Born Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke in far away Wimbledon, South London. That was 44 years ago! Then, her Nigerian parents had travelled to the UK for strictly private healthcare.
That Kemi of January 2, 1980, has grown in leaps and bounds. She is now Kemi Badenoch. She married Hamish Badenoch, a Scottish banker with an Irish immigrant mother.
Both Hamish and Kemi were born in Wimbledon. That’s their common “umbilical cord.” The family name, Badenoch, is derived from the ancient tongue of Scotland, “baideanach.” Interpreted to mean, “drowned land.”
But Kemi is not in a drowned land anymore. She’s enjoying her good times as a British politician. Being Leader, Opposition and Conservative Party (Tory). She assumed the dual role in November 2024. She didn’t come across it on a gold platter.
She worked for it. Indeed, she laboured for it. You can now understand why she is spitting fire like the ancient Alaafin Sango, home and abroad. She’s shouldering Britain’s shadow (alternative) government. That is the heavy load (burden?) she has on her head as we speak.
Suddenly, however, something happened. Something caved in. And our fragile centre couldn’t hold again. It has been struggling hard to bring itself together again. All to no avail. The harder it strived, the more it scattered, crumbled.
The disquiet is becoming louder by the second. It festers unrestrained, unrestricted. It catches fire wherever it reaches. And Kemi is drawing friends to herself; gathering foes in almost equal intensity.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa clearly stirred the hornet’s nest. That might not be her intention. But she did it inadvertently all the same. She holds sway as Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM). She didn’t see far more than she saw.
She wouldn’t have projected it would go this embarrassing far. See, it has become a “rofo rofo” fight of some ugly sort. Had she known. Perhaps, she wouldn’t have done what she did. Innocence, naivety on display.
Never mind. We are glad she did what she did. Our leaders should pick useful lessons from this. That is if they see any.
Dabiri-Erewa wanted to prove a point. In the process she goofed. Kemi Badenoch isn’t somebody she could bluff with a wave of hand. She thought she would fall for cheap bait. She is a hard nut to crack. She wouldn’t be exploited and used. She is far above petty politics of low value.
Dabiri-Erewa is in another world of her own. They are far poles apart, at parallel to each other. Such poles don’t meet. They represent different interests, visions and missions.
Dabiri-Erewa didn’t factor all these. Blindly, she launched herself into it. And the result? Devastating, destructive, disastrous and ruinous. She was understandably frustrated. She voiced it in a glaring exhibition. Who would not?
She was enthusiastic Kemi is ruling the British waves. She reached out to her. But she received a cold shoulder. She was demoralised. She couldn’t hide it. You may choose to pity Dabiri-Erewa. You may not be wrong.
This is her grudge. Her reason for taking up arms against Kemi: “We have reached out to her once or twice without any response, so we don’t force people to accept being Nigerian. It depends on whether she identifies with the Nigerian part of her.
“If she appreciates her Nigerian roots and wants to work with us, we are open to everyone. But we cannot force anyone to recognise their Nigerian identity. As long as the blood is in you, you are a Nigerian.”
Highly disappointed, Dabiri-Erewa switched off from Kemi. She resigned to fate and her faith. But she erred. Kemi is very much aware of her root and did perfectly identify with it.
She knows the Nigerian blood of Yoruba descent flows in her veins. There is no ambiguity. But not the way Dabiri-Erewa perceives it. There is a huge gab in the way both discern Nigeria and Nigerians.
She had to come out of her shell. She responded to Dabiri-Erewa’s overture forcefully. Some may not like it. But that is what she is. That is her personality, her real character. That, you can’t deny her.
Detest her if you dare: “I find it interesting that everybody defines me as being Nigerian. I identify less with the country than with the specific ethnicity (Yoruba).”
Kemi is bold and clear in her mind. She is not given to pretence and make-believe: “I have nothing in common with the people from the North of the country, the Boko Haram where Islamism is.”
She is not done yet. This is where she is going: “Being Yoruba is my true identity. I refuse to be lumped with northern people of Nigeria, who ‘were our ethnic enemies’ all in the name of being called a Nigerian.
“Somebody once told me when I was very young that my surname was a name for people who were warriors. They protected the crown, and that’s what I see myself as doing.
“I am here to protect, and I will die protecting this country because I know what’s out there.” This threw Vice President Kashim Shettima off balance. It was like a nightmare. He was burning.
He was pained to the marrow. Kemi could be that hard on her country: “Socialist nation brimming with thieving politicians and insecurity.” That was the height of it for Shettima. Dejected, he gave up on her. He vomited furiously:
“She is entitled to her own opinions. She has even every right to remove the Kemi from her name. But that does not underscore the fact that the greatest black nation on earth is the nation called Nigeria.”
