If Kemi Badenoch were Igbo

SHE does not take prisoners. And it appears that she will not be pacified. She is neither a cowboy(girl) nor an American, but she can’t stop shooting straight from the hips. Somehow she manages to hit the bull’s-eye with each and every shot. She ruffles feathers everywhere including in the inner sanctum of Nigeria’s presidential villain, sorry, Villa. She has become a thorn, a nightmare, a nemesis, and a gadfly to today’s men of dubious and immoral power. Our obviously idle vice president Mohammed Kashim Shettima, in an attempt to be heard and seen to be relevant tried to shut her up. He was promptly eviscerated, not by the woman on a mission of calling out Nigeria’s misguided rulers but by her low ranking aide. The message in the choice of who responded to our vice president’s silly attack on a major party leader in a country supposedly in the first world was telling. The woman was simply saying that Shettima was so down the pecking order that she could not bring herself to respond to his foolish reaction to her earlier comments about Nigeria, its police force and sundry matters about a country in rapid and inexorable decline. Let’s return to what is turning out to be a series of Bad knocks by Ms Kemi Badenoch on Nigeria. Last week, precisely January 18, it was widely reported in the media at home and abroad that the leader of the Conservative Party gave her first major speech of the new year. She reportedly said, among other things, that she did not want Britain to be like Nigeria, a poor country where terrible governments destroy lives. She said her push for ‘real conservatism’ was to guarantee a ‘better, richer and safer’ tomorrow for the younger generation of Brits. “…I grew up in a poor country, and I watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer and poorer despite working harder as their money disappeared with inflation”. Kemi Badenoch is a Nigerian. She is also British. She is currently the leader of the loyal opposition party, the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom (UK). She is a breath away from being the prime minister of the country that colonised Nigeria for decades up till October 1, 1960. She is a politician, and so it can be difficult to divorce her person from her public comments and posturings. If you believe any politician it will only be at your own personal peril. Many politicians here and everywhere in the world speak from both sides of their mouths. They are selfish. Everything they do, almost everything they do, is to the service of self. So if Kemi, the current loudest voice in the bashing of Nigeria, has suddenly become forceful in the condemnation of our country, of her country also, it’s essentially for the furtherance of her political career in her country of choice – Britain. She is speaking their language and her audience is enamoured with her. That could be the reason why she came, literally speaking, from nowhere to sit atop perhaps the oldest, and arguably until recently one of the most racist political parties in history. Kemi Badenoch may not be that useful idiot that some Nigerians want to make of her in her commitment to her party. As we said earlier Kemi is a brilliant British politician. And she speaks and acts as one. Having spent almost all her adult life in the UK (she was born there but briefly sojourned in Nigeria before returning at 16), the timidity of undue deference to authority and elders appears to have worn out. For her there seems to be no more inhibition of culture shock. After all, a former British prime minister once told a former Nigerian president (who was old enough to be his father) to his face and in public that Nigeria is a “fantastically corrupt” country, and the Nigerian ruler agreed, also in public. All these happened in foreign land- in London. It’s obvious that when some foreign leaders, in or out of power, speak to our rulers or about our country, they are not mindful of diplomatese or circumspection. Nigeria has become toast and the butt of jokes. That explains why our country would put out a statement announcing an agreement with an otherwise ordinary foreign government, and a nondescript agency of that other country would issue a disclaimer which would sound like a reprimand to Nigeria. “But if Kemi were to be Igbo it would have been a lot easier for the rest of Nigeria to label her and then take her on. And down. She would have been called a secessionist and a separatist agitator who is working with some foreign countries to dismember Nigeria. She would have been described as an ambassador of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its main fundraiser abroad. Letters would have been written to King Charles of Britain, the Conservative Party, the UK parliament, the United Nations (UN), and possibly the US Congress calling for the arrest of Kemi Badenoch who they would describe as a terrorist and a clear and present danger to global peace.” But we digress. Let’s return to what is turning out to be a series of Bad knocks by Ms Kemi Badenoch on Nigeria. Last week, precisely January 18, it was widely reported in the media at home and abroad that the leader of the Conservative Party gave her first major speech of the new year. She reportedly said, among other things, that she did not want Britain to be like Nigeria, a poor country where terrible governments destroy lives. She said her push for ‘real conservatism’ was to guarantee a ‘better, richer and safer’ tomorrow for the younger generation of Brits. “Why this matters so much to me is because I know what it is like to have something and lose it. I don’t want Britain to lose what it has. I grew up in a poor country, and I watched

Shettima knocks Badenoch for Nigeria Comment

“She is entitled to her own opinions; she has even every right to remove the Kemi from her name, but that does not underscore the fact that the greatest black nation on earth is the nation called Nigeria.” The Nigerian Vice President, Kashim Shettima however thinks that considering her exalted position as the leader of the UK Conservative Party, Ms. Badenoch shall have been more measured in her comments and not be so disrespectful to Nigeria.  Badenoch, who has Nigerian heritage, recently advocated for stricter immigration measures, citing concerns over the strain on public services and societal balance.   Speaking at the Annual Migration Dialogue in Abuja, Shettima addressed her stance, acknowledging her success while rejecting her portrayal of Nigeria.  He noted Nigeria’s global significance, emphasizing its growing population and influence.   ALSO READ: Filling Stations Reduce Fuel Price As Dangote, Marketers Strike Deal Badenoch’s previous remarks about her childhood in Nigeria have also drawn attention.  She described facing corruption and hardship before migrating to the UK, where she pursued better opportunities. While her narrative highlights challenges in Nigeria, Shettima countered by defending the nation’s resilience and potential. He said: “Kemi Badenoch, is the leader of the British Labour or Conservative Party. We are proud of her in spite of 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 the fact that the greatest black nation on earth is the nation called Nigeria. “One out of every three, four black men is a Nigerian and by 2050, Nigeria will support the United States, will be the third most populous nation on earth.” It must be noted however, that Ms. Badenoch is not the first highly placed Nigerian yo make such uncomplimentary remark about the country. Shettima’s principal, President Bola Tinubu is also recorded to have made a remark in the past that he did not believe in one Nigeria.

Kemi Badenoch Becomes First African To Win Leadership of Britain’s Conservative Leadership Election

Kemi Badenoch, British Nigerian, on Saturday won the election to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the Conservative Party. The BBC reported that Badenoch, 44, beat Robert Jenrick after a four-month contest, sparked by Sunak’s resignation in the wake of a humiliating election defeat. She is the first person of African heritage to lead the Tories. The vote saw a turnout of 72% according to Conservative MP, Bob Blackman. Most people said they had not formed an opinion of Ms Badenoch yet, according to a YouGov poll. But 40 per cent of those questioned said they disliked her. Former justice secretary Robert Buckland said that as a leader Ms Badenoch “will be an excellent person to work with”, having seen her strong character and abilities first-hand when they worked in government together. “She knows that the party’s values need to be reset and that we’ve got to win trust as without trust, we don’t get anywhere in terms of electoral success,” he added. “I think she better understands that more than most and that’s why she deserved to win.” The role as opposition leader was an “unenviable task” and Ms Badenoch “will not be under any doubt about the scale of work ahead to win back power”, he added. “She is the person who had more MP support than any other in the leadership race so people need to knuckle down and get on with the job of opposing the government, not opposing each other.” He added that he hoped a “new phase in politics” would see Ms Badenoch unite the party and “the Tories regrouping”. He also suggested that she listens to think tanks and policy units who have the expertise to provide her with new and innovative policies. “It’s going to be very hard and unglamorous, but I believe Kemi has the strength of spirit to do it,” he said