Former Nigerian Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, has warned that Britain’s Conservative Party and Nigeria-raised Kemi Badenoch will soon learn the consequences of “throwing your people and your culture under the bus.”
Prof. Akinyemi, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), criticized Badenoch for denigrating Nigeria on the global stage in an attempt to “advance her political career.”
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today program on Monday, the esteemed Professor of Political Science advised Badenoch to focus on strengthening her party in Britain rather than targeting Nigeria.
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The octogenarian said, “How the daughter of a professor of UNILAG, her father who was a medical doctor, a girl who went to the international school at UNILAG would make it sound like she was selling groundnut and selling water in Lagos to advance her political career.
“She would soon learn that you don’t throw your people and your culture under the bus to advance your career. She is making a mistake but she would soon learn.
“After all, right now, there is even Right Wing political party in the United Kingdom that is even to the right of the Conservative Party. So, what she should be focusing on is how to regain that rightwing profile of the Conservative Party and leave Nigeria alone.”
Days earlier, presidential spokesman Daniel Bwala suggested that Kemi Badenoch’s harsh remarks about Nigeria were aimed at gaining favor with her party members.
In December 2024, Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima criticized Badenoch for her negative comments about Nigeria, stating that while she is entitled to her opinions, she has the right to remove “Kemi” from her name if she chooses.
In 2022, Badenoch, a UK member of parliament of Nigerian descent and a former UK Prime Minister hopeful, accused Nigerian politicians of misappropriating public funds for personal gain.
Following her election as UK Conservative Party leader in November 2024, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), revealed that her office had reached out to Badenoch but received no response.