BREAKING: Kemi Badenoch is playing British politics with Nigeria

British Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, came under hard criticism last week for her uncomplimentary remarks about Nigeria. People have compared her with Rishi Sunak, who became the prime minister of the UK but did not make it his duty to denigrate India, his country of ancestry, in every speech or interview.

Some have praised Badenoch for speaking the truth about Nigeria, but what Badenoch said about Nigeria had nothing to do with truth or falsehood. Badenoch was simply playing politics using Nigeria as her footstool. She was acting like a typical politician concerned about the best route to raising her chances of becoming the prime minister of the UK. She is aware that she is Black in a predominantly White country at a time when White nationalism is sweeping through Europe and North America, and immigrants are facing attacks.

For Badenoch, the way to prove that she is truly British, an insider, who deserves to be prime minister, is to distance herself from Nigeria. It is political opportunism. It works for many politicians across the world. It just worked for Donald Trump in the United States with his rhetoric of America First, Make America Great Again, close the borders, etc. In Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan used it when he pushed the I-had-no-shoes narrative. Muhammadu Buhari used it when he packaged himself as a clean and simple leader, who did not care about the good things of life and would fight against corruption.

When Badenoch contested to be a legislator for Dulwich & West Norwood in the 2010 UK general elections, she needed Nigerian votes to achieve that. Therefore, she associated with Nigerians, moderated her language, pushed her Nigerianness and sought the support of Nigerians.

In her speech at the UK Conservative Conference in October while running to be the leader of the party, she said: “I was born here (UK), but I grew up in a place where fear was everywhere. You cannot understand it unless you’ve lived it. Triple checking that all the doors and windows are locked, waking up in the night at every sound, listening as you hear your neighbour scream as they are being burgled and beaten, and wondering if your home would be next.”

In another interview, Badenoch confessed that she was born into a relatively wealthy home in January 1980 at a time when the oil boom was taking off in Nigeria (in the 1970s), and people had lots of money. Her father was a medical doctor with lots of patients in the oil industry who paid him well. Her mother was a university lecturer. They lived in Victoria Island, Lagos. In the 1980s and early 1990s before the Ibrahim Babangida regime moved the seat of government from Lagos to Abuja, Victoria Island and Ikoyi were the neighbourhoods of the richest and most influential leaders in politics and business in Nigeria. Even though the first-generation companies had their head offices in Lagos Island, the second-generation companies (banks, telecoms, consulting firms, insurance companies, etc.) as well as the embassies and high commissions have their headquarters in Victoria Island or Ikoyi even to this day. Badenoch also attended the International School University of Lagos, a premium school, and left Nigeria in 1996.

It is hard to comprehend how Nigeria of the 1980s and early 1990s was anything close to what Badenoch described above “where fear was everywhere”. Even people who lived in the regular areas of Lagos never experienced this type of fear, not to mention Victoria Island and Ikoyi, where presidents, governors and ministers, CEOs and ambassadors lived. In these neighbourhoods, the streets were very quiet. The fences were low or non-existent. The neighbourhoods were so safe and cool that sometimes it felt strange. Even at night, people moved around freely.

And by the early 2000s when I worked in Victoria Island, with our CEO and directors living in Ikoyi, these two highbrow areas were still very safe, although the security level in Nigeria had dropped lower than it was in the 80s and 90s. We worked late regularly and sometimes had events at the homes of the directors. We would close by 10 pm or 12 midnight and drive out with no iota of fear. If you drove by Bar Beach by midnight, it was still bustling with human activity. If you drove through Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Bode Thomas Street in Surulere, Allen Avenue in Ikeja or Creek Street in Apapa, you would see people milling around.

In another speech, Badenoch said: “I chose this country because here I could breathe free and be everything I wanted to be. I grew up in Nigeria and saw firsthand what happens when politicians are in it for themselves, when they use public money as their private piggybanks, when they promise the earth but 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 determined to make my way in a country where hard work and honest endeavour can take you anywhere.”

She was right about the depressing leadership in Nigeria that has impoverished the country. But what is the connection between Nigeria and socialism? Has there been a time when Nigeria ever operated like the USSR or North Korea, where the state oversaw all things, and the people had no control of their business life and choices? If by socialism, she means the government subsidising things like petrol, education, etc., then the UK is more socialist than Nigeria. In the UK, people can choose that they should resign from their work and live on welfare for years. The government pays people to stay at home for one reason or the other. The employed are taxed heavily so that those who are not working can be taken care of. That is unimaginable in Nigeria.

Also, in the UK, education is free for children up to the age of 16 (primary and secondary school level) and is compulsory by law. The government taxes workers and businesses heavily to raise money to fund the education of all children. The same thing happens in most European and North American countries. Yet, these countries regularly preach to Nigeria and other developing countries that they must remove all subsidies if they wish to progress or get access to loans.  In the UK and all Western countries too, the government makes credit available to the citizens to buy houses, cars, phones, clothing, food, etc. In Nigeria, most people pay in full to buy their houses, cars, food, clothing, etc. What is more socialist than these sorts of interventions in the lives of people?

The only thing we can decipher from those exaggerations about Nigeria from Badenoch was that it was part of the script she believed would make her win the election as the Conservative Party leader, which she has achieved.

Now contrast that to her campaign appeal in 2010 when she was aiming to be a legislator. She wrote: “As you know, I’m running for parliament in the 2010 UK general elections for Dulwich & West Norwood. The race is very tight…. There are just about 20 days to go before polling day, and Nigerians have been fantastic. My immediate circle of friends, ex-schoolmates, their friends, and all our families have really rallied around and been supportive ….

“Like you, I am sick and tired of reading that Nigerians are fraudsters, terrorists, bombing airplanes, or slaughtering each other in places like Jos…. I am asking for your help now to support a Nigerian who will improve our national image and do something great here…. This is a chance to have someone with real influence over British-Nigerian relations. It will not be about personal gain. For regular updates, please join my fan page here and my ‘Nigerians for Kemi’ mailing list by clicking here or email me for more details and forward this to as many Nigerians as you know. – Kemi.”

Then, her primary target audience was not the wider UK White voters; so, she didn’t focus on profiling Nigeria. She needed the votes of Nigerians, so she talked to them in a respectful way that would make them vote for her.