Former presidential aide Reuben Abati has dismissed American rapper Nicki Minaj’s scheduled speech at the United Nations regarding alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria, claiming she is merely seeking attention.
Minaj is teaming up with US Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, to spotlight Christian persecution in Nigeria on Tuesday in New York. Waltz had praised Minaj for leveraging her massive platform.
Speaking on Arise News, Abati suggested that this role is inappropriate for the rapper:
“Nicki Minaj said she wants Americans where there is religious freedom. My response was that, look, Nicki Minaj is a rapper from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. She should just concentrate on her Anaconda music, her rap music, and what is it called… Barbs.”
Abati further accused the rapper of seeking relevance:
“As far as I’m concerned, she’s chasing clout, even if she has been invited to this forum by a White House advisor and also by Michael Waltz.”
Proposing a counter-strategy, Abati suggested Nigeria should feature its own celebrity defender simultaneously:
“I think what we should do, since now the Americans are adding influencers and all of that, is that we also have influencers here. If I were to advise on strategy, by that time, when Nicki Minaj is speaking, we should put Tiwa Savage on national television for her to express patriotic opinions about her country.”
He concluded that Nigerian influencers should be ready to defend the nation’s image:
“To say whatever she wants to say, because it’s not a matter for people chasing clout, looking for influence and all that. We can also have Tiwa Savage or other people defend their country, whatever their belief is.”