"I Am Not Nigeria's Public Relations Representative" Badenoch Fires Back at Shettima Over Call to Drop Nigerian Name
By: Olufemi Orunsola
UK-born leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch has responded to Vice President Kashim Shettima’s call for her to drop her Nigerian name amid her criticisms of the state of affairs in Nigeria.
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News recalls that during her recent visit to the United States, Badenoch described Nigeria as “a place where almost everything seemed broken,” citing issues of instability and corruption within the country.
Subsequently, Her comments were met with criticisms, as Nigeria's Vice President, Kashim Shettima, labelling her remarks as disrespectful.
OTN News gathered that while delivering a speech on migration in Abuja, Shettima suggested that Badenoch might want to “remove the Kemi from her name if she did not feel pride in her ‘nation of origin.’”
He also drew a comparison between Badenoch and the UK’s first prime minister of Indian descent, Rishi Sunak, stating that Sunak “never denigrated his nation of ancestry.”
However, OTN News reports that in response to Shettima’s remarks, a spokesperson for Badenoch stated that she “stands by what she says” and made it clear that she “is not Nigeria’s public relations representative.”
The spokesperson emphasized that Badenoch “leads the opposition and takes great pride in her role in this country; she speaks the truth, and she presents things as they are and will not soften her words.”
OTN News further recalls that recently, the Director General, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa had also criticized Kemi Badenoch for what she described as the UK-born opposition leader's failure to identify with Nigeria and accord NIDCOM due attention that shows she had her roots in Nigeria.
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