Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has slammed British Conservative politician Kemi Badenoch over her recent comments on Nigeria’s citizenship laws, accusing her of hypocrisy and interference in the country’s internal affairs.

 

Badenoch, who is of Nigerian descent and currently serves as the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, made the remarks during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. She lamented that, as a woman, she is unable to pass on Nigerian citizenship to her children, describing the country’s citizenship acquisition process as “virtually impossible.”

 

“It’s virtually impossible, for example, 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,” Badenoch stated. “Yet loads of Nigerians come to the UK and stay for a relatively free period of time, acquire British citizenship. We need to stop being naive,” she added.

 

Reacting to her remarks, Senator Sani took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, questioning why Badenoch was concerned about Nigerian citizenship when her public and political conduct indicates a clear disassociation from her Nigerian heritage.

 

“Why should Kemi Badenoch be bothered about getting a Nigerian citizenship for her offspring from a country she rebuked and rejected?” Sani wrote. “She should just enjoy her adopted home and leave us alone in our father’s home,” he added.

 

Badenoch’s comments have sparked mixed reactions across social media, with some backing her stance on citizenship reforms, while others, like Sani, viewed her statements as ill-informed and dismissive of her ancestral roots.

 

The exchange brings renewed attention to Nigeria’s gender-discriminatory citizenship laws, which currently prevent women from transferring nationality to their children or foreign spouses on the same terms as men — a provision many activists have long called on the government to amend.