The Presidency has indicated that the recent remarks made by UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch will have no influence on Nigeria. In her most recent criticism of the country, Badenoch highlighted concerns about the possible consequences of weak government in the United Kingdom, comparing it to Nigeria. Speaking about the need to establish trust and present the Conservative Party as a solution to Britain’s problems, Badenoch warned of the dangers of Britain’s system failing, comparing it to governance failures in Nigeria.
She used the example at her first address of the year at an event hosted by Onwards, a British think group. Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communications, responded to her views in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday, dismissing their importance to Nigeria’s international relations or efforts to attract investors.
His response was: “I don’t think it would have an effect because she’s not the government inpower.”Typically, these international connections or collaborations involve transactions between governments. It will have no influence since she is not the administration in power.
“Secondly, because she is a Nigerian, investors will be smart enough to access what she is saying, whether it is based on rhetoric.” Earlier in the interview, Bwala praised Badenoch’s successes in the UK, but claimed that she is capitalising on populism, which lives on public anger.
“The only problem we have with Kemi, I think, is the rhetoric because Kemi belongs to the right base in the United Kingdom,which iswhat you see in this populismaround the world; that youcandeepen on your support system ifyou can feed off of the anger of the people,” claimed Bwala.
“So she’s developing a discourse of disparaging Nigeria, demarketing Nigeria, in the hopes of gaining support or approval of her party’s rights. And that, to me, is counterproductive because Rishi Sunak is also of Indian descent.
“There has been an issue with gang rape in India. He has never used that as a weapon to promote what he believes to be a deviation from Indian hereditary or historical traditions, but she has constantly denigrated Nigeria.”
