The Nigerian government confirmed it cooperated with the U.S. government in Thursday’s strike, which President Trump described as a “Christmas present.”
President Donald Trump is applauding a Christmas Day U.S. airstrike on an Islamic State group in Nigeria, after weeks of saying the West African government has failed to protect Christians from being targeted — an accusation some of the country’s leaders have pushed back on.
The Nigerian government confirmed it cooperated with the U.S. government in Thursday’s strike, which President Trump described as a “Christmas present,” citing the timing of the airstrike.
The Nigerian village where the airstrike occurred was still reeling on Sunday, with several villagers saying the blast sounded like a plane crashing.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by emphasizing national unity, saying “Terrorist violence in any form, whether directed at Christians, Muslims or other communities, remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security.”
While the violence overseas captured international headlines, many West Africans who now call Tampa home said they did not want to get bogged down in discussions of conflict. Instead, they emphasized the community they have built locally.
Calls for peace and prosperity echoed at Steaming Pots West Africa Cuisine at West Waters Avenue in Tampa. A beloved restaurant where co-owner Laura Tete said she serves thousands of plates each week to a diverse and peaceful community.
“A lot of different West African countries and East African countries. I meet all the time people from Zimbabwe and from Kenya that still come in here and find food that they can relate to even though they are on the East Coast of Africa,” Tete said. “There is a very, very large number or community of Cameroonians here, Nigerians, Ghanians, Togolese which is where my husband is from. A very large group of Togolese as well.”
There are about 16 countries in total in West Africa, with Nigeria having the largest population on the continent at 228 million people, according to the World Health Organization.
“Just to be able to see the mix of people that walk through the doors, you’re like ‘Wow, I didn’t know that many Africans were right here in Tampa,'” Tete said. “It’s been good. It’s been good for them because they know they have a place they can come and feel at home.”
The restaurant also shares its food with the Tampa Bay area thanks to two food trucks that spread the beating heart of West Africa through food.
“You can not do authentic African food and not have the moms or the aunties in the back there. It’s not just something that you can go on from YouTube and whip something up,” Tete emphasized. “One of the things I want to speak to is that you will find authentic African food here. For those who are not West African, what you will find here is that you will find warmth. You will find authenticity, culture, but most of all you will find love and acceptance right here at Steaming Pots.“
New employee Laurethe Gyamfi from Ghana said the restaurant offers a bridge to the continent for those unable to travel.
“If you want to visit Africa or West Africa and you don’t have the ability to go, you can come here. We will try our best to give you that experience without the price tag of a $1,000 ticket on a plane,” Gyamfi said.
Gyamfi works at the restaurants on the weekends while also working a full-time job at a nearby bank. She has described how Tampa’s West African community helped her find a sense of belonging away from home.
“When I moved here, my friend went to USF. She made friends in college because they have the African community at USF,” Gyamfi said. “She introduced me to a couple of people. I have two very close friends who live here. I do most things with them. We go out to eat, we find new restaurants. Basically, they are my sisters now. Anything that has to do with Tampa we do together.”
The reactions underscore how complex religious, political and military relations remain in Nigeria, even as those ties are felt far from West Africa.
Many people in Tampa’s West African community said they are focused on welcoming new visitors and new regulars into their homes and into restaurants come 2026.