‘I Am Not Nigeria’s PR,’ Kemi Badenoch Responds to VP Shettima
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, has reiterated her stance on previous remarks she made about Nigeria, firmly stating that she is not a public relations representative for the country.
Her comments come in response to sharp criticism from Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, who accused Badenoch of disparaging Nigeria. Badenoch, who was born in the UK but spent much of her childhood in Nigeria, has often spoken about the challenges she faced while growing up in the country, describing it as being plagued by “fear, insecurity, and corruption.”
According to LEADERSHIP, VP Shettima criticized Badenoch during an event in Abuja on Monday, accusing her of denigrating her homeland. He suggested that if she was not proud of her Nigerian heritage, she could “remove the Kemi from her name.” The name ‘Kemi’ is a Yoruba name commonly found in South-West Nigeria.
During the event, which celebrated the contributions of Nigerian immigrants to national development, Shettima expressed that while the Nigerian government was proud of Badenoch, her comments about the country were unjustified. “She is entitled to her own opinions; she has every right to remove the Kemi from her name, but that does not change the fact that Nigeria is the greatest black nation on earth,” Shettima said, receiving applause from the audience. He also compared her remarks to those of Rishi Sunak, the UK’s first prime minister of Indian heritage, who he described as “a brilliant young man” who has never denigrated his ancestral nation.
However, in response to Shettima’s remarks, Badenoch stood by her previous comments, emphasizing that she would not soften her stance. “I tell the truth. I tell it like it is. I am not going to couch my words,” she told reporters on Wednesday. “I am the leader of the opposition, and I am very proud of my leadership in this country. I am not the PR for Nigeria.”
Badenoch’s earlier comments about her upbringing in Nigeria and her critical views on the country have sparked debate both in the UK and Nigeria.
