Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, has criticised Kemi Badenoch, a Nigerian-American Conservative leader in the United Kingdom, for allegedly making untrue statements on Nigerian women and their citizenship status.
In an interview with Fareed Zakaria of CNN, Badenoch stated that due to her gender, she is unable to pass on her Nigerian citizenship to her offspring.
Badenoch talked about immigration laws and how Britain differs from nations like Nigeria.
Obtaining Nigerian citizenship, for instance, is nearly hard. My parents granted me that citizenship, but as a woman, I am unable to pass it on to my kids.
Dabiri-Erewa criticised Badenoch’s contentious claim that women could not obtain Nigerian citizenship only by giving birth during an interview on Channels Television’s Hard Copy show on Friday.
“But that is not even true. And that is the problem I have. Don’t divulge false information. You go on international media and spew a lie. That is a lie. But that is not even true. And I’m sure people have responded. So my problem with that is that it is not true. So why tell us something that is not true? That is the problem I have with that,” she said.
Dabiri-Erewa condemned Badenoch’s decision to air the claim publicly, saying, “When you denigrate your country, we’ll reply you. It’s not about me or the president or you. It’s about Nigeria. You can’t lie about your country then we keep quiet,”
Dabiri-Erewa noted that the focus should not be on Badenoch alone, as many other Nigerians are making remarkable strides abroad.
“You know the number of Nigerians we have in the UK in the political space that are doing very well. We don’t have to focus on one person,” she said.
She commended Nigerians contributing positively in the diaspora.
While acknowledging the many distress cases involving Nigerians abroad, Dabiri-Erewa insisted that the commission remains committed to protecting and celebrating Nigerians overseas.
She said diaspora engagement must be grounded in truth, responsibility, and a deep sense of patriotism.
