Kemi Badenoch has defended her comments about Nigeria after the country’s Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, accused her of disparaging her nation of origin.
The Conservative Party leader, born in Wimbledon but raised partly in Nigeria, has frequently spoken about her experiences growing up in an environment marked by fear, insecurity, and corruption.
On Tuesday, Vice-President Shettima suggested that Badenoch should “remove the Kemi from her name” if she did not feel pride in her Nigerian heritage.
When asked about these remarks, a spokesperson for Badenoch said she “stands by what she says” and clarified that she “is not a PR representative for Nigeria.”
The spokesperson added:
“She is the leader of the opposition and is very proud of her role here in the UK. She speaks the truth and calls things as she sees them. She won’t mince her words.”
Speaking at a migration event in Abuja, Shettima expressed pride in Badenoch despite her criticisms of Nigeria. He said:
“She is entitled to her opinions; she even has every right to remove the Kemi from her name. But it doesn’t change the fact that the greatest Black nation on earth is the nation called Nigeria.”
His remarks drew applause as he contrasted Badenoch’s perspective with that of Rishi Sunak, the UK’s first Prime Minister of Indian heritage, whom he praised as “a brilliant young man” who “never denigrated his nation of ancestry.”
It is unclear which specific statements prompted Shettima’s comments. However, Badenoch has frequently shared her experiences growing up in Lagos during her speeches and interviews.
Born Olukemi Adegoke in 1980, she spent her childhood in Lagos and later in the United States, where her mother, a physiology professor, worked. She returned to the UK at age 16 to live with a family friend due to Nigeria’s worsening political and economic instability and to continue her education.
After marrying Scottish banker Hamish Badenoch, she adopted his surname.
At the Conservative Party Conference this year, Badenoch contrasted the freedoms she found in the UK with her upbringing in Lagos, describing it as a lawless city where “fear was everywhere.” She recounted hearing “neighbours scream as they were burgled and beaten—wondering if your home would be next.”
During a recent visit to the United States, she described Lagos as “a place where almost everything seemed broken.”
Badenoch has often cited these experiences as instrumental in shaping her conservative values and distancing herself from socialism.
