Who is afraid of Kemi Badenoch?

…turning the tide from politics to diplomacy

By Morenike Taire

The majority of Nigerians expressed extreme excitement at the ascendancy of a Briton of Nigerian descent, Kemi Badenoch, on the British political space circa 2023.

Read Also: I don’t see myself as Nigerian by identity – Kemi Badenoch

A promising career politician, she was elected Member of Parliament, MP, for North-West Essex in 2017. The 45-year-old Brexit supporter had in 2012 unsuccessfully contested a seat in the London Assembly, but was elected as an MP in 2015. 

In February 2023, Badenoch became Secretary of State for Business and Trade while retaining the responsibilities of Women and Equalities Minister. Next, she was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in Sunak’s Shadow Cabinet and later launched her bid to become leader of the Conservative Party,  defeating Robert Jenrick and becoming party leader and Leader of the Opposition.

She has openly expressed her wish to be the next Margaret Thatcher and has been compared with the first female leader of the Conservative Party (1975-1990).

Matters Arising

Nigerians have always displayed immense pride for compatriots who are doing well on the global scene, including women like Tems, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and of course, the Super Falcons. This was the default position with Badenoch until she committed a series of public gaffes, deemed unforgiveable by her Nigerian countrymen. Her public image began to go south following the expression of her hardline stance on immigration, suggesting making it more difficult for Nigerian immigrants to attain the Indefinite Leave to Remain Status by significantly extending the timelines. A number of other gaffes were to follow, culminating in her outright denial of her Nigerian nationality. Her contemptuous description of her secondary school, a Federal Government College beloved to many alumni, was the last straw.

Appeal to Nigerians

But it hasn’t always been like that. A letter has emerged of Kemi begging for the votes and the support of Nigerians as far back as 2010, ahead of the UK general elections for Dulwich and West Norwood. She was then known by her maiden name, Kemi Adegoke.

Promising to improve Nigeria’s image as well as to protect Nigerians seeking refuge in the United Kingdom, the letter decried disunity amongst the Diaspora, decrying the attack of her Yoruba heritage by certain individuals during a BBC interview at the time.

Ironically thanking her friends and old school mates, she wrote in the public letter: “We really need to get out of this mindset where we are fighting one another and try and support each other instead. Regardless of party allegiance, a Nigerian in parliament winning purely on merit and not because of her relatives or by buying the election, will be amazing.

“Like you, I am sick and tired of reading that Nigerians are fraudsters, terrorists, bombing airplanes or slaughtering each other in places like Jos. Our generation has suffered enough from the mistakes of the past, and it is up to us not to repeat them.”

While her appeal clearly worked, it is an understatement to say Nigerians both home and abroad have been disenchanted and believe she is not serving Nigeria’s interests. It is also the general belief that she is not uplifting our cultural values.

Hamish Badenoch’s Nigerian Ties

Though Kemi married a Caucasian indigenous Briton, it’s not surprising to find Mr Badenoch has strong ties to Africa.  Hamish Badenoch also has been compared to Dennis Thatcher who also took a backseat role as his wife rose to the top of British politics.

A Cambridge graduate, Hamish Badenoch began his professional journey as a journalist in Malawi, probably  laying  the groundwork for a consulting career that took  him to countries like Nigeria. He also managed infrastructure project finances across various regions, including Africa, overseeing financial structuring for large-scale projects in transportation, energy, and utilities sectors, efforts aimed at fostering economic development and innovation.

Importance of Diaspora Ties

Undoubtedly, it is highly critical for Nigerian disaporas to be aligned, for obvious reasons. Remittances from Nigerian disaporas, for instance, have been one of the backbones of the nation’s economy. Last year, diaspora remittance flows into the Nigerian economy rose by nine per cent to $20.98 billion in 2024, marking the highest level in five years under the present Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN).

Senator Shehu Sani in a viral statement on X, this week said Badenoch’s disavowal wasn’t just a personal expression but a “symbolic rejection of a whole continent’s pride in her achievements.” He argued that Nigeria must do more to define its relationship with its global citizens, not just through economic expectations like remittances, but through cultural affirmation. “If we are proud of our diaspora, we must also defend our dignity,” he wrote.

A Visit to Lagos

As the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch on a courtesy visit to Lagos State’s Babajide SanwoOlu last year, expressed her commitment to fostering smoother trade opportunities between Nigeria and the UK.

According to Sanwo-Olu on the occasion, Lagos is one of the reference points not only in West Africa but in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa and we are excited that you are here. We are hoping that you have seen one or two things that you can take back and you can continue to assure the business community in the United Kingdom that Nigeria is ripe already and Lagos is a destination that they should consider.”

Speaking earlier, Badenoch said the business operators from the UK were excited about investing in Nigeria and Lagos in particular.

Sanwo-Olu, in his remarks, said: “For us, we see a whole lot of opportunities that Lagos can be for our country while also identifying and managing the challenges that we need to deal with on a continuous basis.

Badenoch said: “Primarily, I want to continue doing what my main job is, which is promoting British business and international trade all across the world and I visit many countries.

 And of course, when the opportunity arose, I definitely wanted to come to Nigeria. As many people know, this is the country that I lived in when I was a child. And the first meeting that I had was a British business roundtable, which is businesses from the United Kingdom that are investing in Nigeria, mainly in Lagos.

Abuja, too…

Earlier, UK and Nigeria through Badenoch had signed a partnership agreement to promote trade and investment and open new prospects for both countries. Tagged the Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership agreement alongside Nigerian Trade Minister, Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite in Abuja, Badenoch had said on the occasion: “We want to make sure that we have the two-way trade. We know the challenges that Nigeria is having with foreign exchange. One of the ways that you can resolve that is exporting more and finding out what we can do on the United Kingdom side to reduce those barriers to trade and ensure that business between the two countries goes as smoothly as possible.”

According to the UK government, UK and Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership arrangement sets out the UK and Nigeria’s priorities for future discussion and cooperation.

Controlling the Narrative

Hopefully, those at the helm of our political affairs will steer the discourse more in the direction of potential economic gains rather than the severe cultural outrage that currently characterizes Kemi Badenoch/Nigerians relations. A June YouGov UK poll reports that just 10% of the public believe Badenoch looks like a prime minister in waiting, while 81% see the Tories as being in a weak state. Still, one year is a long time in politics and tables can turn in a minute. In any case, Badenoch remains a strong influence within her party and will remain a powerful figure if her party prevails in the next polls.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian social media have gone ballistic since her last misspeak, with the vast majority criticising her utterances and urging the citizens to distance themselves from her. Very few disagree.

Cheta Nwanze, a partner at SBM, a media intelligence organisation said  the reaction of Nigeria’s elite to Badenoch’s offensive remarks characterizes what he refers to as the routine lack of self-awareness that has possessed Nigerians as a people, adding that the politician simply mirrors vices which already plague our nationhood.

A Mirror of Disunity 

“On national unity, Kemi is simply echoing one of our ‘founding fathers’ in letting us know  that Nigeria is not a nation. We have spent the 77 years since then doing everything but building a cohesive national identity. It is true that the British brought various, sometimes warring groups, together, and not for altruistic purposes, but what have we done with it since they nominally left our shores 64 years ago? I prefer to look at the broad things she is talking about.”  

Nwanze quotes from Chief Obafemi Awolowo who had famously or infamously referred to Nigeria as ‘a mere geographical  expression’.

Vanguard News

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