American rapper Nicki Minaj brought the world's attention back to allegations of political persecution in Nigeria during a passionate speech at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday, 18 November. While her remarks struck an emotional chord, some claims warrant closer scrutiny.
The Super Bass rapper shared that her musical career allowed her to see how music can bring together people from all walks of life, adding that someone's religious beliefs should never put anyone's life at risk.
At the beginning of her UN address, Minaj thanked US President Donald Trump for paving the way for her to speak at the event, hosted by US Ambassador Mike Waltz. She then went on to talk about her advocacy regarding the threats faced by thousands of Nigerian Christians.
'I stand here as a proud New Yorker with a deep sense of gratitude that we live in a country where we can freely and safely worship God regardless of one's creed, background, or politics,' she said, as reported by CNN. 'No group should ever be persecuted for practising their religion, like I recently stated on social media. And we don't have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other.'
She echoed Trump's earlier statements in which he said that he was thinking of taking military action in Nigeria and would possibly stop sending aid to the country since the African nation's government fails to protect their Christian citizens from a 'mass slaughter' by Islamist terrorists.
The Trinidadian-born rapper, whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj, also stated that demanding for the protection of Nigerian Christians is not about dividing a nation, but about 'uniting humanity.'
'This is about standing up in the face of injustice. It's about what I've always stood for,' the 42-year-old rapper added.
The Real Situation in Nigeria
Multiple news outlets reported that the statements made by Trump and Minaj could be vague.
In a report shared by the BBC, the Nigerian government did not refute the news about the cases of deadly violence in its territory, but stated that 'terrorists attack all who reject their murderous ideology - Muslims, Christians and those of no faith alike'.
Nigerian presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga also told CNN, 'We are shocked that President Trump is mulling an invasion of our country.'
This is not the first time that the US government raised concerns over the situation of Christians in Nigeria. In October, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas posted on X (formerly Twitter) that 'since 2009, over 50,000 Christians in Nigeria have been massacred, and over 18,000 churches and 2,000 Christian schools have been destroyed.'
Cruz reportedly got his facts from the 2023 report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (InterSociety), a non-governmental institution that monitors and records human rights abuses all over Nigeria.
The organisation has released an updated version of the report for 2025, stating that Nigerian jihadist groups killed more than 100,000 Christians during the last 16 years. However, they also killed at least 60,000 'moderate Muslims' during the same period.
Minaj's Track Record
The rapper made headlines in the past for sharing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. She claimed that a friend of her cousin became impotent after receiving the vaccine.
'My cousin in Trinidad won't get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you're comfortable with ur decision, not bullied,' the rapper posted.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty denounced her statements.
Whitty responded, 'There are a number of myths that fly around, some of which are just clearly ridiculous and some of which are clearly designed just to scare. That happens to be one of them.'
