Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said she no longer identifies as Nigerian and has not renewed her passport since the early 2000s.
Badenoch, who was born in the UK, grew up in both Nigeria and the US. She returned to England aged 16 because of Nigeria’s worsening political and economic climate, as well as to continue her education.
Speaking on former MP and television presenter Gyles Brandreth’s Rosebud podcast, she said she was “Nigerian through ancestry” but “by identity, I’m not really”.
Last year, Badenoch faced criticism from Nigeria’s vice-president, who said she had “denigrated” the West African country.
Badenoch, who previously lived in Lagos, spoke at length about her upbringing on the podcast.
“I know the country very well, I have a lot of family there, and I’m very interested in what happens there,” she said. “But home is where my now family is.”
On not renewing her passport, she said: “I don’t identify with it anymore. Most of my life has been in the UK and I’ve just never felt the need to.”
She added: “I’m Nigerian through ancestry, by birth, despite not being born there because of my parents… but by identity, I’m not really.”
Badenoch said that when she had visited the country when her father died, she had to get a visa, which was “a big fandango”.
She said her early experiences in Nigeria shaped her political outlook, including “why I don’t like socialism”.
As a child, “I remember never quite feeling that I belonged there”, she went on, adding that she recalled “coming back to the UK in 1996 thinking: this is home”.
The Tory leader added the reason she returned to the UK was “a very sad one”.
“It was that my parents thought: ‘There is no future for you in this country’.”
She said she had not experienced racial prejudice in the UK “in any meaningful form”, adding: “I knew I was going to a place where I would look different to everybody, and I didn’t think that that was odd.
“What I found actually quite interesting was that people didn’t treat me differently, and it’s why I’m so quick to defend the UK whenever there are accusations of racism.”
At the end of last year, Badenoch was criticised for saying she had grown up in fear and insecurity in Nigeria at a time it was plagued by corruption.
The country’s vice-president Kashim Shettima responded that his government was “proud” of Badenoch “in spite of her efforts at denigrating her nation of origin”. A spokesperson for Badenoch rebuffed the criticism.
The Nigerian authorities have banned broadcasters from playing the song Tell Your Papa, which criticises the country’s leader.
Artist Eedris Abdulkareem’s lyrics slam President Bola Tinubu and urge his influential son, Seyi, to let his father know “people are dying” through hardship and insecurity and there is “hunger” in the country.
In a letter to TV and radio stations, the National Broadcast Commission (NBC), which issues licenses and regulates the industry, ordered the track not to be played, saying it violates the country’s broadcast code.
The NBC said it considered Tell Your Papa’s content to be “inappropriate” and “objectionable” adding that it falls short of public decency standards.
Released earlier in the week, the song has gained a lot of attention on social media in Nigeria and has sparked debate regarding the economic and security situation in the country.
On becoming president in May 2023, Tinubu introduced a number of economic reforms which increased the cost of living.
He dropped the fuel subsidy, which had long kept petrol prices low, saying that the government could no longer afford it. Fuel prices then jumped sharply which had a knock-on effect on the rest of the economy.
Annual inflation was above 30% for most of last year and the price of some basic food items increased by even more.
This has led some Nigerians to cut back on the number of meals they eat a day and the amount of food they consume.
There are also worries about the level of insecurity in the country with kidnapping-for-ransom still a major issue and fears that Islamist militant group Boko Haram could make a resurgence in the north-east.
On the track, in a mix of English, Yoruba and Pidgin, Abdulkareem tells Tinubu’s son that his father “is not trying” and that he has made “too many empty promises”.
When it comes to insecurity, the artist urges Seyi to travel by road, instead of private jet, to experience the dangers faced by ordinary Nigerians.
Tinubu’s government has in the past defended its economic policies saying that the president was aiming to put the country on a stable footing in the long term.
In order to deal with the short-term pain, the authorities have an on-going cash transfer scheme to help 15 million poorer Nigerian households.
When it comes to security, the government has said that the situation has improved in the last 18 months.
As the licensing authority, the NBC can sanction broadcasters for ignoring its orders. In the past they have fined stations and suspended licenses for violations.
Abdulkareem is not new to controversy as he recorded a similar song in the past.
