{"id":473969,"date":"2025-12-27T01:27:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T01:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/473969\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T01:27:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T01:27:17","slug":"houstons-nigerian-community-reacts-to-us-backed-airstrikes-in-northwest-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/473969\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston\u2019s Nigerian community reacts to US-backed airstrikes in northwest Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>RICHMOND, Texas<\/strong> \u2013 Airstrikes carried out in northwest Nigeria are drawing strong reactions from Nigerian Americans in the Houston area, where one of the largest Nigerian populations outside of Africa closely follows developments in the region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">President Donald Trump said the United States launched the strikes on Christmas evening, targeting ISIS-linked militants. In a statement posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said the operation was ordered under his direction and warned militant groups to stop attacks on Christians in the region.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Nigeria\u2019s government later confirmed the strikes were carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The news quickly reached families in Houston, many of whom say the conflict feels personal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWe were all sitting around the table talking, and then the alert came on,\u201d said Robert Nnake, a candidate for Fort Bend County Commissioners Court. \u201cEveryone looked at their phones at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Nnake said the conversation at his Christmas dinner shifted immediately as news of the airstrikes spread.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cFor so many people in the Nigerian community, this has been a concern for a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cFor a lot of us, it felt like relief. People were happy that something was finally happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Houston is home to a large Nigerian population, making events in Nigeria deeply connected to families living here. Many say they have followed years of violence and instability in the country\u2019s northern region, often feeling overlooked by the international community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Hakeem Tijani, a Richmond resident, said the reaction online reflects that feeling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIf you check online, you see a lot of Nigerians saying, \u2018thank you Trump! Thank you, U.S.!\u201d Tijani said. \u201cIt\u2019s not that everything is fixed, but it gives people hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Others echoed the idea that the airstrikes signal increased global attention.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cPeople feel like Nigeria can sometimes be ignored despite its size and impact,\u201d Nnake said. \u201cBut here in Greater Houston, Nigerians are speaking up and making their voices heard.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The conflict in northern Nigeria has been ongoing for years, and community members say the latest military action raises questions about what comes next.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIt means the world is listening,\u201d Tijani said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">For many Nigerian Americans in Houston, the airstrikes represent more than military action. They represent recognition and hope that lasting change can finally come.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RICHMOND, Texas \u2013 Airstrikes carried out in northwest Nigeria are drawing strong reactions from Nigerian Americans in the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":473970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[4345,214907,1219,214905,5005,358,214908,3187,214906],"class_list":{"0":"post-473969","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-houston","9":"tag-military-action-nigeria","10":"tag-nigeria","11":"tag-nigerian-community-houston","12":"tag-president-donald-trump","13":"tag-texas","14":"tag-trump-nigeria","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-us-nigeria-cooperation"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115788935589805482","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}