UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has defended her remarks about Nigeria following sharp criticism from Nigerian Vice-President Kashim Shettima who accused her of disparaging the country of her heritage.
Badenoch, who was born in Wimbledon but spent much of her childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, has frequently spoken about the challenges of growing up in a country marked by corruption and insecurity. She has said these experiences shaped her conservative ideals.
On Monday, Shettima aimed Badenoch during a speech in Abuja, suggesting that if she was not proud of her Nigerian roots, “she could remove the Kemi from her name.”
In response, a spokesman for Badenoch said she stands by her statements. “She tells the truth. She tells it like it is. She’s not the PR for Nigeria,” the spokesman told reporters. “She is proud of her role as leader of the opposition in this country and stands by what she says.”
Shettima, speaking to a crowd that applauded his comments, said Nigeria is proud of Badenoch despite what he called her efforts to denigrate the country. “She is entitled to her own opinions; she has even every right to remove the Kemi from her name but that does not underscore the fact that the greatest black nation on earth is the nation called Nigeria,” he declared.
He contrasted Badenoch with Rishi Sunak, the UK’s first Indian-origin prime minister, whom he praised for never disparaging his ancestral homeland.
Badenoch has often described the difficulties of her upbringing in Lagos. At this year’s Conservative Party conference, she recalled living in fear in a “lawless” city, where she heard “neighbours scream as they were being burgled and beaten” and worried her family’s home could be next.
More recently, during a trip to the United States, Badenoch described Lagos as “a place where almost everything seemed broken.” She has cited these formative experiences as key influences on her political beliefs and her opposition to socialism.
Born Olukemi Adegoke in 1980, Badenoch lived in Lagos and briefly in the United States, where her mother worked as a lecturer. At age 16, she moved to the UK to escape Nigeria’s worsening political and economic situation and to continue her education. After marrying Scottish banker Hamish Badenoch, she adopted his surname.