In 2003, he released his most popular tune to date – Nigeria jaga jaga, meaning “Nigeria has spoiled”.
Then-President Olusegun Obasanjo reacted harshly, publicly insulting Abdulkareem. The song was banned for broadcasters but gained popularity among Nigerians and became a street anthem.
A Nigerian man has been extradited to the US to face prosecution over alleged sextortion of a minor, which led to the victim’s death.
Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, from Nigeria’s Osun state was flown to the US on Saturday after an agreement was reportedly reached with the Nigerian government that he would not be sentenced to death if found guilty.
Lawal appeared in a federal court in Columbia, South Carolina, on Monday wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, with shackles on his wrists and ankles, US media reported.
He entered a not guilty plea to charges including child exploitation resulting in death and the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
The investigation which led to the Nigerian’s extradition was launched after Gavin Guffey, a 17-year-old took his own life after he was allegedly victimised by Mr Lawal.
The accused allegedly posed as a young woman on social media and coerced the teen into sending compromising photos.
He then extorted and sent harassing messages to the victim threatening to leak the photos and ruin his reputation unless he sent him money. Mr Lawal was said to have later done the same thing to members of the victim’s family.
Mr Lawal faces the possibility of life in prison. The charge of child exploitation resulting in death carries a mandatory 30-year sentence.
He will continue to be held without bail. His next court hearing is Monday.
Last year, the parents of a British teenager who took his own life after becoming a victim of sextortion made a direct appeal to criminals in Nigeria to stop “terrorising” the vulnerable.
Their son, Murray Dowey, from Dunblane, was only 16 when he died last year.
He was believed to have been tricked by criminals into sending intimate pictures of himself and then blackmailed.
In September 2024, two brothers from Nigeria who targeted a 17-year-old in a sextortion scam were sentenced to 17 years and six months in jail in the US, It was the first successful prosecution of Nigerians for sextortion in the US.
Instagram owner Meta says it has removed thousands of accounts in Nigeria that were trying to target people in sextortion schemes.
The director of Nigeria’s National Cyber Crime Centre Uche Ifeanyi Henry has previously told the BBC that Nigeria’s government had spent millions of pounds on a state-of-the-art cyber-crime centre, to show it was taking the issue seriously.
Nigerian music icon Innocent Idibia, widely known by his stage name Tuface or 2Baba, has publicly announced his divorce from his wife of 13 years, Annie Macaulay Idibia.
The revelation, which has surprised fans and the entertainment industry, was initially shared on Tuface’s Instagram account in a post that was later deleted, fueling speculation and mixed reactions online.
In the now-deleted post, the ‘African Queen’ hitmaker revealed that he and Annie had been separated for some time and had recently filed for divorce.
He wrote: “Hello to my beautiful people of all federations. well, this thing I have to say is short but also long… I and Annie Macaulay have been separated for a while now and have recently filed for divorce. I would grant a press release soon to say my story… not because it is anyone’s right to know about my personal life, but because I love my people and I need them to know my innocence or offence. stay blessed, my people. I love you all.”
Moments after the post gained traction, it was deleted, leaving fans confused. This was followed by an initial claim that his account had been hacked. However, in a video shared on his Instagram Stories late Sunday night, Tuface clarified that the post about his separation was indeed written and posted by him, effectively dismissing earlier reports of hacking.
The Young, Famous And African stars share two children together, and have been in the spotlight for years, with their relationship often making headlines for its ups and downs. The couple’s journey has been far from smooth, weathering storms ranging from infidelity rumours to public family disputes. Despite these challenges, they had long been seen as one of Nigeria’s most admired celebrity couples.
The couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in Dubai in 2012, following years of dating and a relationship that had begun before Tuface’s rise to fame.
Annie, a Nollywood actress, has often spoken about the trials of being married to one of Africa’s most celebrated musicians on the hit reality TV series with many advising her to leave her marriage.
Nigeria swore in a new president on Monday during an elaborate ceremony that was attended by dignitaries from around the world.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, 71, took the oath of office and allegiance administered by the country’s Chief Justice, Olukayode Ariwoola, before a mammoth crowd in the capital city of Abuja.
