British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said she no longer sees herself as Nigerian by identity and has not held a Nigerian passport for more than 20 years.
Speaking on the Rosebud podcast hosted by Gyles Brandreth, Badenoch reflected on her Nigerian roots and upbringing but made it clear she doesn’t personally identify with the nationality.
“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.
Born in Wimbledon, London in 1980, Badenoch spent parts of her childhood in both Nigeria and the United States before returning to the United Kingdom at age 16. Despite her ties to Nigeria, she expressed a long-standing sense of emotional distance.
“I know the country very well, I have a lot of family there, and I’m very interested in what happens there,” she added.
She recalled her early challenges after moving back to the UK and having to navigate life independently as a teenager.
“The toughest thing I had to do was to fend for myself at 18.”
Badenoch also opened up about never feeling completely at home during her time in Nigeria.
“Never quite feeling that I belonged there.”
Now firmly rooted in the UK, she described her current sense of belonging.
“But home is where my now family is, and my now family is my children, it’s my husband and my brother and his children, in-laws.
The Conservative party is very much part of my family, my extended family, I call it.”
Reflecting on her citizenship status, she noted how surprised others were to learn she had British citizenship from birth.
“Finding out that I did have that British citizenship was a marvel to so many of my contemporaries, so many of my peers.”
