian Muslim Peace Movement, a group of young volunteers based in Bauchi and Jos; while Zainab is involved in mobilizing and assisting the conflict prone Rigassa community in Kaduna in their efforts to access public sector education.
Present at the event were Hafsat Abiola-Costello, President, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), who gave a speech urging the rich to support the poor; David Manya Dogo of the National Orientation Agency, NOA; Prof. Braide, Director General, IPRC and Mrs Betty Bassey, from the First Lady’s Peace Mission.
The 2Face Peace Awards was supported by APURIMAC, Action AID, UNDP and KIND.