By Kolawole Ojebisi
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, has dropped another bombshell in her bid to repudiate her Nigerian roots.
This is as the Tory leader noted that she is Yoruba and identifies less as a ‘Nigerian’ because she has nothing in common with people in northern Nigeria,
Badenoch described the Northern region as “a haven for Islamism and Boko Haram.”
“I find it interesting that everybody defines me as being Nigerian. I identify less with the country than with the specific ethnicity [Yoruba],” the politician told British outlet The Spectator in an interview.
“I have nothing in common with the people from the north of the country, the Boko Haram where Islamism is,” she added.
Badenoch has been at the receiving end of constant backlash from many Nigerians, including public figures, in recent months due to her unrelenting criticism of the country.
The UK politician does not pull her punches when it comes to criticising Nigeria and those at the helm in the most populous black nation.
Many deemed most of Badenoch’s comments about Nigeria as unflattering.
The vice-president, Kassim Shettima, is from Borno, a state considered to be the hotspot of Boko Haram and allied insurgency.
Shettima had, on Tuesday, criticised Kemi for her comments on Nigeria.
The Vice- President told her that she could go ahead and change her name if she does not want any association with the “greatest black nation on earth, the nation called Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, Badenoch has become more intense in her criticism, stating that being Yoruba is her true identity and refuses to be lumped up with northern people of Nigeria, all in the name of being called a Nigerian.
Badenoch added, “Somebody once told me when I was very young that my surname was a name for people who were warriors. They protected the crown, and that’s what I see myself as doing.”
The British politician added, “I am here to protect and I will die protecting this country because I know what’s out there.”
