The Presidency has dismissed recent remarks made by the leader of the United Kingdom Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, about Nigeria, asserting that her comments will have no impact on the country’s international standing or its efforts to attract foreign investment.
Badenoch, during her first speech of the year at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank, drew a comparison between governance challenges in Nigeria and the risks of ineffective governance in the United Kingdom. She emphasised the need to build trust in the Conservative Party and position it as a solution to Britain’s challenges.
In response to her remarks, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communications, Daniel Bwala, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, dismissed the relevance of her comments.
Bwala said, “I don’t think it would have an effect because she’s not the government in power. Usually, these international relationships or collaborations are dealings between governments. Because she’s not the government in power, it will not have any effect. Secondly, because she’s a Nigerian, investors will be smart enough to assess what she’s saying, whether it is born out of rhetoric.”
Bwala acknowledged Badenoch’s accomplishments in the UK but criticised her for allegedly capitalising on populist rhetoric that exploits public discontent.
He said, “The only problem we have with Kemi, I think, is the rhetoric because Kemi belongs to the right base in the United Kingdom, which is what you see in this populism around the world; that you can deepen on your support system if you can feed off of the anger of the people.”
Bwala accused Badenoch of denigrating Nigeria to gain political advantage within her party. He contrasted her approach with that of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has Indian roots but has refrained from using negative stereotypes about India for political gain.
“And so she’s building a rhetoric of denigrating Nigeria, demarketing Nigeria, so she can probably win the acceptance or acceptation of the rights in her party. And that to me is counterproductive because if you look at Rishi Sunak, he is also of Indian origin.
“There has been this issue of gang rape in India. He has never used that as a weapon to promote what he believed to be a departure from what is likely to be believed as hereditary or history of the Indian people, but she has always denigrated Nigeria,” he added.
The Presidency’s position underscores its confidence that Badenoch’s statements, while critical, hold no weight in shaping Nigeria’s international relations or investor perceptions. The focus, according to Bwala, remains on fostering collaborations between governments and ensuring that Nigeria’s reputation is judged by its actions and policies rather than individual rhetoric.