By Kolawole Ojebisi
In what appears to be an effort at restitution on behalf of Nigeria, a United Kingdom based Nigerian, James Akinwande, has purchased and forwarded a pair of shoes and a wristwatch to the British conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch.
Akinwande, in a recorded viral video showing him purchasing a pair of shoes and a wristwatch in a UK store, said he was proud of his country.
He said the action was to replace the pair of shoes and a wristwatch Badenoch said was allegedly stolen from his brother by officers of the Nigeria Police Force.
Akinwande subsequently visited the Conservative Party headquarters and handed the items to security personnel to be delivered to Badenoch.
At the end of the video, Akinwande wrote: “On behalf of every proud Nigerian who felt genuinely hurt by those unfounded disparaging remarks about the Nigerian Police. We ‘buy back’ the stolen shoes and watch! (I hope it fits, tho..).”
The video has since gone viral on social media, but Akinwande’s original video has been taken down.
Recall that Badenoch, with a Nigerian root, has been in the news with her consistent bashing of Nigeria and its government.
She recently claimed in an interview that some police officers in the country stole her brother’s belongings.
“My experience with the police in Nigeria was very negative, and coming to the UK, my first experience with the police was very positive. The police in Nigeria would rob us.
“I remember the police stealing my brother’s shoes and his watch. It’s a very poor country, so people do all sorts of things,” Badenoch had said in the December 2024 interview.
Meanwhile, a background checks, as shown by his Instagram profile, shows that Akinwande is the international manager of popular Nigerian comedian, Kenny Blaq.
