KEMI BADENOCH SPARKS IDENTITY CONTROVERSY, AFFIRMS YORUBA HERITAGE
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GREATRIBUNTVNEWS–UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has stirred up controversy after publicly affirming her Yoruba identity and distancing herself from her Nigerian roots.
In a recent interview with The Spectator, Badenoch expressed her dismay at being identified as Nigerian, stating that she identifies more with her Yoruba heritage
This statement comes in response to criticism from Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima, who accused Badenoch of denigrating Nigeria in the British media and urged her to drop her Nigerian name.
Badenoch’s comments have sparked a fresh identity controversy, with some critics accusing her of rejecting her Nigerian roots. However, Badenoch’s spokesperson has defended her statement, saying that she is proud of her Yoruba heritage and Nigerian upbringing.
She said, “I find it interesting that everybody defines me as being Nigerian. I identity less with the country than with the specific ethnicity [Yoruba]”
“I have nothing in common with the people from the North of the country, the Boko Haram where Islamism is.
“Being a Yoruba is my true identity, and I refuse to be lumped with Northern People of Nigeria who “were our ethnic enemies ‘all in the name of being called a Nigerian ”
It’s worth noting that Badenoch was born in Wimbledon, London, to Nigerian Yoruba parents and spent part of her childhood in Lagos, Nigeria .Her complex cultural background has likely shaped her identity and informed her comments.
