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Leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom (UK), Kemi Badenoch, is once again in the news after revealing the personal attacks she endured from British racists since becoming the first black woman to head the party, describing the scale of the abuse as “hysterical.”
Tribune Online reports that Badenoch, who has previously praised Britain multiple times as the best place in the world for black people, told the Sunday Times she had not anticipated the level of hostility that followed her election.
According to her, the criticism from fellow MPs is minimal compared to the vitriol she receives on social media, where racists target her because of her race and ethnicity.
She said: “There’s a certain cadre of people who clearly can’t cope with the fact that I won this and I’m doing it. The level of personal attacks from anonymous people it’s hysterical. Not even just from MPs. I actually don’t think it’s that many MPs. I think it’s two to three people out of 120. That’s nothing. But online as well. People used to talk about Trump derangement syndrome. I think there’s a Kemi derangement syndrome: ‘How could she possibly have done this?’.”
Badenoch, however, is no stranger to identity-related controversies. Born in Wimbledon to Nigerian parents and raised partly in Lagos before returning to Britain at 16, she has often portrayed Nigeria in ways that spark debate and, at times, outrage.
Her sharp words about the country of her parents, whether directed at its leaders, its people, or its institutions, have drawn criticism from Nigerian officials and sparked heated reactions on social media.
In this article, Tribune Online takes a look at notable times Badenoch has called out Nigeria and Nigerians in the past.
Knock on Nigeria during 2022 Conservative Party campaign
In her first bid for the Conservative Party leadership in 2022, Kemi Badenoch leaned heavily on her Nigerian upbringing as a cautionary tale.
She painted a stark picture of political corruption, failed governance, and broken systems, using her childhood experiences as evidence of what she believes happens when leaders put self-interest above service.
Her campaign speech, which linked Nigeria’s dysfunction to her own political convictions, became one of the earliest and most pointed instances where she publicly invoked Nigeria in a negative light.
She said, “I grew up in Nigeria and I saw first-hand what happens when politicians are in it for themselves, when they use public money as their private piggy banks, when they promise the earth and pollute not just the air but the whole political atmosphere with their failure to serve others.
“I saw what socialism is for millions. It’s poverty and broken dreams. I came to Britain to make my way in a country where hard work and honest endeavour can take you anywhere.”
2024 Conservative Party Conference
While speaking at the 2024 Conservative Party conference, Kemi Badenoch painted a grim picture of her childhood in Lagos, contrasting it with the relative stability of her life in the United Kingdom.
She described Nigeria as “chaotic and lawless,” recalling the constant fear that gripped her family as they listened to neighbours “scream as they were being burgled and beaten” and lived with the dread of wondering if their own home would be next.
