The leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, Kemi Badenoch, has said that she has no intention of laundering the image of Nigeria.
The clarification is coming after Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, subtly criticised her for denigrating Nigeria whereas another prominent British politician, Rishi Sunak never denigrated his original country, India, according to Shettima.
Kemi, who was born in the UK but mostly raised in Nigeria, has repeatedly described growing up in fear and insecurity in a country plagued by corruption.
She has also often been quoted saying that she did not want the UK to become like the country she ran away from.
Speaking at an event on Monday, the VP said: “Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British Labour or Conservative Party. We are proud of her despite her efforts at denigrating her nation of origin.
She is entitled to her own opinions; she has even every right to remove the Kemi from her name but that does not underscore (take away from) the fact that the greatest black nation on earth is the nation called Nigeria.”
Responding to Shettima in a statement on Wednesday, her spokesperson said: “Kemi is not interested in doing Nigeria’s PR; she is the leader of the opposition in the UK.
She tells the truth. She tells it like it is. She’s not going to couch her words, and she stands by what she says”
