Aisha Yesufu slams UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch over remarks on Nigeria

Prominent social critic Aisha Yesufu has criticized UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch for her comments about Nigeria, urging her not to apply a “Nigerian poverty mentality” to diminish standards in the UK.

Yesufu’s remarks, shared on her X handle, came in response to Badenoch’s statements regarding her upbringing in Nigeria, which she described as marked by fear, insecurity, and corruption.

Badenoch, who identifies as Yoruba, reportedly added that she has “nothing in common with the northern part of Nigeria.”

Despite backlash, Badenoch has stood firm on her comments, including critiques of Nigeria’s police structure.

Yesufu countered these remarks by highlighting the UK’s role in enabling the misuse of Nigeria’s wealth, stating that such comparisons would not exist without the UK serving as a sanctuary for looted funds.

“She should grow up and move on,” Yesufu asserted, implying that Badenoch’s criticisms of Nigeria lack constructive depth and fail to account for broader systemic issues.

Yesufu wrote:

“Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch should grow up and move on! Context is everything! She was asked if she trusts the British police. How is what happened with the Nigerian police a reason for her to determine if she trusts the British police or not?

“What also brought in our poverty?

“If the UK doesn’t provide an enabling environment for people to loot Nigeria’s wealth and take it there, ‘poor’ and ‘Nigeria’ wouldn’t be in the same sentence.

“So, because the bar is low in Nigeria, it doesn’t mean she should lower the bar for their police! She should not use her Nigerian poverty mentality to lower the bar there!

“@PoliceNG, you see your life? Always disgracing us up and down!”