By Olusegun Adeniyi
In the age in which we live, parents are able to choose their child’s country of birth. Assuming they have the financial means to do so. In most cases, it could also be a path to the acquisition of citizenship of those countries. But no matter how rich parents are, the ancestry of these children is already established beyond anybody’s control. Although most people accept this reality, the Leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, Mrs Kemi Badenoch (Nee Adegoke), seems to be living with the pain that while she was born in Wimbledon, London, her ancestry will forever be traced to Nigeria. And it seems she cannot handle that.
When, some years ago, Badenoch started her career in Nigerian-bashing as a political ladder to whatever she wished to become in the UK, I felt it was unnecessary to attack her. In fact, I ‘defended’ her on a few platforms. For me, her behaviour was not much different from that of the late President Muhammadu Buhari who was also obsessed with using a few dishonest Nigerians as totems for his holier-than-thou political disposition. On 5th February 2016, for instance, the London Telegraph published a report with the headline, “Nigerians’ reputation for crime has made them unwelcome in Britain, says country’s president”. The story, which immediately provoked outrage among many Nigerians, especially those in the Diaspora, had as its rider: “Muhammadu Buhari tells Telegraph that too many Nigerians are in jail abroad – and that they shouldn’t try to claim asylum”.
If a man we elected to preside over our affairs could sell us cheap, why should we blame a ‘foreigner’ for doing the same? That was my reasoning at the time. However, Badenoch is now carrying her offering beyond the sacred place, as the Yoruba—the ethnic group she still claims to belong—would surmise. She has turned Nigeria into a punching bag, based on the mistaken belief that the surest path to becoming the next Prime Minister is to couch the campaign message as not wanting her beloved UK to be like Nigeria that has failed to harness its human and material resources for the advancement of the people.
From growing up hearing “neighbours scream as they are being burgled and beaten – and wondering if your home will be next” to how she was using a machete to cut the grass at Federal Government Girls College, Sagamu to having to “fetch buckets of water”, every real and imagined experience of her formative years in Nigeria has become a campaign tool for Badenoch who does not see anything good in our country. The concern now is that there is no lie too outlandish for her to tell in her desperate bid to secure the acceptance of her ‘British people’.
In a recent interview on CNN with Fareed Zakaria, Badenoch claimed that being female precludes her children from automatic Nigerian citizenships (which is a lie) to make the point that it was unacceptable for people to ‘Japa’ to her country (Britain) from our country. “So, you say to somebody who’s coming from Nigeria and wants to create a little mini-Nigeria in Britain – ‘No, that is not right.’ And Nigerians would not tolerate that. That’s not something that many countries would accept,” Badenoch said to explain why she would be ruthless on the issue of immigration if she becomes the Prime Minister.
Every time Badenoch goes on the offensive against Nigeria, it becomes clear that she suffers from a crisis of identity. She appears to confuse what she wishes she were with what she truly is. What I find interesting is that she is so lacking in self-awareness that she doesn’t even know that many of her ‘compatriots’ are laughing at her. In February this year, following the claim that Prime Minister Keir Starmer took her counsel to cut the aid budget, the latter responded in a rather dismissive manner that could not have been more apt. But let’s take only the punchline which was a not-so-subtle character profile of the leader of opposition: “She (Badenoch) has appointed herself, I think, the saviour of Western civilization. It’s a desperate search for relevance.”
In this ‘desperate search for relevance’, Badenoch can hardly complete a two-minute interview without alluding to Nigeria—a country she has publicly denounced and disowned. There is a reason why. I may not be a psychologist, but this pattern of behaviour suggests that she may be suffering from ‘superiority complex’, a delusional disorder that serves as a defence mechanism against feelings of inadequacy. Superiority complex, according to Mike E. King (a licensed psychologist who specializes in existential hypnosis and psychotherapy), arises “from a deep-seated feeling of inferiority or lack of self-esteem” in the process of struggling to ‘belong’. Constant challenges posed by society and the media, King added, may cause such an individual “to have unrealistic expectations that when not met, may lead to narcissistic behaviour and an exaggerated sense of self-importance not supported by the facts.”
