Rapper and musician Nicki Minaj thanked President Donald Trump for his leadership on “urgent action” against Christian persecution in Nigeria on Tuesday, saying that freedom of religion is a cause that should bring humanity together.
Minaj, whose legal name is Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, was invited to a United Nations conference in New York City after she praised Trump’s attention to the persecution in Nigeria. Experts told the Washington Examiner that the violence in the West African nation goes beyond the persecution of Christians, who make up 48.1% of its population.
Minaj started her speech by saying she is “very nervous,” but proceeded to express gratitude for Trump’s “leadership on the global stage” in spotlighting the violence in Nigeria. She also said, “As a proud New Yorker,” she lives in a country where she and other citizens have religious freedom.
“Music has taken me around the globe. I have seen how people, no matter their language, culture, or religion, come alive when they hear a song that touches their soul. Religious freedom means we all can sing our faith, regardless of who we are, where we live, and what we believe. But today, faith is under attack in way too many places,” Minaj said.
Minaj said Nigerian churches have been burned down and Christian families are being “torn apart” for their faith. She also said this is a growing problem across other countries, and this “demands urgent action.”
“Nigeria is a beautiful nation with deep faith traditions, and lots of beautiful barbs [the nickname for Minaj’s fanbase] that I can’t wait to see,” Minaj said.
U.N. Ambassador for the U.S. Mike Waltz gave a speech preceding Minaj’s, and he thanked her for bringing attention to Nigeria’s persecution to her some 28 million X followers. Waltz said the persecution in Africa’s most populous nation is “not random violence,” but is actually “genocide,” and that jihadi groups continue to enact “targeted violence” on Christian communities.
Trump warned on Nov. 1 that he would take military action against Nigeria if the country fails to stop the religious persecution, writing on Truth Social, “WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
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Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said on X the same day that characterizing Nigeria as religiously intolerant “does not reflect our national reality.” Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for the Nigerian president, said Trump’s warning is just his way of “going forceful in order to force a sit-down and have a conversation.”
On Nov. 7, Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to condemn the violence against Nigerian Christians. The resolution spotlights how between 50,000 and 100,000 Christians have been murdered since 2009, with 7,000 of these deaths from this year alone.