United Kingdom Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has revealed that her children are unable to obtain Nigerian citizenship through her because of a gender-based provision in Nigerian law.
Badenoch made the disclosure during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, while discussing immigration systems and citizenship policies across countries.
Citing Nigeria as an example, the British minister described the situation as a clear case of legal discrimination against women.
“It’s virtually impossible, for example, to get Nigerian citizenship,” she said.
“I have that citizenship by virtue of my parents. I can’t give it to my children because I’m a woman.”
Under Nigeria’s current laws, citizenship by descent is predominantly passed through the father, a practice critics say reflects systemic gender inequality.
Badenoch, who was born in the UK to Nigerian parents and spent part of her childhood in Lagos, used the example to contrast Nigeria’s immigration structure with the UK’s, arguing that Britain has been overly lenient.
“Loads of Nigerians come to the UK and stay for a relatively free period of time, acquire British citizenship. We need to stop being naive,” she said.
READ ALSO: Kemi Badenoch Proposes Stricter Immigration Rules, Extends British Citizenship Timeline
“That is why, under my leadership, we now have policies to make it harder to just get British citizenship. It has been too easy.”
When asked whether she supports the idea of immigrants creating “mini-Nigerias” in the UK in the name of cultural integration, Badenoch firmly rejected the notion.
“That is not right. Nigerians would not tolerate that. That’s not something that many countries would accept,” she responded.
“There are many people who come to our country—the UK—who do things that would not be acceptable in their own countries.”
Her comments are likely to stir debate on both sides of the immigration discussion, particularly among Nigerians in the diaspora and advocates for legal reform on gender equality in citizenship laws.