You can remove ‘Kemi’ from your name – VP Shettima slams UK’s Badenoch ‘for disparaging Nigeria

Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has hit out at the newly elected United Kingdom’s Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch.

Shettima accused Badenoch of disparaging her country of origin, Nigeria.

The Vice President spoke on Monday at the 10th Annual Migration Dialogue at the State House in Abuja.

In 2022, Badenoch, then United Kingdom Prime Minister hopeful, accused Nigerian politicians of using public funds for their private matters.

And after she was elected as UK Conservative Party leader in November 2024, the Nigerian government, through the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, was said to have tried to reach out to Badenoch.

The Chairman of NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said her office received no response from Badenoch’s.

Speaking on Monday, Shettima said, “Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British Labour or Conservative Party. We are proud of her in spite of her efforts at denigrating her nation of origin.

“She is entitled to her own opinions; she has even every right to remove the Kemi from her name but that does not underscore the fact that the greatest black nation on earth is the nation called Nigeria.

“One out of every three, four black men is a Nigerian and by 2050, Nigeria will support the United States, and will be the third most populous nation on earth.”

The former Borno State Governor was highlighting the significant roles migrants play in shaping society and economic growth.