By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, has sparked controversy by claiming she cannot pass Nigerian citizenship to her children due to her gender.
The statement, made during a CNN interview with Fareed Zakaria on July 20, 2025, was part of a critique of UK immigration policies, which Badenoch described as overly lenient compared to Nigeria’s.
Badenoch, born in Wimbledon in 1980 to Nigerian Yoruba parents and raised partly in Lagos, argued that immigrants exploit the UK’s immigration system in ways their home countries would not permit.
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“Many people come to the UK and do things that would not be acceptable in their countries,” she said.
To underscore her point, she claimed, “It’s virtually impossible 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.”
This assertion is inaccurate. Section 25(1)(c) of the Nigerian Constitution grants citizenship by birth to any child born to a Nigerian parent, regardless of gender or birthplace. Badenoch’s three children, born to her and her Scottish husband, Hamish Badenoch, are eligible for Nigerian citizenship through her.
Badenoch’s remarks reignited tensions from her previous criticisms of Nigeria, including comments about corruption and insecurity, which prompted Nigerian Vice-President Kashim Shettima to suggest in December 2024 that she could “remove the Kemi from her name” if ashamed of her heritage.
When pressed by Zakaria on whether she would allow Nigerian immigrants to create a “mini-Nigeria” in the UK for cultural integration, Badenoch replied, “That’s not something many countries would accept. Nigerians would not tolerate that.”
She added that she would make British citizenship “a lot harder” to obtain if elected Prime Minister, arguing that the UK’s current system is “naive.”
Badenoch’s comments have sparked broader discussions about Nigeria’s citizenship processes, with some diaspora members highlighting bureaucratic challenges in registering citizenship for children born abroad.
However, her inaccurate claim about gender-based restrictions has drawn the most scrutiny, with critics urging her to clarify her stance.
As a former cabinet minister under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, Badenoch has positioned herself as a vocal advocate for stricter immigration policies.
Her dual British-Nigerian identity, shaped by her upbringing in Lagos and London, adds complexity to her rhetoric, raising questions about the balance between critiquing policy and representing her heritage accurately.
Kazeem Ugbodaga writes this for thr Lagos-based PM News
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