The leader of the UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has stated that it would become more difficult for Nigerians to obtain British citizenship if she remains at the helm of leadership.
Badenoch, who was speaking during an interview with CNN on Sunday, emphasized the need to reform Britain’s immigration system, drawing a comparison between the immigration policies of Nigeria and the UK.
“Loads of Nigerians come to the UK and stay for a relatively free period of time, acquiring British citizenship. We need to stop being naive,” she said.
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“That is why under my leadership, we now have policies to make it harder to just get British citizenship. It has been too easy.”
She argued that the current system is vulnerable to abuse by immigrants, claiming that some individuals exploit the UK’s lenient policies in ways that could pose risks to national security.
When asked about her stance on the idea of Nigerian immigrants recreating a “mini Nigeria” in the UK as a form of cultural integration, Badenoch expressed strong opposition.
“That is not right. Nigerians would not tolerate that. That’s not something that many countries would accept,” she said.
“There are many people who come to our country, to the UK, who do things that would not be acceptable in their countries.”
Despite her Nigerian heritage, being born in the UK to Nigerian parents and spending part of her childhood in Nigeria, Badenoch’s comments have stirred controversy, with many critics pointing to her increasingly hardline rhetoric on immigration and her perceived shift away from her roots.
Her latest remarks have sparked widespread discussion both in the UK and Nigeria, adding to a growing list of contentious statements she has made regarding her birth country.
