LONDON, ENGLAND – Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said she no longer identifies as Nigerian, having not renewed her passport for over two decades. The politician, who was born in the UK but spent part of her childhood in Nigeria and the US, returned to England at the age of 16.
Speaking on the Rosebud podcast with Gyles Brandreth, Badenoch said she was “Nigerian through ancestry” but not “by identity.” She explained that her decision not to renew her Nigerian passport was because she no longer identifies with the country, stating, “Most of my life has been in the UK and I’ve just never felt the need to.”
Badenoch’s remarks follow criticism she received last year from Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima, who accused her of “denigrating” the country. This was in response to comments she had made about growing up in an environment plagued by corruption, insecurity, and fear.
During the podcast, Badenoch spoke at length about how her experiences in Nigeria shaped her political views, including her dislike of socialism. She recalled feeling she never quite belonged in Nigeria and remembered thinking “this is home” upon returning to the UK in 1996. The reason for her return, she said, was that her parents believed there was “no future” for her in Nigeria.
Badenoch also defended the UK against accusations of racism, stating that she had not experienced racial prejudice in any “meaningful form.” She noted that she was not treated differently upon her return and it is a key reason why she is “so quick to defend the UK.”
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