Senator Shehu Sani mocks Kemi Badenoch over rejection of Nigerian identity.

Nigerian Senator Shehu Sani has taken a jab at British Conservative politician Kemi Badenoch after she publicly stated that she no longer considers herself Nigerian.

In a sarcastic remark, Sani suggested that Badenoch should change her name from “Kemi” to “Kimberly” or even “Kim Kardashian,” since she has distanced herself from her Nigerian roots.

Badenoch made the comments during a recent appearance on the Rosebud podcast with Gyles Brandreth. She explained that while her heritage is Nigerian and she spent part of her childhood in the country, she doesn’t identify with Nigeria.

“I’m Nigerian through ancestry and birth because of my parents, but I don’t really identify as Nigerian,” she said, noting that she hasn’t renewed her Nigerian passport in over 20 years.

Although she still has family in Nigeria and follows events there, she emphasized that she feels detached from the country.

Badenoch, who was born in London in 1980 and lived in both Nigeria and the U.S. before returning to the UK at 16, said her sense of identity is now rooted in her immediate and extended family in the UK  including her children, husband, and political circle within the Conservative Party.

Reacting to her comments, Senator Sani criticized her rejection of her Nigerian identity, implying that her name should also reflect her new self-perception.