London, UK— Kemi Badenoch, leader of the British Conservative Party, recently stated that although she is of Nigerian descent, she no longer identifies as Nigerian and does not hold a Nigerian passport.
Speaking on the Rosebud podcast with Gyles Brandreth, Badenoch explained that while her ancestry and part of her upbringing link her to Nigeria, she personally does not see herself as Nigerian.
“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 shared that she has not renewed her Nigerian passport for over twenty years. Despite her familial ties and deep interest in Nigerian affairs, she expressed a sense of detachment.
“I know the country very well, I have a lot of family there, and I’m very interested in what happens there,” she added.
Badenoch spent much of her childhood between Nigeria and the United States before moving permanently to the UK at 16. She is among the last to receive British birthright citizenship prior to its abolition in 1981 under Margaret Thatcher’s government.
Reflecting on her youth, she described the challenges she faced, stating that fending for herself at 18 was the toughest experience.
“Never quite feeling that I belonged there,” Badenoch said about her time living in Nigeria.
She described her current concept of home as where her immediate family resides—her husband, children, brother, and extended family—and considers the Conservative Party an extension of that family.
“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.”
On discovering her British citizenship status, she remarked with some surprise how many of her peers were unaware they held the same.
By Taiwo Olatinwo | August 2, 2025
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