I’m unable to pass Nigerian citizenship to my kids yet Nigerians easily become Brits in UK – Kemi Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK’s Conservative Party, has expressed frustration over her inability to confer Nigerian citizenship on her children due to her gender — even as she argues that Nigerians can obtain British citizenship with relative ease.

Speaking during an interview on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS on Sunday, Badenoch compared immigration systems in Nigeria and the UK, claiming Britain is often too lenient.

When Zakaria asked if she would support efforts by Nigerian immigrants to recreate their cultural communities — “a mini-Nigeria” — in Britain, she firmly rejected the idea.

“That is not right. Nigerians would not tolerate that. That’s not something that many countries would accept,” she said.“There are many people who come to our country, to the UK, who do things that would not be acceptable in their countries.”

To illustrate what she sees as a double standard, Badenoch pointed to her own experience as a British-born woman of Nigerian descent.

“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 and her Scottish husband, Hamish Badenoch, have three children together.

However, her claim appears to contradict Nigeria’s constitution. According to Section 25(1)(c), anyone born outside the country is eligible for Nigerian citizenship by birth if either parent is Nigerian — regardless of gender.

Born in London in 1980 to Yoruba parents, Badenoch spent much of her early life in Nigeria before returning to the UK as a teenager. She later adopted her husband’s surname after marriage and has served in the cabinets of former prime ministers Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.

Her rise in UK politics has been closely tied to her tough stance on immigration. In her CNN appearance, she reiterated her commitment to tightening British immigration policies.

“It would be a lot harder,” she said of acquiring UK citizenship under her leadership.

(THE CABLE)