“Home Is Where My Life Is Now” – Kemi Badenoch Opens Up on Identity
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UK Business Secretary and prominent Conservative Party figure, Kemi Badenoch, has said she no longer identifies as Nigerian, explaining that her sense of self has evolved over the years.
Speaking candidly on a podcast, Badenoch shared that while she was born in London and spent part of her early years in Lagos, her adult life and identity have been shaped entirely in the United Kingdom.
“I haven’t renewed my Nigerian passport since the early 2000s,” she revealed. “Most of my life has been here [in the UK], and I just haven’t felt the need. I know Nigeria well, I have a lot of family there, but it’s no longer where I feel I belong.”
She added that the Conservative Party now feels like her extended family, a community she identifies with deeply.
Reflecting on her upbringing in Nigeria, Badenoch said she never quite felt at home there, even as a child. “My parents always believed there wasn’t much of a future for me in Nigeria,” she said, noting how that shaped her journey.
She also recalled the difficulty she faced getting a visa to return to Nigeria after her father passed in 2022, describing the process as “a big fandango.”
Over the years, Badenoch’s comments on Nigeria’s governance and corruption have drawn criticism from some Nigerian leaders. In response to a past statement, Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima once quipped that she could “remove the ‘Kemi’ from her name” if she wasn’t proud of her Nigerian heritage.
But Badenoch’s camp stood firm, saying she has a right to her views and “is not the PR for Nigeria.”
For her, identity isn’t about ancestry alone — it’s about where life has led her. “Home,” she said, “is where my family and future are now.”
