United Kingdom’s Conservative Party leader
Kemi Badenoch has stated that she identifies more with her Yoruba heritage than with Nigeria as a whole.
In an interview with The Spectator, Badenoch expressed that she feels little connection to northern Nigeria, which she described as a “haven for Islamism and Boko Haram.”
“I find it interesting that everybody defines me as being Nigerian. I identify less with the country than with the specific ethnicity (Yoruba),” she said.
“I have nothing in common with the people from the north of the country, the Boko Haram where Islamism is.”
Nigeria’s Vice-President Kashim Shettima recently told Badenoch she could change her name if she wished to disassociate from Nigeria, calling it the “greatest black nation on earth.”
He accused Badenoch of disparaging her country of origin Nigeria.
However, Badenoch doubled down on her stance, asserting that her true identity lies in her Yoruba roots.
“Somebody once told me when I was very young that my surname was a name for people who were warriors. They protected the crown, and that’s what I see myself as doing,” she said.
“I am here to protect and I will die protecting this country because I know what’s out there.”
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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