Senator Shehu Sani has criticised American rapper Nicki Minaj for her recent speech at the United Nations (UN) on the situation of Christians in Nigeria.
Speaking on Wednesday on the issue, Senator Sani said Minaj “knew nothing about Nigeria and has never visited any community in conflict in Nigeria” and “has never taken up any humanitarian cause in Nigeria and has never helped anyone.”
Minaj, whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, had spoken at a UN event organised by the United States, saying Christians were being targeted in Nigeria, with churches burned and families affected.
She said her statements were not meant to take sides but to address injustice.
Sani said the UN gave Minaj a platform to “dispense lies about fictitious genocide in Nigeria” and argued that her claims were an attempt to gain support from US President Donald Trump.
He added that she should focus on social issues in her country of birth, Trinidad and Tobago.
The former lawmaker also rejected the idea that Christians face genocide in Nigeria.
He said, “We have bandits in the north-western and terrorists in the north-eastern part of Nigeria. In the north-central, we have a mixture of banditry, terrorism, ethno-religious violence, indigenous settlers, and farmers-herdsmen. They do not discriminate their victims on the basis of their faith. Muslims, just like Christians, are killed by bandits and terrorists. They attack churches and mosques. They kill pastors, priests, and imams.”
Sani cited recent attacks in Katsina, Zamfara, Plateau and Benue states and described how lawmakers from different regions respond to such attacks in the Senate.
He said representatives from southern Kaduna, where many are Christian, raised alarms over killings, while northern Kaduna lawmakers remained silent on killings of Muslims at the time.
