Leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch has said she cannot confer Nigerian citizenship on her children because of her gender.
Badenoch made the claim during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, where she compared Nigeria’s immigration policies with those of the UK, criticising what she described as British leniency.
She said many immigrants take advantage of the UK’s immigration system in ways that would not be tolerated in their home countries.
“There are many people who come to our country, to the UK, who do things that would not be acceptable in their countries,” Badenoch said.
When asked if she would allow a Nigerian immigrant to recreate a “mini-Nigeria” in the UK in the name of cultural integration, she replied sharply: “That is not right. Nigerians would not tolerate that. That’s not something that many countries would accept.”
To illustrate her point, the Conservative leader referenced her children’s inability to obtain Nigerian citizenship.
“It’s virtually impossible, for example, to get Nigerian citizenship. I have that citizenship by virtue of my parents, I can’t give it to my children because I’m a woman,” she said.
“Yet loads of Nigerians come to the UK and stay for a relatively free period of time, acquire British citizenship. We need to stop being naive.”
Badenoch, who has three children with her husband Hamish Badenoch, also declared that she would make acquiring British citizenship “a lot harder” if elected Prime Minister.
Born in the UK in 1980 to Yoruba parents, Badenoch spent much of her early life in Nigeria before returning to Britain at age 16.
Before emerging as the Conservative Party leader, Badenoch served in cabinet roles under Prime Ministers Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak from 2022 to 2024.
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