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The Conservative Party leader in the United Kingdom, Kemi Badenoch, has doubled down on her previous remarks about Nigeria, asserting that she was never meant to act as a public relations representative for the country.
Badenoch’s statement came in response to sharp criticism from Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, who recently accused her of disparaging Nigeria, her ancestral homeland.
Born in the UK but largely raised in Nigeria, Badenoch often speaks about her upbringing in the country, which she describes as fraught with “fear, insecurity, and corruption.” These comments have drawn significant attention and controversy in both nations.
Vice President Shettima, addressing an event in Abuja on Monday that celebrated Nigerian immigrants’ contributions, rebuked Badenoch for her critical remarks. He suggested that if Badenoch felt disconnected from her heritage, she could “remove the Kemi from her name,” referring to her Yoruba name, which is common in Nigeria’s South-West region.
“She is entitled to her opinions; she even has every right to remove the Kemi from her name. But that does not change the fact that the greatest black nation on earth is the nation called Nigeria,” Shettima said, earning applause from the audience.
Shettima also drew comparisons between Badenoch and Rishi Sunak, the UK’s first prime minister of Indian heritage. He praised Sunak as a “brilliant young man” who, unlike Badenoch, “never denigrated his nation of ancestry.”
Responding to Shettima’s remarks, Badenoch defended her position during a press briefing on Wednesday. “I tell the truth. I tell it like it is. I am not going to couch my words,” she said. “I am the leader of the opposition, and I am very proud of my leadership of the opposition in this country. I am not the PR for Nigeria.”
Badenoch’s past remarks about her experiences in Nigeria continue to spark debate, with critics and supporters divided on whether her commentary reflects honesty or undue disparagement of her roots.
