A war of words has erupted between Kemi Badenoch and the president of Nigeria after he accused her of “denigrating her nation of origin”.
Kashim Shettima launched his outspoken attack on the Tory leader while giving a speech on migration.
Listing people whose families had migrated to other countries, the president praised former Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak, describing him as a “brilliant young man, he never denigrated his nation of ancestry”.
He went on: “Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British Conservative party. We are proud of her in spite of her efforts at denigrating her nation of origin.”
To applause from his audience, Shettima said: “She is entitled to her own opinions; she has even every right to remove the Kemi from her name but that does not underscore the fact that the greatest Black nation on earth is the nation called Nigeria.”
Although she was born in London, Badenoch was brought up in Nigeria before moving to the UK when she was 16.
She has previously spoken about sometimes “having no running water or electricity” in her house, and how her family suffered “periods of poverty” due to high inflation in Nigeria.
And when running for the Tory leadership in 2022, she said: “I grew up in Nigeria and I saw first-hand what happens when politicians are in it for themselves, when they use public money as their private piggy banks, when they promise the earth and pollute not just the air but the whole political atmosphere with their failure to serve others.
“I saw what socialism is for millions. It’s poverty and broken dreams. I came to Britain to make my way in a country where hard work and honest endeavour can take you anywhere.”
Responding to the Nigerian president’s comments, a spokesman for Badenoch said: “Kemi Badenoch does not do the PR for Nigeria. She is the leader of the opposition and she is very proud to be the leader of the opposition in this country.
“She tells the truth, she tells it like it is. She’s not going to couch her words and she stands by what she says.”
