British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has revealed that she no longer sees herself as Nigerian and has not renewed her Nigerian passport since the early 2000s.
Speaking on the Rosebud podcast by former MP and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, Mrs Badenoch explained that although she is Nigerian by ancestry, she does not identify with the country anymore.
“I’m Nigerian through ancestry, by birth, despite not being born there because of my parents… but by identity, I’m not really,” she said.
Badenoch, 44, was born in the UK but spent part of her childhood in Nigeria and the United States.
She returned to the UK at age 16 in 1996, saying her parents believed there was no future for her in Nigeria due to its worsening political and economic climate.
“It was that my parents thought: ‘There is no future for you in this country,’” she said.
“I remember never quite feeling that I belonged there.”
The senior Tory politician shared that when she last visited Nigeria following the death of her father, she had to apply for a visa, an experience she described as “a big fandango.”
Badenoch added that she never renewed her Nigerian passport and hasn’t felt the need to.
“Most of my life has been in the UK and I’ve just never felt the need to,” she said.
Now a key figure in the UK government, Badenoch currently serves as the secretary of state for business and trade and has been a rising star in the Conservative Party.
Despite her current prominence in British politics, Badenoch has often drawn criticism from Nigerians for her comments about her upbringing in Nigeria.
Last year, she described growing up in Nigeria as living in “fear and insecurity” during a time of political corruption.
Her comments drew a response from vice-president Kashim Shettima, who accused her of denigrating the country.
