Kemi Badenoch, leader of United Kingdom (UK) Conservative Party has said she identifies more with the Yoruba ethnic group than the Nigerian entity.
Gatekeepers News reports that Badenoch said this in an interview with the Spectator, a weekly British political and cultural news magazine on Thursday.
Kemi’s remarks come amid an ongoing identity controversy, following her previous criticisms of Nigeria’s governance terrain and society led to backlash and reignited debates over her ties to Nigeria.
Born to Nigerian Yoruba parents in the UK, Badenoch’s last name changed from Adegoke after she married a Scottish banker.
She returned to Nigeria, where she grew up, and finally departed for the UK when she turned 16 years old.
Kemi had referred to Nigeria as a socialist nation filled with thieving politicians and insecurity, a remark that provoked many reactions from Netizens.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima also criticised the former UK equalities minister for her depiction of Nigeria and urged her to change her first name if she no longer wants to identify with the country.
Badenoch during the interview, claimed she has nothing in common with people from northern Nigeria which is where Shettima hails from.
She said, “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, the Boko Haram where the Islamism is, those were our ethnic enemies and yet you end up being lumped in with those people.”
Badenoch said she is proud of her Yoruba ancestry which has given her a “very strong identity.”
She added, “Somebody once told me when I was very young that my surname was a name for people who were the warriors.”
“They protected the crown and that’s what I see myself as doing. I am here to protect and I will die protecting this country because I know what’s out there.”
