Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has stirred intense political debate after openly calling for increased United States military strikes against terrorist and bandit groups operating in northern Nigeria, describing the Christmas Day airstrikes ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump as “quite a blessing.”
Mrs Tinubu made the remarks during an interview with Fox News while on an official visit to the United States, where she also attended the National Prayer Breakfast alongside President Trump. According to her, Nigeria is eager to deepen military collaboration with Washington in its fight against insecurity.
“Nigeria is looking forward to collaboration. We are expecting that there will be more,” the First Lady said, signalling government support for continued U.S. involvement in counterterrorism operations within the country.
Her comments come months after President Trump publicly criticised Nigeria’s handling of insecurity in 2025, a development that reportedly prompted the Nigerian government to spend millions of dollars on Republican-linked lobbyists to repair diplomatic ties and improve its image in Washington. At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump praised Mrs Tinubu, marking a visible thaw in relations.
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In January, Trump had warned that U.S. military action would intensify if attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria continued. On Christmas Day, he announced that U.S. forces had carried out airstrikes on terrorist targets in northwest Nigeria, marking the first known direct American military operation on Nigerian soil. The former president described the operation as “powerful and deadly,” saying it targeted groups responsible for the killing of innocent civilians, particularly Christians.
Mrs Tinubu’s endorsement of the strikes has drawn attention both locally and internationally, as Nigeria continues to grapple with terrorism, banditry and sectarian violence across its northern regions. Her remarks shows growing pressure on the federal government to seek stronger foreign military partnerships as domestic security challenges persist.
