By Matthew Atungwu Leader of the United Kingdom, UK, Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, says she identifies more with the Yoruba eth...
By Matthew Atungwu
Leader of the United Kingdom, UK, Conservative Party, Kemi
Badenoch, says she identifies more with the Yoruba ethnic group than the
Nigerian entity.
Badenoch made this statement in an interview with the
Spectator, a weekly British political and cultural news magazine.
This comes amid a simmering identity row, after her previous
criticisms of Nigeria’s governance terrain and society, which triggered
backlash and reignited debates over her ties to the country.
Born to Nigerian Yoruba parents in the UK, Badenoch’s last
name changed after she married a Scottish banker.
She returned and grew up in Nigeria, and finally left
Nigeria for the UK when she turned 16 years old.
Badenoch had described Nigeria as a socialist nation
brimming with thieving politicians and insecurity, a statement which sparked
many reactions.
DAILY POST recalls that Vice-President Kashim Shettima
faulted her over the comment, urging her to change her first name if she no
longer wants to identify with her homeland.
While speaking to the Spectator, Badenoch said she had
nothing in common with people from northern Nigeria, a region Vice-President
Shettima hails from, adding that she is proud of her Yoruba ancestry, which has
given her a very strong identity.
“I find it interesting that everybody defines me as being
Nigerian. I identify less with the country than with the specific ethnicity
(Yoruba. That’s what I really am.
“I have nothing in common with the people from the north of
the country, Boko Haram area, where the Islamism is. Those were our ethnic
enemies and yet you end up being lumped in with those people.
“Somebody once told me when I was very young that my surname
was a name for people who were the warriors,” she said.
Reacting to her depiction of Nigeria, a former Minister of
Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode had told her that Nigeria does not need her.
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