UK Business Secretary and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has stirred controversy after stating that she no longer identifies as Nigerian and has not held a Nigerian passport in over two decades.
Badenoch, who was born in London and spent part of her childhood in Lagos, made the remark during a recent podcast appearance. Although she acknowledged her deep familiarity with Nigeria and her family connections there, she explained that her sense of identity is firmly rooted in the United Kingdom.
“I have not renewed my Nigerian passport, I think, not since the early 2000s,” she said. “I don’t identify with it anymore. Most of my life has been in the UK and I’ve just never felt the need to.”
She continued: “The Conservative Party is very much part of my family, my extended family, I call it. I’m Nigerian through ancestry, by birth despite not being born there because of my parents, but by identity I’m not really. I know the country very well, I have a lot of family there… but home is where my now family is.”
Badenoch also recalled the challenge she faced when her father, Femi Adegoke, passed away in 2022, noting that she had to obtain a visa to return to Nigeria for his funeral—an experience she described as “a big fandango.”
Reflecting on her early years in Lagos, she said she always felt like an outsider despite her Nigerian heritage. “My parents thought, ‘there is no future for you in this country’,” she added.
Badenoch has previously drawn criticism from Nigerian political circles for her outspoken views on issues such as corruption and governance in Nigeria. In December, Vice President Kashim Shettima responded to her remarks, stating that she was free to “remove the Kemi from her name” if she no longer identified with her heritage.
In response, Badenoch’s spokesperson defended her stance, saying she “stands by what she says” and emphasized that she is “not the PR for Nigeria.”
Read also: Nigeria Rejects U.S. Push to Accept Deported Venezuelans – Foreign Affairs Minister Tuggar
