I was quite ecstatic about Kemi Badenoch’s miraculous slaying of the Goliath of the British establishment and emerging as the head of the Conservative Party and is now leader of the Opposition. I felt disappointed by the rather lukewarm reception of this great news especially in Nigeria and Africa. I drafted this opinion piece and I decided to seek the opinion of my good friend, Dipo Salimomu who has lived in England and understands the issues. I felt his criticisms would be useful. Nothing prepared me for the response I got from him.
After reading the draft, he called to say he did not have much to add but could I take a look at a short video he had just sent to my Whatsapp page? I opened and played the video and could not believe my eyes. There, right before me was a young lady, Kemi Adegoke with whom I had shared a Tedex-Euston platform in 2017. Pat Utomi had been at the same event too. I had been struck by her eloquence and clarity of thought but that was it.
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At that event, at only 30 years old, she had spoken about her journey into politics barely 15 years after returning to the UK at the age of 16. She spoke of her experience with white British teachers who had discouraged her from contemplating going to Oxford because she would be boxing well above her weight. She said that when she informed a white female Member of the Labour Party of her plan to join the Conservative Party, the lady had considered it a sign of ingratitude and a lack of appreciation of what the Labour Party had done for people of her kind. In the end, she said, she had joined the Conservative Party because, its ideology aligned with her personal beliefs. Barely seven years later, Kemi now sits at the highest pedestal of a Party she joined barely ten years ago. This is a feat that is moment defining and will remain a major marker in the future of British politics.
Truth be told, at the beginning, when I heard that one Kemi Badenoch, a British woman of Nigerian descent had thrown her headgear into the ring to contest for the position of Leader of the Conservative Party in July this year, I must confess that I sneered. ‘What kind of gra-gra is this’, I said to myself. I imagine that millions of people of African descent living in the United Kingdom and beyond felt the same. I was convinced that perhaps she simply wanted her name on the list for history. I recalled the story of the tortoise who was to be carried away on exile. As he was lifted up by, he had pleaded to be put down for just a few minutes. ‘I am not quarreling with my exile’, he said, ‘but just put me down, please’. When his captors reluctantly did, he scratched the ground with his paws and turned, saying, ‘Ok, I am ready for the exile. You can carry me’. Asked why he had wasted their time, he replied: ‘I want my descendants to know that their forefather did not go on exile without a fight’.
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How Kemi pulled this great feat off, definitely requires far more attention than we are prepared to concede to her. On personal reflection, I scratched my head, pause and reflected: Kemi was born a year after I arrived the University of Bradford for a post graduate degree. The landscape of British public life from where I stood, was almost totally denuded of black presence in either academia, economics or politics. Bradford itself then was a sleepy environment with a very high Asian population running corner shops. There were hardly any black heroes or heroines not to talk of British citizens of Nigerian descent. In Long Tennis, Mr. David Imonite had made a brief appearance in Wimbledon in 1979. I had begun to support Nottingham Forest Football Club because of Viv Anderson, the first black person I saw playing football at that level. Later, John Barnes followed, with Liverpool later. Then came the greatest decathlete of all time, Daley Thompson, followed by the sprinter, Linford Christie, the heavy weight boxer, Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis along with others. Sports and to some extent music (Sade Adu) would remain the main theatre of action for many British citizens of colour.
The walls of British politics, hitherto seeming impregnable, cracked open slightly when the 1987 elections saw Diane Abbot, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant emerge as Members of Parliament under the flag of the Labour Party. Then, a lull followed, until 2017, where was a surge in black representation in the Parliament. Six British citizens of Nigerian descent won six seats (Chi Onwurah, Bayo Alaba, Kemi Badenoch, Taiwo Owatemi, Florence Eshalomi, Kate Osamor). Nigerians still blew muted trumpets.
It is from this Class of 2017 that Kemi forged her way through to become an insider in just about five years. Her speed of progress is phenomenal by any measure. She had no visible name recognition, experience, age or even resources. Like Oscar Wilde, the controversial Irish writer, who was asked by Immigration what he had to declare, Kemi can only declare genius! Against the run of play, she is today the Leader of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom, and Leader of the Opposition. Coming from a background where patriarchy holds supreme, many men are still holding their breathe. After over a hundred years of presence, no black person has accomplished anything close to this. The drums ought to roll out.
