Ifeoma Ononye 
It has been back and forth words battle between Nigerian government and United Kingdom’s Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, on her comments criticising Nigeria.
A week ago, Afrobeat superstar, Davido made headlines for criticising Nigerian economy, telling Nigerians in the Diaspora that there was nothing to come back to.
Just like a few defended Davido for saying the plain truth about the current conditions of the Nigerian economy, some are standing by Badenoch’s comments, stating that someone must say the truth as it is.
There are millions of Nigerians who believe it is patriotism to project the positive side of the nation in public, especially in the Diaspora. This has brought Kemi Badenoch at loggerheads with the Federal Government, who has treated her comments as disrespect to the nation of her heritage.
Kemi Badenoch has defended her remarks about Nigeria following criticism from the country’s vice president, Kashim Shettima, who accused her of disrespecting her heritage.
The Conservative Party leader, who was born in the United Kingdom and spent much of her youth in Nigeria, has often spoken about living with fear and instability in a country she describes as plagued by corruption.
On Monday, Nigeria’s Vice-President Kashim Shettima, proposed that Badenoch may have to “remove the Kemi from her name” if she did not feel pride in her “nation of origin.”
According to BBC on Wednesday, in response to Shettima’s suggestion that she should “remove Kemi from her name” if she lacks pride in her Nigerian roots, a spokesperson for Badenoch said she “stands by what she says” and emphasized that “she is not Nigeria’s public relations representative.”
“She leads the opposition and takes great pride in her role in this country; she speaks the truth, and she presents things as they are and will not soften her words.” He told reporters.
Shettima’s remarks came during a speech on migration in Abuja, where he stated that the President Tinubu administration remains “proud” of Badenoch, despite what he described as her “attempts to denigrate her country of origin.”
He compared her stance to that of Rishi Sunak, the UK’s first prime minister of Indian descent, who Shettima described as “a brilliant young man” who “never denigrated his nation of ancestry
Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke Badenoch, née Adegoke; was born 2 January 1980. She is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Party since November 2024. The first black person to hold those offices, she previously served in the Cabinet under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak from 2022 to 2024. She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Essex, previously Saffron Walden, since 2017.
