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Kemi Badenoch has beef with Nigeria. Since becoming the leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, she has frequently criticized Nigeria on various fronts. She has spoken about her early years in Nigeria, describing growing up in an atmosphere of fear and insecurity and highlighting the widespread corruption in the country. Nigerian Vice-President […]
Kemi Badenoch has beef with Nigeria. Since becoming the leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, she has frequently criticized Nigeria on various fronts. She has spoken about her early years in Nigeria, describing growing up in an atmosphere of fear and insecurity and highlighting the widespread corruption in the country. Nigerian Vice-President Kashim Shettima even suggested that Badenoch should “remove Kemi from her name” if she is not proud of her country of origin. Badenoch left Nigeria 28 years ago to return to the UK, where she was born, and she has never missed an opportunity to denigrate Nigeria.
Here are five times Kemi Badenoch has taken a swipe at Nigeria:
I don’t want Britain to be like Nigeria where government destroys lives
In a speech delivered on Thursday, January 16th, 2025, at an event organized by Onward, a British think tank specializing in economic and social research, Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK’s Conservative Party, fired fresh shots at Nigeria. She raised concerns about the consequences of ineffective governance in the United Kingdom, drawing a parallel to the challenges faced by Nigeria.
Emphasizing the importance of building trust and presenting the Conservative Party as the solution to Britain’s challenges, Badenoch cautioned against the risks of the UK’s governance system faltering, comparing it to Nigeria’s struggles with poor administration.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then lose it,” Badenoch said. “I don’t want Britain to lose what it has. I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation. I returned to the UK at 16 with my father’s last £100, hoping for a better future. I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.” Her comments have reignited criticism in Nigeria, her country of origin, where her governance statements often draw controversy.
Growing up in fear
In 2024, Kemi Badenoch, who has spoken extensively about Nigeria in the past, was at daggers with Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima. It is unclear which of her comments Shettima was responding to when he suggested she should “remove Kemi from her name” if she is not proud of her “nation of origin.”
Previously, Badenoch described growing up in fear and insecurity in Nigeria, highlighting the country’s corruption.
During a speech on migration in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, Shettima stated that his government remains “proud” of Badenoch “despite her efforts to criticize her nation of origin.”
The audience applauded when Shettima added: “She is entitled to her own opinions; she has every right to remove Kemi from her name, but that does not change the fact that the greatest Black nation on earth is the nation called Nigeria.”
I am not Nigeria’s PR representative
On December 12, 2024, Badenoch responded to Vice President Kashim Shettima’s comments, standing by her previous statements about Nigeria. She emphasized that she is not a public relations representative for the country.
Shettima had earlier suggested during a speech in Abuja that the Nigerian government is “proud” of Badenoch despite what he called her “efforts to criticize her nation of origin.” Badenoch, however, defended her statements, reiterating her experiences about growing up in fear and insecurity and witnessing corruption firsthand in Nigeria.
Yoruba is my true identity
Badenoch further sparked controversy regarding her identity. In an interview with the British publication, The Spectator, she said she identifies more with her Yoruba ethnicity than with Nigeria as a whole, distancing herself from Northern Nigeria, which she described as a stronghold of Boko Haram and Islamist extremism.
She said: “I find it interesting that everyone defines me as Nigerian. I identify less with the country and more with my specific ethnicity, Yoruba. I have nothing in common with the people from the north of the country—the Boko Haram and Islamist elements. Yoruba is my true identity, and I refuse to be grouped with the northern people of Nigeria, who are ‘our ethnic enemies,’ all in the name of being Nigerian.”
Badenoch also highlighted a family legacy of resilience, mentioning her surname’s historical connection to warriors who protected the crown.
Police stole my brother’s shoes
In a December 2024 interview with Honestly With Bari Weiss, Badenoch recounted her negative experiences with the Nigerian police compared to her positive experiences with the UK police.
“My experience with the police in Nigeria was very negative. They would rob us. When people say I had experiences with police because I was Black, I wonder what they mean. In Nigeria, the police stole my brother’s shoes and watch. It’s a very poor country, and people do all kinds of things. Giving people guns is like granting them a license to intimidate others. That’s not the standard we should set for British police, which should be much higher,” she said.