He now assumes the position as the 16th president of Africa’s largest democracy.
Tinubu succeeded President Muhammadu Buhari, who completed two terms of eight years in office.
Nearly 5,000 guests, including presidents, heads of state and governments from various nations, foreign ministers, diplomats, and friends of Nigeria, were in attendance.
Delegations from the UK, US, and Canada were led by their respective foreign ministers and heads of missions.
Heavy security personnel from the police and military were deployed to strategic locations within the country’s capital to prevent potential terror attacks and maintain law and order, particularly in light of intelligence released by the secret police on Friday regarding plans to disrupt the inauguration.
“The aim is to undermine security agencies’ efforts at ensuring peaceful ceremonies as well as creating panic and fear among members of the public,” said the Department of State Service, the country’s secret service in a statement Friday.
Nigeria gained independence from British colonialists on Oct.1, 1960. However, May 29 has become a significant date for the inauguration of a new government and the government calendar. It marks the day when the military junta returned the nation to democracy, handing over power to civilians after three decades.
Nigerian women made up the largest share of African trafficking victims at 61 percent with most forced into prostitution.
Last year 41 suspected Nigerian traffickers were also caught, roughly twice as many as in 2017, according to the Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office. Numerous secret societies run the smuggling and authorities say they’re increasingly violent.
One of Germany’s largest red-light districts is Vulkan Street in Duisburg, a northwest German city and former industrial stronghold. A growing number of Nigerian women are ending up here, and Nigerian human traffickers are responsible for smuggling in most of them, says Barbara Wellner of Solidarity with Women in Distress (Solwodi).
The organization helps victims of human trafficking and forced prostitution. Wellner says many of these women are disadvantaged, young, have received barely any schooling, and have just a single parent or no parents.
Such vulnerable women often fall into the hands of traffickers in Africa and get passed along a far-reaching network until they eventually land in Germany. There, they often end up with so-called “madams,” women who pimp them out. Before heading to Europe, these women are told that their journey will be costly, but that this won’t be a problem, since they’ll make good money in Europe.
To place more pressure on the young women to pay up once they’re in Europe, a juju spell from the West African magical tradition is often cast upon them. This can often be accompanied by ritualistic animal slaughter and the drinking of its blood. The women are then forcefully and repeatedly told that their relatives will die or become ill if they fail to repay their debt or tell anyone of this arrangement. Once on European soil, these women often find that prostitution under the “madams” is the only way for them to earn the money that they owe.
In 2018 German police registered 68 women who were the victims of Nigerian human traffickers — a significant rise on the previous year.
In 2012 Germany joined the EU’s ETUTU project, which in cooperation with Nigerian authorities aims to crack down on Nigerian criminals trafficking humans around the world. A transnational approach to fighting these criminal is absolutely essential, as most Nigerian women arrive in Europe via Italy.
A new ‘Nigerian mafia’
Over the past three years, over 20,000 Nigerian women, many of them minors, have come to Italy via the Mediterranean. The UN estimates that some 80% are victims of human trafficking or are at great risk of becoming a victim.
Helen Okoro was once a victim of human traffickers. She arrived in Italy 20 years ago and lives there today. She works for Casa Agata, a Catholic women’s shelter, in the Sicilian city of Catania. So many women ask the shelter for help that its workers can barely keep up. Okoro has seen human trafficking change over the past years. She says she is alarmed by how brutal and professional human traffickers have become.
Once a victim of human trafficking herself, Okoro now works to help others in a similar position
Some Sicilians are starting to refer a new “Nigerian mafia.” Yet unlike the Italian mafia, both perpetrators and victims are from abroad and often live on the fringes of society. Some Sicilian journalists accuse Italian authorities of not cracking down hard enough on these trafficking organizations.
However, public prosecutor Lina Trovato rejects this accusation. She says authorities have been monitoring the activities of Nigerian organized crime networks for a while. She explains that Nigeria’s so-called “new mafia” is not a single coherent unit but is instead compromised of numerous secret societies and criminal gangs, such as the so-called Black Axe, Vikingsor Supreme Eiye Fraternity.
