…as Kemi Badenoch describes her time at the Federal Government Girls’ College in Sagamu, Ogun State, as a traumatic ordeal filled with “forced labour”.
LAGOS, NIGERIA – The iNews Times | British Conservative Party leader and UK cabinet minister, Kemi Badenoch, has sparked a fresh wave of outrage following her latest remarks condemning her educational experience in Nigeria, likening it to “being in prison.”
In a widely circulated video, Badenoch described her time at the Federal Government Girls’ College in Sagamu, Ogun State, as a traumatic ordeal filled with “forced labour” and harsh conditions. “I went to a secondary school called a Federal Government girls’ school in a place called Sagamu. And that was like being in prison,” she said. “Using a machete to cut grass and fetching buckets of water was part of the daily grind.”
Her comments, which come amidst a string of past controversial remarks about Nigeria, have been met with anger from many Nigerians who see her statements as not only inaccurate but also dismissive of the country that shaped her formative years.
Born in Wimbledon, London, in 1980, Kemi Badenoch spent most of her childhood in Nigeria and the United States before returning to the UK at age 16. Despite this, she has consistently distanced herself from her Nigerian identity, saying in a podcast interview on August 1, 2025: “I’m Nigerian through ancestry… but by identity, I’m not really.” She revealed that she has not renewed her Nigerian passport in over 20 years.
A Pattern of Provocation
Kemi Badenoch’s latest comments add to a growing list of disparaging statements about Nigeria, made in both political and media appearances:
• During her campaign speech for the Conservative Party leadership in 2024, she painted Nigeria as a nation consumed by fear and insecurity: “You cannot understand it unless you’ve lived it… Waking up at every sound, listening to neighbours being burgled and wondering if your home would be next.”
• In a CNN interview with Fareed Zakaria, she lamented that her children cannot inherit Nigerian citizenship because she is a woman, using it as an example to critique what she called “cultures where women are treated as second-class citizens.”
• In another striking comment, Kemi Badenoch warned that the UK could suffer the same fate as Nigeria if it fails to implement reforms, claiming: “I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer… I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments.”
Nigeria When It Was Convenient
Critics are quick to point out the contrast between Kemi Badenoch’s current rhetoric and her political tone during her earlier campaigns. In her 2010 run for a seat in the UK Parliament, she openly appealed to the Nigerian community for support, emphasizing her roots and association with Nigeria.
In one campaign message, she wrote: “Nigerians have been fantastic. My immediate circle of friends, ex-schoolmates, their friends, and all our families have really rallied around… This is a chance to have someone with real influence over British-Nigerian relations.”
Double Standards?
In December 2024, she recounted a negative experience with Nigerian police officers, claiming they robbed her brother of his shoes and wristwatch. “The police in Nigeria would rob us,” she said in an interview with The Free Press. “It’s a very poor country, so people do all sorts of things.”
For many observers, Badenoch’s comments reflect a pattern of leveraging her Nigerian background when politically expedient, while otherwise using it as a cautionary tale to advance right-wing arguments in the UK.
Growing Backlash
Public figures, educators, and Nigerians on social media have condemned her portrayal of Nigerian education and society, calling it reductive, condescending, and politically motivated. Alumni of FGGC Sagamu have begun issuing responses challenging her description of the school and urging her to show more respect for her roots.
For now, Kemi Badenoch remains unapologetic – a stance consistent with her political brand.
But as her star continues to rise in British politics, the backlash from her past may increasingly haunt her future.