From all I have read on the subject in recent days, a person with a superiority complex is inwardly insecure. Hence, they obsess about status either as individuals or within some collective, in this instance, country. Since Badenoch craves the validation of the British white establishment for social advancement, she has to talk down her own people. That explains why her worldview centres around preventing the nationals of less developed countries from coming to the UK while the poor of ‘her own society’ are undeserving of attention. In a speech setting out her plans as Conservative leader last month, Badenoch said it is too easy for people to claim benefits in the UK so she highlighted proposals to restrict welfare payments in the country. I am aware of the ideological leaning of the party she leads but Badenoch’s lack of empathy is so galling that one ought to feel sorry for her. Like the few ‘privileged’ black nationals during the apartheid era in South Africa who distanced themselves from their people, Badenoch will ultimately realise it is better to seek respect than acceptance when it comes to social hierarchy.
I have no problem with whatever Badenoch plans to do in her adopted country. And I don’t take issue with her not wanting to identify with Nigeria. But she must leave us to carry our cross alone. Nigeria doesn’t need her drama. In his column on Tuesday, Reuben Abati contrasted the behaviour of Badenoch with that of Rene Wakama and the female basketball players she leads in D’Tigress. Wakama and most of the players who just won the Afro Basketball title for a record successive 5th time are Diaspora Nigerians (some second or third generation) who also hold other passports. But they are not like our local ‘Briton’ who, according to Abati, is “struggling to wear a white mask, spitting on her heritage and ancestry, to please white folks.” Badenoch—who incidentally is a first-generation ‘European’—“is even more racist than anyone else who the label fits. When the mask is lifted, what is found is just sheer hypocrisy, opportunism, and a confused identity syndrome that may require the attention of a shrink.”
While certain forms of identity are rooted in history, they can also be a product of conscious choice. Students of the Bible would agree considering how Moses chose not to be regarded as a prince of Egypt even when he was raised in the palace of the Pharaoh. The small point, which Moses must also have recognised, is that no matter what we call ourselves, people know who we truly are. Badenoch is trying too hard in her desperation to be ‘the saviour of Western civilization’. Unfortunately for her, the people she is trying to please can see through her fickleness. Besides, she may indeed need help, as suggested by Abati. It is possible that her Nigerian experience goes beyond the ‘fetching buckets of water’ and ‘cutting the grass’ as she wants the public to believe. There may be something deeper she is not telling us. Her behaviour is just not normal.
Since globalization has created a generation for whom attachment to nation space and cultural roots now counts for less than material fulfillment, I don’t think anybody begrudges Badenoch her ‘good fortune’ of becoming a ‘British’ woman by winning the birth lottery. However, she must remember that there are many other people with Nigerian ancestry who hold high political positions in the Diaspora yet do not indulge themselves in throwing darts at the rest of us.
Incidentally, there is also a character trait common among some black people in the diaspora which Badenoch exemplifies. It borders on Afro-pessimism and the politics of race. These are blacks who believe that the best way to be accepted by white people is to run down their fellow black people. It is often common in workplaces where there is stiff competition for jobs. I find it quite amusing that Badenoch took offense with cutting grass while in secondary school in Nigeria. In case she needs reminding, that was one of the codes of discipline institutionalised by her British ‘forefathers’ who ran most of our secondary schools in the colonial days.
The brand of self-loathing and identity inferiority being projected by Badenoch is outdated, even among the real British people she is trying to impress. Her present mindset belongs to a decadent phase of colonialism and is founded on ignorance and bad education. The most sophisticated and accomplished politicians in the West have been taught to respect the best in every country, nationality and culture. Most discerning people, voters inclusive, can see through her sometimes divisive and mostly desperate attempts to use demonizing Nigeria as a ladder to higher ambition. It is a form of self-sabotage that is dangerous for anybody aspiring for leadership. She needs to grow up. As for her political ambition to be the British Prime Minister, I can only wish Badenoch well, even though most people see her as no more than a placeholder in the Conservative Party that will soon elect a more credible person to lead them.
It is unlikely that the British people will run the risk of elevating a self-hating bigot to the office of Prime Minister. The earlier Badenoch realises that the better for her peace of mind.