Having lost out. He appealed to emotion: “Rishi Sunak, former British Prime Minister, is originally from India. A very brilliant young man, he never denigrated his nation of ancestry nor poured venom on India.”
Kemi’s spokesperson quickly shot back at Shettima. And it hit the target precisely in a terse statement: “Kemi is not interested in doing Nigeria’s PR; she is the leader of the opposition in the UK.
“She tells the truth. She tells it like it is. She’s not going to couch her words and she stands by what she says.”
It’s amazing and amusing. The image, we don’t have. The reputation, we lack in reckless abundance. Yet, we feign ignorance of all of these. We carry our shoulders high up. And crudely pretend all is well.
Our leaders are in their best element when they grandstand arrogantly. Worst still, they will want everyone to believe them. That is not reasonable. It can’t be possible. We’ve got to detest and resist you.
You can’t begrudge Kemi for taking such a firm and profound position on Nigeria. She has detected a lot of absurdities in the fake contraception loosely tagged Nigeria. And it’s repulsive and nauseating to her. She can’t stand it. She can’t bear it.
That informed her utterances. She has seen and experienced the oddities in her country of descent. Perhaps, the only country in whole universe with this inanity: The more you move to the desert in its North. The more the population increases in alarming rate.
Even more frightening. The more you more to its South with green vegetation, thick forests, rivers and ocean. The more its population decreases in scary rate.
Kemi couldn’t come to practically terms with our own type of geography. It is ridiculously loathsome and repugnant.
Landmarks, monuments, rivers, mountains demarcate boundaries and borders all over the world. Ours is an irritating exception. You see boundaries “jumping” over rivers and mountains for ulterior motives. And for wrong reasons and reasoning.
As Kemi rightly situated it. We are chunked together to the sole advantage of the North. Nothing more. It’s purely political. Very artificial. There’s no synergy, no cultural affinity, not even in our ways of life!
And the North feasts on this anomaly with relish. It’s to their greatest favour and benefit. The reason they resist any slightest attempt at righting the wrongs. We’re licking the wound, while they enjoy the bountiful booties.
Our census toed the same awkward pattern. The figures since independence have overwhelmingly been out of this world. We have been walking the truth on its head with our dishonest headcounts. None escaped controversy at the end of each fruitless exercise.
These and more are the factors that shaped Kemi’s actions and inactions. I do not think she hates Nigeria. But she abhors her ways and means of doing things. It is an abomination to her. That’s why she wants to remain: Proudly Yoruba. She’s equally proud not to simulate it.
It’s that strong resolve that made her to stand up to Shettima. She refused to be rubbished. She practically took the Vice President to the cleaners. And he was thoroughly laundered.
Shettima stepped out of his cosy bounds. Telling her to forget her ancestry? No one of Yoruba origin will take kindly to that. Such person will take the hardliner’s position Kemi took. If not harder!
And this is for Kemi. You don’t need to make public show of yourself for us to know the hard stuff you are made of. Reserve that costly energy for another day. It may come handy at some right and auspicious times. Deploy it to more productive activities. Not trading tackles with the supposedly known and unknown. So? Guide your loins accordingly.
And this may even appear naive. It’s quite expedient for Kemi to talk less in the circumstances she puts herself. She has to exercise utmost restraint, caution and discipline.
It’s very germane at this critical moment of her political career. She can’t be responding to everything that strays onto her path. She can’t be squaring up with everyone. And at any opportunity mother luck throws at her.
She’s in her incubation period. She needs to be thoroughly bred and baked. To confront the daunting challenges ahead.
The manner she prepares herself can make or mar her. She’s got to get it right now or never. She must not miss it, she can’t afford to lose it.
The tasks are Herculean, enormous and massive. All rolled into a monumental one.
You have made your points. And you are crystal clear in your mind. Now is the appropriate time to retreat. Consider a change of tactics. It may help. Be short on words. But long in action. That’s the way visionary leaders do it.
Believe it or not, the world is watching. And it’s anxious to declare its verdict. That may come earliest than envisaged. For you not to be caught unawares. Or drowned in the ocean of controversies. That depends on how loud you decide to be.
There are obvious pitfalls, potholes and landmines on your path. Be careful. Do not strike your foot against the stone. It’s a trap. He, who laughs last, laughs best.
Be rest assured. We all want you to succeed. And to succeed real good. Be convinced, we’re genuine in our resolve.
Credit: The Sun