Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party and the United Kingdom’s opposition leader, has stated that she no longer identifies with Nigeria, despite her Nigerian ancestry.
Speaking on the Rosebud podcast, Badenoch explained that although she grew up in Lagos and has deep knowledge of the country, she has not renewed her Nigerian passport since the early 2000s and no longer feels a sense of national identity with Nigeria.
“I’m Nigerian through ancestry, by birth despite not being born there because of my parents, but by identity, I’m not really,” she said.
The 45-year-old politician said that most of her life has been in the UK and that her identity is now shaped by her family in Britain — her husband, children, and extended relatives.
“Home is where my now family is,” she added.
Badenoch, who has often spoken about her experiences growing up in Nigeria, also noted that she never truly felt like she belonged there and recalled how corruption and fear shaped her early environment in Lagos.
