Kemi Badenoch Finally Dissociates Self from Nigeria, “I Don’t Identify With it Anymore"
- Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, said she no longer identifies as a Nigerian, a few months after she described her ancestral home as a country where the government “destroys lives"
- The Tory leader, on the Rosebud podcast, said, “I have not renewed my Nigerian passport, I think, not since the early 2000s,” adding, “I’ve never quite felt that I belonged there"
- The Conservative Party leader stated that though she is interested in developments in Nigeria, she found a better home in the UK, where she now lives with her family and party members
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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering global issues.
London, United Kingdom - Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, has said she no longer identifies as a Nigerian.
As reported by The Telegraph on Friday, August 1, the Tory leader, who grew up in Lagos state, southwest Nigeria, said that she had not had a Nigerian passport for two decades.
Source: Twitter
Guardian UK also noted the United Kingdom's (UK's) opposition leader's new comments.
Mrs Badenoch said that while she knew the country “very well” and had an interest in what happens there, she felt that her “home is where my now family is”.
Speaking on the Rosebud podcast, she said:
“I have not renewed my Nigerian passport, I think, not since the early 2000s.
“I don’t identify with it anymore, most of my life has been in the UK and I’ve just never felt the need to.”
She added:
“I’m Nigerian through ancestry, by birth despite not being born there because of my parents, but by identity, I’m not really. I know the country very well, I have a lot of family there, and I’m very interested in what happens there.
“But home is where my now family is, and my now family is my children, it’s my husband and my brother and his children, in-laws."
Furthermore, she said that she remembered “never quite feeling that I belonged" to Nigeria.
The 45-year-old has repeatedly talked about growing up in a country affected by corruption and Lagos as a city where “fear was everywhere”.
Source: Facebook
Kemi Badenoch's latest remarks: Nigerians react
Meanwhile, Nigerians are reacting to Badenoch's latest remarks.
Legit.ng captured some X (formerly Twitter) comments below:
Nels Abbey wrote:
"Kemi is giving Nigerian fraudsters a bad name."
@Homodayor wrote:
"Journalists should just ignore her. She is using Nigeria to gain attention from the global community week in week out.
"She has never said anything good abt this country because of her hatred or negative impression.
"It seems she had been inundated with false information about Nigerians."
@jolukitibi said:
"We don't identify with you and will be glad if you drop the name too...once you say Kemi you're identified, but if you change to Kimberly no one will identify you with Nigeria that you so much dislike."
Oladiji Dada wrote:
"Kemi, please don't forget to have a name change. Nigeria would appreciate that a lot. Black yorubalised Oyinbo. Dey Fool yourself."
Badenoch says children can’t get Nigerian citizenship
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Badenoch said she cannot confer Nigerian citizenship on her children because of her gender.
Badenoch made the claim during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, where she compared Nigeria’s immigration policies with those of the UK, criticising what she described as British leniency.
Source: Legit.ng
