Kemi Badenoch Says She No Longer Identifies as Nigerian

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the UK Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition, has stated that she no longer identifies as Nigerian despite her Yoruba heritage and childhood in Nigeria and the US.

In a recent interview on the Rosebud podcast, she explained that while she was born in Wimbledon to Nigerian parents and spent part of her early life in Lagos, her sense of identity is now firmly rooted in the United Kingdom. She described her current sense of belonging as tied to her family, the UK, and the Conservative Party.

Badenoch revealed she has not renewed her Nigerian passport in over 20 years and experienced difficulties obtaining a visa to attend her father’s funeral in Nigeria in 2022. She said this experience further distanced her from identifying with the country. Although eligible for dual citizenship by descent, she no longer considers Nigeria “home.”

She also clarified that she relates more to her Yoruba ethnicity than to Nigeria as a whole. In comments made in 2024, she said she doesn’t identify with people from northern Nigeria, specifically referencing issues of extremism in the region. These remarks drew significant criticism from Nigerian political figures, including Vice President Kashim Shettima, who urged her to drop the name “Kemi” if she continued to distance herself from the country.