2Baba stages community talent hunt show at Makurdi event centre

The musician 2Baba, born Innocent Idibia, held a community outreach and talent hunt show at the Newcastle Event Centre in Makurdi, drawing an audience for performances and community engagement in the Benue capital.

The event was staged under the 2Baba Community Outreach banner and presented by the organisers as part of an effort in support of the state government's programmes. The format combined live music with a search for local performers, a familiar structure for outreach shows that use an established name to draw an audience and then give stage time to unsigned acts.

2Baba is from Benue and remains among the best known Nigerian artists of his generation, which gives events of this kind unusual reach in the state. Benue's live music economy is small relative to Lagos or Abuja, and the state's Bureau for Arts, Culture and Tourism has been running its own monthly cultural variety nights at the Aminu Isa Kontagora Theatre Complex in Makurdi to create regular performance slots for dancers, comedians and musicians working locally.