United States President Donald Trump on Thursday publicly acknowledged Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, describing her as a highly respected figure during the 74th Annual National Prayer Breakfast on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Drawing attention to her presence at the event, Trump noted Mrs. Tinubu’s role as a Christian pastor, praising her contributions and welcoming her to the gathering.
“We are honoured 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 said. “First Lady, where are you? Thank you very much. It is a great honour to have you with us.”
Mrs. Tinubu is in Washington to attend the prayer breakfast, engage stakeholders and address international concerns over religious freedom in Nigeria, coming amid heightened scrutiny following a Christmas Day missile strike ordered by Trump against terrorist targets in the country.
Speaking earlier at the International Religious Summit in Washington, the First Lady downplayed claims of widespread persecution of Christians in Nigeria, describing such narratives as exaggerated and driven by propaganda.
She said President Trump’s focus on protecting Christians had opened an opportunity to strengthen Nigeria–U.S. relations, particularly in the areas of security and trade, while also serving as a wake-up call for Nigeria to intensify efforts to combat insecurity.
“I see Trump’s focus on Christian killing as divine intervention,” Tinubu said in an interview with The Hill at the Four Seasons in Georgetown. “Who would have even noticed Nigeria or really tried to understand what we are grappling with while trying to build the country?”
She explained that Nigeria’s security challenges go beyond religion, pointing to banditry, kidnapping for ransom and general criminality as interconnected problems affecting citizens across faiths.
“There are cases of theft, banditry and kidnapping. All of these are intertwined. If kidnappers know attention is on Christians, they can now become targets simply because criminals think they are being persecuted,” she said.
Mrs. Tinubu added that while she did not seek the global spotlight, the situation compelled her to speak out.
“I didn’t want this attention, but I have to speak my truth. At least now we can look for ways to move forward,” she said.
Addressing whether Trump had been influenced by misinformation, the First Lady said any leader would naturally respond to reports of killings.
“No one in the free world will hear that Christians are being killed and not react,” she said.
She stressed that Nigeria was seeking deeper engagement with the United States based on trade and security cooperation rather than military intervention alone.
“We want to build a relationship on trade and security. You can’t have good trade if investments are not secured,” she noted.
Mrs. Tinubu, who was joined by Idayat Hassan, Special Adviser to the National Security Agency, said international concern should not be seen as harmful but as motivation for Nigeria to strengthen its security architecture.
“This is a wake-up call for us. We have to step up what we are doing and make sure lives are secured,” she said.
