United States President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, during the 74th Annual National Prayer Breakfast on Capitol Hill yesterday, describing her as a highly respected figure.
The first lady, meanwhile, has pushed back against international concerns about Christian persecution in Nigeria, attributing such claims to propaganda.
During the prayer breakfast, Trump highlighted Mrs. Tinubu’s presence at the event, noting her dual role as Nigeria’s first lady and a Christian pastor at one of the country’s largest churches.
“We are honored to be joined today by the First Lady of Nigeria, who also happens to serve as a Christian pastor at one of the largest churches. A very respected woman,” Trump stated. “First Lady, where are you? Thank you very much. It is a great honor to have you with us.”
At the International Religious Summit in Washington, D.C., Mrs. Tinubu described President Trump’s attention to violence against Christians in Nigeria as providential, viewing it as an opportunity to strengthen U.S.-Nigeria relations and address insecurity and terrorism.
The first lady’s visit to Washington comes over a month after Trump’s Christmas Day missile strike targeting terrorists in Nigeria. She attended the National Prayer Breakfast to foster diplomatic ties and dispel what she characterized as misconceptions about religious freedom in her country.
Her trip follows a congressional hearing where U.S. lawmakers recommended stronger measures, including sanctions and economic penalties, against nations violating religious freedom.
Accompanied by Idayat Hassan, Special Advisor to Nigeria’s National Security Agency, Tinubu told The Hill in an interview at the Four Seasons in Georgetown that Trump’s intervention served as a crucial reminder for her government to enhance security measures.
“I see Trump’s focus on Christian killing as divine intervention. Divine in the sense that, who would have even noticed Nigeria? Or to really understand what we are grappling with and trying to build the country?” she said.
The first lady emphasized that Nigeria faces complex security challenges beyond religious persecution. “We are talking about attacks on Christians, we have to realize that Nigeria also is an emerging economy. There are cases of theft, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, all of those are all intertwined. If kidnappers know that you are focusing on Christians, it now makes them a target for kidnapping, so that they think that they’re being persecuted.”
Regarding whether Trump had been influenced by propaganda about Christian persecution, she responded: “I don’t think so. No one in the free world will hear that Christians have been killed and U.S. is a Christian country and you can hear that, and not speak up, or to react.”
When asked about the appropriateness of U.S. military intervention, Tinubu deferred to security experts, saying, “I’m not a security person.” However, she stressed the importance of building comprehensive U.S.-Nigeria relations. “I believe that the relationship we want to build with America, now that we have your attention, is to build a relationship on trade, and also security. Because we can’t have good trade relationship if your investment is not secured.”
Addressing concerns that international attention might worsen conditions for Nigerian Christians, she disagreed. “No, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a wake-up call for us, we have to really step up what we are doing and make sure lives are secured.”
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