Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said she does not identify as Nigerian and revealed that she has not renewed her Nigerian passport since the early 2000s.
Although Badenoch was born in the United Kingdom to Nigerian parents, she spent part of her childhood in both Nigeria and the United States. She returned to the UK at the age of 16 due to political and economic instability in Nigeria and continued her education there.
Speaking on the Rosebud podcast hosted by former MP and TV presenter Gyles Brandreth, Badenoch said:
“I am Nigerian through my ancestors, but by identity, I don’t really consider myself Nigerian.”
Last year, Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima criticised Badenoch, accusing her of “attacking” the West African country. However, Badenoch maintains that while she has deep knowledge of Nigeria and many relatives still living there, she considers the UK her true home.
“I know the country very well. I have a lot of family there, and I’m very interested in what’s happening there,” she said. “But home is where my family is now.”
Explaining why she has not renewed her Nigerian passport, Badenoch said:
“I don’t identify with it. Most of my life has been in the UK, and I don’t think I need it.”
She added:
“I am Nigerian through my ancestry and by birth—though not born in Nigeria—but by identity, not really.”
Badenoch shared that when she travelled to Nigeria following the death of her father, she had to apply for a visa. She described the process as “quite difficult.”
She also reflected on her early experiences in Nigeria, saying they shaped her political ideology—especially her aversion to socialism.
“As a child, I remember not feeling like I belonged there,” she said. “When I came back to the UK in 1996, I felt like—this is home.”
She described her return to the UK as a painful decision influenced by her parents’ assessment that there was “no future” for her in Nigeria.
Interestingly, Badenoch said she had never experienced racism in the UK “in any meaningful way,” adding:
“I knew I was going to be somewhere where I looked different from everyone else, but I didn’t think that was strange.
What I found interesting was that people didn’t treat me differently—and that’s why I’m quick to defend the UK whenever the issue of racism comes up.”
Toward the end of 2024, Badenoch faced criticism for comments she made about growing up in fear and insecurity in Nigeria during times of widespread corruption. Vice President Shettima responded by saying his government was “proud” of Badenoch “despite her efforts to attack her nation of origin.”
A spokesperson for Badenoch later rejected Shettima’s criticism.