In Casa Agata, the women learn how to make pasta
In Nigeria, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) is out to catch human traffickers, too. Daniel Atokolo, who heads the NAPTIP branch in the metropolis Lagos, says the traffickers are increasingly brutal.
According to Atokolo, efforts to dispel juju superstition among West Africans mean the madams in Europe now mainly resort to violence, instead of the psychological pressure of spells, to control the young women forced into prostitution.
Atokolo says that the secret societies active in Europe today, commonly referred to as the Nigerian mafia,
“Are no longer out to psychologically condition their victims with magic spells. They now use sheer terror. There is a clear relationship between the decrease in juju spells and the stronger presence of these gangs, who demand total obedience from their victims.”
Catania, in Sicily, Italy, is where some Nigerian women who have been trafficked end up seeking help from shelters
More than 50 secret societies now operate in Nigeria, with influential lawmakers and businessmen supposedly among their members. Little is known about their organizational structure.
John Omoruan is a former high-ranking Black Axe member. He says he’s repented and he regrets his past actions.
However, he accuses Europe of being a large part of the problem behind human trafficking. Omoruan says it’s Europe that wants cheaper, younger prostitutes:
“At the end of the day, it’s a question of money. Europe is hungry for prohibited things like drugs, underage prostitutes, everything that’s forbidden. As long as this demand persists, secret groups like Black Axe and others will continue to be successful and make lots of money.”
Earlier this year, Kenyan media headlines were flooded with news and reports of a marriage gone sour between a controversial Nigerian Anthony Chinedu and his ex-wife Joyce Akinyi that led to one of the most gruesome deportations ever to be witnessed in Kenya’s number one airport JKIA.
And when Tob Cohen was viciously murdered in Nairobi’s Kitusuru Home, the Nigerian Tycoon had this to say: “Thank God I Didn’t EndUp In A Septic Tank Cz I Had A Big One Then, In Chalbi Drive Lavington Green, That’s The Class I Took Nya Ugenya…Top Class! ….Tob Cohen Didn’t Live To Narrate His Ordeal…But I Absolutely Confirm To Everyone That A Deporter Can Kill You If She Failed To Deport You Cz What She Wants Is Your Investments NOT You. Kenya?? And South Africa?? Are ONE Type of People But Better SA, Theirs Are Done By Jobless Youths Unlike Kenya?? Where Theirs Are Done By The Wife You Married And Changed Her Life And That Of Families. It’s A SHAME…R.I.P. Cohen” Chinedu Posted on Facebook.
Anthony Chinedu, who had been living in the country for the past 17 years, shot into the limelight as a wealthy Nigerian tycoon embroiled in a bitter battle for property running into hundreds of millions of shillings with his estranged Kenyan wife, Joyce Akinyi, in 2008. And That’s when the rain started beating this flamboyant man who had been in and out of local headlines for almost seven years now.
The actual dates that Anthony flew in the country remain sketchy but from what is made public, Chinedu met and fell in love with Joyce Akinyi and together they had two children. Then, in 2004, the two decided to formalize their union at the Attorney General’s chambers, followed by a brief ceremony to celebrate their marriage. Soon, they embarked on a massive investment spree, building homes and running the popular Deepwest pub off Lang’ata Road. Then accusations of adultery, drug trafficking, and abandonment started flying, and everything went south from there.
The embattled Nigerian tycoon Anthony Chinedu has however decided to speak out on what transpired on the Sunday 2nd June 2019, a date that Kenya Police stormed his house at around 9 pm with what he termed as “operation kill Osama” riffles and roughed him up like a foreign rat to JKIA and, State officers ordered his immediate deportation.
Speaking to MediaMax journalists based from K24 TV, Chinedu states that he has been living in Kenya for over 17 years and has neither nor will ever involve himself in a drug trafficking ring.
According to Chinedu, Joyce Akinyi, his ex-wife, joined hands with the former Nairobi Langata area PCIO Nicholas Kamwende and one controversial Nigerian Ken Obinna and Legislature Raphael Wanjala allegedly facilitated his deportation plan so that they can jointly sink his empire and divide amongst themselves.
