Why Did Nicki Minaj Give a Speech for the United Nations?

Nicki Minaj called for the United Nations to help “defend Christians in Nigeria” at an event at the U.N. headquarters in New York on November 18. “I would like to thank President Trump for prioritizing this issue and for his leadership on the global stage in calling for urgent action to defend Christians in Nigeria,” Minaj stated in her speech. “No group should ever be persecuted for practicing 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.” United Nations ambassador Mike Waltz prefaced Minaj’s speech by thanking her for her support. “She is reaching a whole other swath of people who may not follow these issues, and it’s going to be a great day,” he said. The rapper was invited to speak before the “Combatting Religious Violence and the Killing of Christians in Nigeria” panel, as earlier this month, Minaj praised President Trump on X for taking the religious issues in Nigeria “seriously.”

On November 3, Trump said he was “contemplating military action” in Nigeria over the murder of Christians, alarming the Nigerian government. “We are shocked that President Trump is mulling an invasion of our country,” Nigerian presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga stated after Trump’s comments. CNN reports that both Christians and Muslims have been targeted by violence, as well as people in general, regardless of faith. “It is important to note that while attacks against Christians are both real and deeply concerning, communities across religious lines are affected,” ACLED senior Africa analyst Ladd Serwat explained to AP News. The country’s population is split between Christians and Muslims, and security analyst Nnamdi Obasi tells CNN that “reports of widespread persecution and mass slaughter of Christians are seriously misread and exaggerate the challenges of interfaith relations in the country.”