British Conservative politician, Kemi Badenoch, has said she no longer sees herself as Nigerian and does not hold a Nigerian passport.
Speaking on the Rosebud podcast, Badenoch revealed that she hasn’t renewed her Nigerian passport since the early 2000s and does not identify with the country anymore, even though she has family ties and grew up in Lagos.
“I have not renewed my Nigerian passport, I think, not since the early 2000s,” she said. “Most of my life has been in the UK and I’ve just never felt the need to.”
Badenoch, who is of Yoruba descent and was born in Wimbledon, London, in 1980, moved to Nigeria as a child and returned to the UK at age 16. She explained that while she knows Nigeria well and has strong ancestral roots, she no longer feels a personal connection to the country.
“I’m Nigerian through ancestry and by birth despite not being born there, because of my parents. But by identity I’m not really,” she said. “Home is where my now family is — my husband, children, brother, and in-laws. The Conservative Party is also part of that family.”
She also mentioned that when her father, Dr. Femi Adegoke, died in 2022, she needed a visa to travel to Nigeria, describing the process as a “big fandango.”
The former Equalities Minister has in the past spoken critically about her experiences in Nigeria, describing the country as one affected by corruption and military rule. She once said she didn’t feel she belonged while growing up there.
Her comments have attracted criticism from some Nigerian officials. In December 2023, Nigeria’s Vice President responded sharply, saying she was free to “remove the Kemi from her name” if she wasn’t proud of her heritage.
Badenoch’s spokesperson responded at the time, saying, “She stands by what she says. She is not the PR for Nigeria.”
Now a senior figure in the British Conservative Party, Badenoch said she has never experienced “serious” racial prejudice in the UK and feels strongly connected to her party.
“I do see the Conservative Party as family. We have the same kind of drama that extended families have,” she said.
Badenoch is currently seen as one of the leading figures in the UK’s Conservative Party and has been tipped as a possible future Prime Minister.