In yet another suspicious revelation on the case, Anthony Chinedu told the K24 allied reporters that the Nigerian that he was deported with, Ken Obinna, is not and did not even spend a night in Nigeria. His whereabouts remain unknown, but Chinedu says that Ken Obinna has been deported three times from Nairobi to Nigeria. He never stays in Lagos and always flies back to Nairobi. “He is a Nigerian working with the Kenyan Police” Chinedu alleged.
And just for those who are wondering who is this Chinedu ex-wife Joyce Akinyi, lemme take you back a bit on who we are dealing with. Joyce Akinyi on 12th of July, almost a month after Chinedu had been deported, was arrested together with two other suspects over allegations of drug trafficking.
Joyce Akinyi
Akinyi was arrested at Deep West club, believed to be theirs with the embattled deported husband, on Lang’ata Road. Police claim to have recovered 4kg of white powder believed to be cocaine. She was locked up at the Muthaiga police station together with a woman identified as Fellis Anyango and a Congolese man. The operation at Deep West was conducted by officers from the DCI Special Crimes Prevention Unit together with the Anti-Narcotics Department.
What Police recovered from Joyce Akinyi’s closet in the City club believed to be Cocaine
Before this, Akinyi was arrested with drugs was in 2015 together with three other suspects who were also arrested but later on released due to lack of sufficient evidence to pin them down.
In 2013, Akinyi and a Budalang’i MP were arrested at Isinya on the Nairobi-Namanga highway over claims of drug trafficking. They were later released after they insisted they were carrying maize flour imported from Tanzania. The MP and Akinyi were also detained in India in 2008 after authorities found them with an undeclared Sh7.59 million. New Delhi’s Revenue Intelligence department and the Narcotics Bureau were investigating if the money was to be spent on drugs. The two were released following intervention by the Kenyan authorities. Akinyi and her estranged Nigerian husband Anthony Chinedu have been linked to cases of drug trafficking.
Back to Anthony Chinedu with that out and aside, there have been allegations that the Nigerian Tycoon has been holding Kenyans that escorted him to Lagos, Nigeria as a ransom exchange with his 17 years investment he made and lived behind in Kenya.
Those stuck in Nigeria include Captain Tim Kavingo and his colleagues, flight engineer Alaka Ochieng’ and flight attendants George Kamau and Ismail Adan. First officer Rokshanker Masoud, a Swede, is also affected. The government officials who escorted the deportees were Mr Barasa Okosa, Mr Kariuki Ngugi, Mr Mungathia Muriira, Mr Pardala Dipason, Mr Kivuva Muthama, Mr Andrew Kambi, and Mr Mutinda Kakindu.
In his defense, Chinedu says he has no hand in the detention of the Kenyans in Lagos. He, however, said that Lagos has been in touch with Nairobi and they have to give Lagos what she needs and the consignment that belongs to Nairobi will be released, by who? Nobody knows.
Anthony Chinedu says that Kenyan government and especially Nairobi has been harassing Nigerians and treating a few of the most hardworking as Narcos lords despite them investing heavily in the Kenyan market and economy. He has also blamed extensively the former AG Githu Muigai, a man ho hard exact powers as the supreme court judge for infringing the Kenyan laws. He has also blamed foreign affairs ministry and specifically the Kenyan Ambassadors who, he allegedly say are directly linked to the demise of his $20 million Empire in Kenya
Away from our custom foods; Chinese presence in Africa has introduced alien food culture in this continent.
From eating dogs, crabs, snakes, and some people say they trap and fry houseflies.
Chinese have managed to flood Africa’s markets with their processed foods and powdered drinks.
With other governments banning majority of Chinese products. There has been an increase in Chinese genetically modified foods. These neo colonialists have developed a new trick to flood our markets.
Recently, a video went viral on social media where crocodiles were being sold in Nigeria’s local markets.
Not only Nigeria, but Zambia has crabs and snakes being auctioned live and dead on the markets.
In Kenya, Chinese are making good use of the famous Lubao market-based which locals sell live dogs.
Local entrepreneurs are happily venturing into these business but language barriers and one sided customers is their biggest set back.
The Nigerian authorities have since cleared the crocodile markets and asked the Chinese visitors to buy wild meat from authorised vendors.
What’s your views about the Chinese wild appetite. Would you like to test their wild tastes?
