The Nigerian Presidency has called Kemi Badenoch’s comments regarding her Nigerian upbringing, made by the recently elected leader of the UK’s Conservative Party, a “cock and bull story.”
President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, disapproved of Badenoch’s remarks, which implied that her early years were clouded by Nigerian corruption and insecurity. Ajayi charged that Badenoch had fabricated her story to suit her political purpose.
Nigerian-born Badenoch hit the news in 2022 when she accused Nigerian lawmakers of embezzling state monies.
She also shared her own experiences in Nigeria, including allegations of mistreatment by the police and insufficient access to potable water while she was a student at the International School Lagos (ISL).
Ajayi reacted on social media, calling Badenoch’s claims deceptive and untrue.
It didn’t add up that she had to lug a desk and chair to class at ISL. She grew raised in an upper-middle-class family, with her father being a prominent doctor and her mother a university professor, thus her claim that she didn’t have clean water to drink was utterly false, Ajayi wrote on X (previously Twitter).
He also said that Badenoch’s story was full of contradictions, casting doubt on her honesty.
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The picture of poverty she presented is undermined by her upbringing in a wealthy Nigerian household, Ajayi said, dismissing her allegations of police misbehavior involving her brother as possibly false.
Following her election, Badenoch refused to interact with Nigeria’s Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), which was attacked by the presidency as indicating that she was making a conscious effort to disassociate herself from her Nigerian roots.
Some have praised Badenoch for drawing attention to problems in Nigeria, while others have accused her of exaggerating for political purposes.
