Nigerian Vice President Kashim Shettima has criticised UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch for her comments regarding Nigeria. Badenoch was born in the UK but spent much of her childhood in Nigeria. Badenoch has frequently emphasised the Corruption and lawlessness in Lagos by describing her early years there as dark and frightening. Living with the constant fear of violence and hearing neighbours being attacked are things she has openly discussed. She claimed that these encounters shaped her conservative beliefs and anti-socialist stance.
According to Shettima, Badenoch’s remarks disparaged Nigeria, even suggesting that if she wasn’t proud of her ancestry, she should remove “Kemi” from her name. He compared her to former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who he said never made fun of his Indian roots. Badenoch’s representative defended her comments in spite of the criticism, stating that she is not a “PR for Nigeria” and that she exposes the truth without sugarcoating it. Badenoch, who was born Olukemi Adegoke in Wimbledon in 1980, first resided in Lagos and then the US before fleeing Nigeria’s worsening political and economic circumstances at the age of 16 and relocating to the UK.
Majority of her early years were spent in Lagos, Nigeria.
She took on Hamish Badenoch’s last name after marrying the Scottish banker. She frequently draws attention to the differences between her life in Nigeria and the liberties she has in the UK in her remarks. Nigerian parents gave birth to Kemi Badenoch in 1980 in Wimbledon, London, as Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke. The majority of her early years were spent in Lagos, Nigeria, and for a little period in the United States, where her mother, a professor of physiology, gave lectures. Because of the deteriorating political and economic circumstances in Nigeria, Badenoch moved back to the UK at the age of sixteen to live with a family acquaintance.
Her worldview was greatly influenced by her early years in Lagos, which were characterised by pervasive crime, corruption, and instability. She has talked about living in constant terror and shared vivid memories of her community’s lack of safety as well as witnessing neighbours being attacked during burglaries. Her political views were greatly impacted by these encounters, which cultivated a strong sense of personal accountability and scepticism towards socialist ideas. Badenoch’s claims of instability, anarchy, and corruption in Nigeria align with the social issues she experienced as a young girl.
Badenoch should be “tarred and feathered” for her remarks—Femi Fani-Kayode.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Nigeria experienced military control, unstable economic conditions, and a collapse in public services, all of which support her claims that the nation is “broken.” Nigerians’ responses to Badenoch’s remarks are not quite uniform. Some Nigerians identify with her stories and recognise the issues of corruption and Insecurity facing their nation. Her comments, according to some, are unduly disparaging and inaccurately depict the complexity of Nigeria. Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Nigerian minister, for example, criticised Badenoch’s remarks, saying she should be “tarred and feathered” for her remarks against Nigeria.
When public personalities discuss their ancestry critically, they frequently come under fire because it may be interpreted as treachery or self-denial. Debates of identification and allegiance have been triggered by Badenoch’s forthright observations about Nigeria; some have accused her of alienating herself from her heritage. This dynamic demonstrates the fine line that public leaders must walk when talking about their histories because what they say can have a big impact on public opinion and international ties. Badenoch’s political beliefs have been significantly influenced by her experiences in Nigeria. She became a strong believer in individual accountability and minimal government involvement after personally witnessing societal instability and governmental dysfunction.
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Additionally, her support of free-market principles and resistance to extensive Welfare programs are based on these beliefs. For instance, she has advocated for a meritocratic approach above identity-based concerns and has been outspoken in her opposition to critical race theory in education. Her views on immigration also demonstrate a desire to impose more stringent regulations in an effort to maintain Economic Stability and social cohesiveness. In addition to influencing her political views, Kemi Badenoch’s comments on her Nigerian heritage and upbringing have generated conversations on identity, loyalty, and the obligations of public figures to address their roots.