Kemi Badenoch Snubbed Us Many Times, We Won’t Force Her To Be Nigerian – Abike Dabiri

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), recently shared that her office attempted to reach out to Kemi Badenoch, the newly elected leader of the UK's Conservative Party, but has not received any response.

Speaking on The Morning Brief on Channels Television, Dabiri-Erewa addressed Badenoch’s apparent reluctance to engage with her Nigerian heritage publicly, stating that Nigeria would not impose this recognition upon her if she chooses otherwise.

“It depends on if she identifies the Nigerianess in her. We have reached out to her once or twice without any response, so we don’t force people to accept to be Nigerian,” she said.


Dabiri-Erewa emphasized that NiDCOM has always welcomed engagement with Nigerians abroad who connect with their roots.


She cited the story of Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Adetshina who reconnected with Nigeria after facing struggles in South Africa.

“If you appreciate the Nigerianess in you and you want to work with us, we are open to everybody, but we cannot force you to appreciate the Nigerianess in you. You remember the Miss Universe Nigeria in South Africa.

Until she got into a little problem with South Africa she identified with Nigeria, and she identified with Nigeria, came to Nigeria and we hosted her. As long as that blood is in you, you are a Nigerian.

“So, it depends on Kemi to decide whether appreciates the Nigerianess in her, whether she wants to work with Nigeria, but we cannot force anybody,” she added.

Kemi Badenoch, born in London in 1980, spent parts of her childhood in Lagos and the United States, where her mother worked as a lecturer.


At the age of 16, she moved back to the UK to live with a family friend due to the worsening political and economic conditions in Nigeria, which had impacted her family.

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Posted: at 7-11-2024 05:53 AM (1 month ago) | Addicted Hero

Leave her alone, let her be. Where were you guys when she was striving. Now she has attain a certain height and you guys want her to identify with your useless politics in Nigeria. Sickening

Posted: at 7-11-2024 06:23 AM (1 month ago) | Addicted Hero

Glory hunters

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Posted: at 7-11-2024 08:19 AM (1 month ago) | Addicted Hero

We'll wait for her when she need votes from the Nigerian community in the UK in 2027, if she is still leader by then.

Posted: at 7-11-2024 12:12 PM (1 month ago) | Gistmaniac

Kemi has been working very hard for her career. Abike Dabiri wants to stain her record with ineptitude. The President, NASS members and senior Government Officials run to Europe for medical attention, when they have malaria. Will the Europeans travel to LUTH when they are sick? By now, LUTH, UBTH, UCH, ABUTH and others should be able to treat out officials. If a British PM is sick, will he travel to Nigeria for treatment? The President is shown to be sneaking in and out of a British hospital.

Posted: at 11-11-2024 12:44 AM (1 month ago) | Upcoming