Foremost artiste Chika Okpala is known more for his "New Masquerade" character Zebrudaya and his brand of Nigerian English.
By December end, he will be known as the face of campaign to reduce stigma and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people affected by leprosy.
Okpala will take on the role of national ambassador for the cause on the last Sunday in December, which marks World Leprosy Day, according to the Leprosy Mission-Nigeria (TLMN)
He's been an ambassador for the cause before now, alongside singer Onyeka Onwenu, campaigning to end discriminatory labels like "leper", a word now deemed offensive to use, and isolation of affected people to colonies.
"When you address them with labels, it breaks the spirit," said Pius Ogbu, operations manager for TLMN.
"When you suffer a disease, you are not labelled with the disease."
Nigeria is among 51 countries to sign up to an international declaration to end discrimination against persons and their families affected by leprosy, but is yet to domesticate the agreement.
TLM has drafted a bill but lawmakers have been reluctant to adopt it, officials reveal.
Surveillance by TLM revealed 3087 new cases last year, most of them categorised as "multibacilli", advanced stages that will require at least 12 months of treatment to cure.
Ogbu said the presence of 2770 cases of multibacilli cases among those detected indicates they were found late.
Many had grade-2 disability, indicating the infection had been present in them for at least five years.
Some 273 cases were found among children, signalling ongoing infections.
"If children are sill found with it, it means the bacteria is still active in our communities," said Ogbu.
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