Nigerian-born, UK-based lawyer and women’s rights activist Shola Mos-Shogbamimu has strongly criticised Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, accusing her of “pressing her self-destruct button” following recent remarks in which Badenoch distanced herself from Nigeria.
Badenoch, who recently appeared on the Rosebud Podcast, revealed that she has not renewed her Nigerian passport in more than 20 years, declaring she no longer identifies with or feels connected to her country of birth.
“I’m Nigerian through ancestry … but by identity, I’m not really,” Badenoch said, explaining that “home” is now where her family and political life in the UK are based.
The comments have stirred reactions, with many Nigerians and members of the diaspora calling her statements dismissive of her heritage.
Appearing on Leading Britain’s Conversation (LBC) on Sunday, Mos-Shogbamimu accused Badenoch of embarking on a “pick-me expedition” to appeal to a particular segment of white voters.
“Absolutely nothing. Kemi Badenoch has clearly pressed her self-destruct button and is taking a humiliation tour that, quite frankly, the public should just sit back and enjoy because it’s quite entertaining,” Mos-Shogbamimu said.
She argued that Badenoch’s attempt to reshape her identity for political gain has made her “more unlikeable and unrelatable” to the very audience she is seeking to win over.
“This is her pick-me expedition in which she’s trying to sell her back story, but she’s only succeeded in making herself more unlikeable and unrelatable every single time she opens her mouth,” the lawyer continued.
Mos-Shogbamimu further accused the UK opposition leader of lacking authenticity, saying:
“Kemi Badenoch has no story to tell, no hardship to sell, and no roots of authenticity. The one thing that makes her authentic, she just thoroughly rejected.”
The activist also criticised Badenoch’s portrayal of her upbringing, noting that she could have presented her boarding school experiences as a story of resilience. Instead, Mos-Shogbamimu said, Badenoch “chose to be a 45-year-old spoilt brat with PTSD from doing chores.”
“She could have kept Nigeria out of her God-forsaken mouth, but in order to make herself palatable to certain white people, she thinks she needs to come across as more British so that they don’t say ‘go back where you came from.’ The reality is that the people she’s pandering to want to deport her as well,” Mos-Shogbamimu argued.
She warned that Badenoch’s political strategy may ultimately alienate her from both the communities she hopes to impress and her Nigerian heritage.
“She’s trying so hard to cater to a certain demographic that she doesn’t see that she becomes repugnant to them. The problem with gatekeepers like Kemi Badenoch is that they do not understand that their relevance and usefulness to white supremacy has an expiration date,” Mos-Shogbamimu concluded.
Badenoch, who has positioned herself as a prominent figure in UK politics, has yet to respond publicly to the criticism. The controversy underscores the tensions surrounding identity, heritage, and political positioning for public figures with immigrant backgrounds.
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