Kemi Badenoch Responds To VP Shettima’s Criticism

Kemi Badenoch has defended her previous remarks about Nigeria after the country’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, accused her of denigrating the nation.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Conservative Party leader, born in the UK but largely raised in Nigeria, has consistently spoken about growing up in a country plagued by corruption, insecurity, and fear. She has often shared her personal experience of a challenging upbringing in Nigeria.

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On Monday, Vice President Shettima suggested that Badenoch might want to “remove the Kemi from her name” if she wasn’t proud of her “nation of origin.”

In response to Shettima’s comments, Badenoch’s spokesman reiterated that she “stands by what she says” and added that she “is not the PR for Nigeria.”

“She is the leader of the opposition and she is very proud of her leadership of the opposition in this country,” he told reporters. “She tells the truth. She tells it like it is. She is not going to couch her words.” the spokesman stated.

During a speech in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, Shettima expressed pride in Badenoch’s achievements despite what he described as her “efforts at denigrating her nation of origin.”

He was applauded when he remarked, “She is entitled to her own opinions; she even has the right to remove the Kemi from her name, but that does not change the fact that the greatest black nation on earth is Nigeria.”

Youth Development Bank

Shettima also drew a comparison between Badenoch and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, praising Sunak as “a brilliant young man” who has never “denigrated his nation of ancestry.”

While it is unclear which specific comments Shettima was referring to, Badenoch has frequently discussed her Nigerian upbringing in public speeches and interviews.

Born Olukemi Adegoke in Wimbledon in 1980, Badenoch spent much of her childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, and in the United States, where her mother worked as a physiology professor. She returned to the UK at 16, living with a family friend due to Nigeria’s worsening political and economic climate, and to pursue her A-levels.

After marrying Scottish banker Hamish Badenoch, she adopted his surname.

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At this year’s Conservative Party conference, Badenoch contrasted the freedoms she found in the UK with her experiences growing up in Lagos, describing a city where “fear was everywhere.” She recalled hearing “neighbors scream as they are being burgled and beaten – and wondering if your home will be next.”

During a recent US tour, she described Lagos as “a place where almost everything seemed broken.” Her challenging experiences in Nigeria have played a key role in shaping her conservative views and opposition to socialism.

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