LONDON/LAGOS – The United Kingdom’s Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said she stands by her remarks about Nigeria, following criticism from Vice President Kashim Shettima, who accused her of denigrating the West African country.
Badenoch, born in the UK but largely raised in Nigeria, has frequently described her upbringing as being overshadowed by fear and insecurity in a country plagued by corruption.
The British lawmaker had earlier criticised Nigeria, saying: “I grew up in Nigeria, and I saw firsthand what happens when politicians are in it for themselves, when they use public money as their private piggy banks, when they pollute the whole political atmosphere with their failure to serve others.
“I saw what socialism is for millions. I saw poverty and broken dreams. I came to Britain to make my way in a country where hard work and honest endeavour can take you anywhere.”
Reacting on Monday, Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima accused Badenoch of denigrating Nigeria.
Shettima compared her to former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whom he called a “brilliant young man” from India, who has never spoken negatively about his ancestral country.
He urged Badenoch to change her first name if she no longer wished to identify with her homeland.
When asked about Shettima’s comments, Badenoch’s spokesman said the UK conservative leader stands by her statements and not interested in “doing PR for Nigeria.”
“She is the leader of the opposition, and she is very proud of her leadership of the opposition in this country.
“She tells the truth. She tells it like it is. She’s not going to couch her words, and she stands by what she says.”
Kemi Badenoch became the Conservatives’ new leader and the first Black woman to a head a major British political party on Saturday, after winning a leadership contest on a promise to return the party to its founding principles.
Badenoch replaced former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and has pledged to lead the party through a period of renewal after its resounding defeat at Britain’s July election, saying it had veered towards the political centre by “governing from the left”.
She came out on top in the two-horse race with former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, winning 57 percent of the votes of party members.
Badenoch was born in London in 1980, but spent her childhood living in Lagos, Nigeria, and in the United States, where her mother lectured.
She returned to the UK at the age of 16 to live with a friend of her mother’s due to the deteriorating political and economic situation in Nigeria, which had affected her family.
KASHIM SHETTIMA
Kashim Shettima, is a Nigerian politician who is the 15th and current vice president of Nigeria. He served as governor of a terror-ravaged northeastern Borno State, from 2011 to 2019. His term in office was dominated by the deadly Boko Haram insurgency
Shettima, 58, became the governor without setting out to be one. He was brought in as a replacement after the winner of the governorship candidate of the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) Modu Fannami-Gubio was shot dead by Boko Haram insurgents in January 2011.
He was accused of masterminding the killing of the late candidate. But the allegation did not stop him from being elected governor. The allegation of having a hand in the death of Mr Fannami-Gubio continued even after his first term in office. He repeatedly denied any involvement in the murder.
Shettima was accused of being the brain behind Boko Haram terror group.
The abduction of 276 pupils of Government Secondary School Chibok in 2014 almost caused Shettima his integrity. The president at the time, Goodluck Jonathan, and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said Shettima masterminded the abduction to help his new party the All Progressives Congress (APC) win election.
On several occasions, Shettima was also accused of not reaching out to Jonathan to discuss security issues. But the former governor said it was the president who should be reaching out to governors in states battling insecurity.
Shettima left office in 2019, and was elected to the senate. After winning primary for Senate election in 2022, he withdrew from the nomination to become Bola Tinubu‘s running mate.
On 1 March 2023, Bola Tinubu was declared as the winner of a controversial and violence-marred presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) . Thus, Shettima became the Vice President-elect of Nigeria.
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