Kemi Badenoch says she does not feel Nigerian and no longer has passport
When the country's economy collapsed in the 1990s, her parents took advantage of her British passport to get her out, sending her at the age of 16 to live with a family friend in south London to continue her education.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch talking to members of the media during a visit to the The Royal Welsh Show at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd (Jacob King/PA)
She said she had not renewed her Nigerian passport in two decades in an interview with the Rosebud podcast.
'I have not renewed my Nigerian passport, I think, not since the early 2000s.
'I don't identify with it any more, most of my life has been in the UK and I've just never felt the need to.'
She said she had to get a visa to visit the country when her father died, which she described as a 'big fandango'.
'I'm Nigerian through ancestry, by birth, despite not being born there because of my parents… but by identity I'm not really.
'I know the country very well, I have a lot of family there, and I'm very interested in what happens there.
'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,' she said.
The North West Essex MP said her early experiences in Nigeria shaped her political outlook, including 'why I don't like socialism'.
'And I remember never quite feeling that I belonged there,' she added.
The Tory leader said the reason she returned to the UK as a teenager was a 'a very sad one'.
'It was that my parents thought: 'There is no future for you in this country'.'
She has not experienced racial prejudice in Britain 'in any meaningful form', she said.
'I knew I was going to a place where I would look different to everybody, and I didn't think that that was odd,' she said.
'What I found actually quite interesting was that people didn't treat me differently, and it's why I'm so quick to defend the UK whenever there are accusations of racism.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Swinney brands Gaza crisis ‘genocide' after Fringe show disrupted
The protesters urged the First Minister to describe the crisis as a genocide and stop state funding for arms companies. The First Minister sat quietly during the protests (Craig Paton/PA) Speaking to journalists after the event, the First Minister said: 'It's quite clear that there is a genocide in Palestine – it can't be disputed. 'I have seen reports of terrible atrocities which have the character of being genocide. 'I've expressed that and obviously it's not reached all those individuals, but that's my feeling.' The Scottish Government has also been criticised for – while not funding directly the manufacturing of munitions – providing money for apprenticeships at firms which build weapons. But the First Minister said the Government's commercial arm Scottish Enterprise has the 'strictest assessments imaginable about the purpose and the use of public expenditure in companies who may be related to defence industries'. Pushed on providing money for staff who could potentially build munitions, the First Minister added: 'We're trying to enable companies to diversify their activities, that's the purpose. The First Minister sat quietly during the interruptions (Craig Paton/PA) 'That's why the due diligence checks are applied and they are applied unreservedly.' Throughout the show, groups of attendees stood up, holding signs which spelled the word 'genocide', and heckled the First Minister. As the event continued, the interruptions became more forceful, before two groups stood at the same time, angrily shouting at the First Minister and chanting slogans such as 'call it genocide'. Members of his security team stood in front of the stage, stopping protesters from approaching the First Minister, before three uniformed police officers arrived at the venue to usher the protesters out. I still remember the bus ride to my first Edinburgh Festival show as a teenager, with my late mother – not knowing it would spark a lifelong love of culture. As the Festival season starts, I want every community in Scotland to have that same access to a booming cultural scene. — John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) August 2, 2025 During the tense exchange, which lasted several minutes, a number of the crowd – who were not protesting – appeared to be in tears. A final disruption came from one woman in the crowd, who asked the First Minister why he had not responded to her letter about heavy metal band Disturbed playing at the Hydro in Glasgow. The band's lead singer David Draiman has been criticised after being pictured signing an Israeli bomb. The woman asked the First Minister why he did not speak out on Disturbed playing at the city's biggest venue, when he said it would be inappropriate for Irish band Kneecap to play the TRNSMT festival after comments members of the band had made about Tory MPs. The First Minister said his comments on Kneecap had come due to questions from the media and he 'didn't particularly' want to speak about the band earlier this year, adding that he did not want to choose what art people do and do not consume. The woman became increasingly angry with the First Minister's response and was eventually dragged from the venue by a police officer, whom she branded a 'thug'.
