Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, has criticized Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, for her repeated negative remarks about Nigeria.
Akinyemi accused Badenoch of using disparaging comments about her homeland as a tool to further her political ambitions.
Badenoch has faced significant backlash in Nigeria over her remarks, including calling the country a socialist state plagued by corruption and insecurity. She has also criticized the Nigerian police and spoken about the poverty she faced growing up in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city and commercial hub.
More recently, Badenoch made headlines by stating that Nigeria "destroys lives" and expressing her determination to prevent Britain from experiencing the same fate.
Reflecting on her personal experience, she said, "I know what it is like to have something and then lose it. I don’t want Britain to lose what it has. I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder, as their money disappeared with inflation. I came back to the UK at 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life. I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here."
In response, Professor Akinyemi condemned Badenoch’s approach, arguing that criticizing her country of birth was both misguided and a betrayal of her roots.
“How can the daughter of a professor at UNILAG, whose father was a medical doctor, and who attended the international school at UNILAG, make it sound like she was selling groundnuts and water in Lagos to advance her political career?” he asked during an appearance on Channels Television's Politics Today.
“She will soon realize that you don’t throw your people and your culture under the bus to advance your career,” Akinyemi continued. “It’s a mistake she will eventually learn from. Right now, there is even a right-wing party in the UK to the right of the Conservative Party. She should focus on strengthening her political profile within her party and leave Nigeria out of it."
Akinyemi concluded by saying that Badenoch was making a serious misstep in her political strategy.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0