By Ghazali Ibrahim
Nigerian senator and human rights activist Shehu Sani has taken a swipe at UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch following her recent comments distancing herself from her Nigerian identity.
Badenoch, born in the UK to Nigerian parents, sparked controversy after stating on Gyles Brandreth’s Rosebud podcast that while she is Nigerian by ancestry and birth, she no longer identifies as one.
“I’m Nigerian through ancestry, by birth, despite not being born there… but by identity, I’m not really,” she said.
Badenoch, who spent part of her childhood in Nigeria before permanently relocating to the UK at 16, added that she hasn’t renewed her Nigerian passport in decades.
Reacting to her remarks, Senator Sani ridiculed her stance and suggested she start by discarding her Yoruba name.
“Your name is still ‘Kemi’ and you don’t want to identify as Nigerian? That’s fine. But bring back our name. You can change it to Kimberly or Kim Kardashian,” Sani wrote on social media.
Badenoch explained that her parents sent her back to the UK during her teenage years due to Nigeria’s political instability.
She also claimed that her experiences growing up in the country shaped her rejection of socialism.
Reflecting on her last visit to Nigeria for her father’s funeral, she described the visa process as “a big fandango,” adding that “home is where my now family is.”
Her comments have triggered a flurry of reactions among Nigerians online.
While some defended her right to self-identify, others accused her of disowning her roots despite bearing a Yoruba name.
In 2023, Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima had also criticized Badenoch for what he described as attempts to “denigrate her Nigerian heritage” after previous remarks about her upbringing.
