Kemi Badenoch: The African immigrant who seeks to burn the bridges after crossing

 “To all intents and purposes, I am a first-generation immigrant,” UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told the Commons in her 2017 maiden speech.

She was born as Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke, in a Wimbledon hospital in January 1980, before her parents took her home to Nigeria.

Badenoch was among the last to benefit from the birthright citizenship rules which her heroine, Margaret Thatcher, would soon abolish in the 1981 British Nationality Act.

A proposal by an insensitive Badenoch to extend the waiting period for British citizenship to 15 years has sparked widespread criticism, particularly from the Nigerian community.

The plan seeks to tighten immigration rules by increasing the minimum period before migrants can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from five to ten years.

It also introduces stricter conditions for permanent residency, barring individuals who claim benefits, seek social housing, or have criminal records.

Critics argue that the proposed changes unfairly penalize hardworking immigrants striving for stability. The Nigerian community, which constitutes a significant portion of the UK’s migrant population, has strongly opposed the move.

Some people have voiced their frustration on social media, accusing Badenoch of hypocrisy, given that she benefited from the UK’s immigration system.

@Ynw_szn wrote, “Ahh ahh, this law don too much oo. Stay for 15 years before u can apply for citizenship, oga oo.”

@MESIGO422 noted: “They ask her how she got her own citizenship and why she has decided to make it harder for the people in the UK. Tomorrow if people decide to leave the UK the country will be in a deep economic depression. Join us? Let’s make it clear people will start seeing her as a wicked Nigerian woman.”

@abbello110 wrote: “Immigrants that benefited from the system kicking against the system now. Kemi kemi se jeje.”

@ayodejiawonowo said: “I actually don’t blame her…. She has to pander to the people of Britain and the fastest way to do that is taking a hard stance on immigration.”

@Deprincefrk001 mentioned, “She ain’t done yet! A woman who doesn’t want anybody to have the privileges she once had, that woman is Kemi Badenoch.”