Western Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Western Telegraph
Swinney brands Gaza crisis ‘genocide' after Fringe show disrupted
Police were called to the Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh after the First Minister was interrupted seven times by six different groups of protesters during a conversation with comedian Susan Morrison. The protesters urged the First Minister to describe the crisis as a genocide and stop state funding for arms companies. The First Minister sat quietly during the protests (Craig Paton/PA) Speaking to journalists after the event, the First Minister said: 'It's quite clear that there is a genocide in Palestine – it can't be disputed. 'I have seen reports of terrible atrocities which have the character of being genocide. 'I've expressed that and obviously it's not reached all those individuals, but that's my feeling.' The Scottish Government has also been criticised for – while not funding directly the manufacturing of munitions – providing money for apprenticeships at firms which build weapons. But the First Minister said the Government's commercial arm Scottish Enterprise has the 'strictest assessments imaginable about the purpose and the use of public expenditure in companies who may be related to defence industries'. Pushed on providing money for staff who could potentially build munitions, the First Minister added: 'We're trying to enable companies to diversify their activities, that's the purpose. The First Minister sat quietly during the interruptions (Craig Paton/PA) 'That's why the due diligence checks are applied and they are applied unreservedly.' Throughout the show, groups of attendees stood up, holding signs which spelled the word 'genocide', and heckled the First Minister. As the event continued, the interruptions became more forceful, before two groups stood at the same time, angrily shouting at the First Minister and chanting slogans such as 'call it genocide'. Members of his security team stood in front of the stage, stopping protesters from approaching the First Minister, before three uniformed police officers arrived at the venue to usher the protesters out. I still remember the bus ride to my first Edinburgh Festival show as a teenager, with my late mother – not knowing it would spark a lifelong love of culture. As the Festival season starts, I want every community in Scotland to have that same access to a booming cultural scene. — John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) August 2, 2025 During the tense exchange, which lasted several minutes, a number of the crowd – who were not protesting – appeared to be in tears. A final disruption came from one woman in the crowd, who asked the First Minister why he had not responded to her letter about heavy metal band Disturbed playing at the Hydro in Glasgow. The band's lead singer David Draiman has been criticised after being pictured signing an Israeli bomb. The woman asked the First Minister why he did not speak out on Disturbed playing at the city's biggest venue, when he said it would be inappropriate for Irish band Kneecap to play the TRNSMT festival after comments members of the band had made about Tory MPs. The First Minister said his comments on Kneecap had come due to questions from the media and he 'didn't particularly' want to speak about the band earlier this year, adding that he did not want to choose what art people do and do not consume. The woman became increasingly angry with the First Minister's response and was eventually dragged from the venue by a police officer, whom she branded a 'thug'.
Glasgow Times
3 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Swinney brands Gaza crisis ‘genocide' after Fringe show disrupted
Police were called to the Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh after the First Minister was interrupted seven times by six different groups of protesters during a conversation with comedian Susan Morrison. The protesters urged the First Minister to describe the crisis as a genocide and stop state funding for arms companies. The First Minister sat quietly during the protests (Craig Paton/PA) Speaking to journalists after the event, the First Minister said: 'It's quite clear that there is a genocide in Palestine – it can't be disputed. 'I have seen reports of terrible atrocities which have the character of being genocide. 'I've expressed that and obviously it's not reached all those individuals, but that's my feeling.' The Scottish Government has also been criticised for – while not funding directly the manufacturing of munitions – providing money for apprenticeships at firms which build weapons. But the First Minister said the Government's commercial arm Scottish Enterprise has the 'strictest assessments imaginable about the purpose and the use of public expenditure in companies who may be related to defence industries'. Pushed on providing money for staff who could potentially build munitions, the First Minister added: 'We're trying to enable companies to diversify their activities, that's the purpose. The First Minister sat quietly during the interruptions (Craig Paton/PA) 'That's why the due diligence checks are applied and they are applied unreservedly.' Throughout the show, groups of attendees stood up, holding signs which spelled the word 'genocide', and heckled the First Minister. As the event continued, the interruptions became more forceful, before two groups stood at the same time, angrily shouting at the First Minister and chanting slogans such as 'call it genocide'. Members of his security team stood in front of the stage, stopping protesters from approaching the First Minister, before three uniformed police officers arrived at the venue to usher the protesters out. I still remember the bus ride to my first Edinburgh Festival show as a teenager, with my late mother – not knowing it would spark a lifelong love of culture. As the Festival season starts, I want every community in Scotland to have that same access to a booming cultural scene. — John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) August 2, 2025 During the tense exchange, which lasted several minutes, a number of the crowd – who were not protesting – appeared to be in tears. A final disruption came from one woman in the crowd, who asked the First Minister why he had not responded to her letter about heavy metal band Disturbed playing at the Hydro in Glasgow. The band's lead singer David Draiman has been criticised after being pictured signing an Israeli bomb. The woman asked the First Minister why he did not speak out on Disturbed playing at the city's biggest venue, when he said it would be inappropriate for Irish band Kneecap to play the TRNSMT festival after comments members of the band had made about Tory MPs. The First Minister said his comments on Kneecap had come due to questions from the media and he 'didn't particularly' want to speak about the band earlier this year, adding that he did not want to choose what art people do and do not consume. The woman became increasingly angry with the First Minister's response and was eventually dragged from the venue by a police officer, whom she branded a 'thug'.