There is need to pause and remember. This is the Conservative Party of Margaret Thatcher. This is the party that celebrates its 190th anniversary this year. To ascend to the top of this Party at the age of 44, is by any measure, an historic achievement. To do so as a woman and a black woman at that, the daughter of immigrants, and a wife and a mother, is worthy of celebration. Kemi’s ascendance is special. It points at the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead for those who dare. It is often the case that some doors are closed but not locked. When that right moment comes, you need boldness, courage, character and self-belief and of course, the grace of God.
Kemi’s selection by her peers has elicited comments and controversy, and rightly so. Some people have accused her of throwing her country, Nigeria ‘under the bus’ at the slightest opportunity. This is no doubt an exaggeration by her opponents. But let’s face it. To be thrown under a stationary bus should not be a matter of concern at all. Should we not be worried about the corruption that has become a swamp out of which we have been unable to swim? Should we not be worried that in our own country, we are still raising roadblocks against gifted men and women because of their faith or ethnicity? I am surprised that even some of her critics who have cases with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have found it convenient to condemn her for calling out Nigeria’s cancer of corruption. Nigeria’s dirty laundry will not be cleaned by outsiders or by self-deceit. From where she stands today, as a former Secretary of State for International Trade, Kemi likely knows more about the state of our sleaze than even we are prepared to admit. There are of course, other critics who seem to be driven by envy.
Having said this, Ms. Badenoch must also know that she should not stray too far from her natural constituency, as every politician soon learns. She has shown that her identity does not define her, but she cannot either ignore that she is black and the daughter of immigrants. Not only because it would smack of self-hatred, but it would rob her of the authenticity and largeness of spirit required of all transformative leaders. Good diplomacy must ensure a smooth relationship between her and Nigeria. She needs Nigeria and Nigeria needs her very much.
And, it must be mentioned, the revolving doors in established hegemonies often run out of oil, become creaky or stop revolving for certain people after some time. How she handles this great opportunity and challenge, will determine how others like her get a chance to enter the door. As she fights her way within the establishment, she must ensure that her doors are open to women and other immigrants who are seeking a life in politics. She would do well to adequately acquaint herself with the history of the black struggle in British public life, and especially in politics. Despite the ideological differences which may exist, advancing the cause of those who consider themselves outsiders to the British society should be taken seriously. She has some experience from her time as a former Minister for Women and Equalities. Her criticisms of existing populism must be constructive and helpful to all. She needs to be patient with those who have come from a long history of painful history of racism. It will not be wise to assume that the system has opened all her doors. This is the responsibility of leadership, to inspire and have empathy. She should not be tempted to ignore that the reinforced concrete that holds the structural injustice against those who feel left behind is still deep-seated in British society. She should resist the temptation to think that there are opportunities everywhere, it is just that the poor do not see them. It more than that.
Looking through a wider lens, African immigrants are poised to play a very significant role in global politics well beyond Africa. Nigeria needs to strategically position herself and take the lead in establishing and nurturing relationships with her sons and daughters in diaspora. Often, immigrants hold the rough end of the stick and are endurers of structural injustices in the societies in which they find themselves. Nigeria need not see them as simply ‘remittances donors’. In my view, the organization ‘Nigerians in Diaspora’ should be restructured, and headed by a former Ambassador or a Nigerian who has an international Rolodex and can operate at the highest levels of global soft diplomacy. The commission could serve as a lighthouse, identifying and pointing out Nigerians of great achievement in whom the country should believe and invest. Such a head could help Nigeria identify where and how to seek (I nearly said, steal) technological assistance and collaboration whether in Russia, China, the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom. It was patriotism that enabled Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan to steal nuclear technology secrets from the Dutch company where he worked to enable Pakistan, Iran and North Korea have nuclear weapons today. Developing nations with ambition must deliberately invest in their citizens in diaspora. I hope that Nigeria takes Kemi quite seriously for its own interest.
The world is in a tensive flux now. As white populations reduce in Europe and other parts of the world, we are witnessing an upsurge of hate in both fringe and mainstream politics. Populist mobsters weaponize identity and deploy the scare mongering rhetoric of hatred, especially against immigrants, both on the streets and on the pages of social media. Kemi’s victory suggests that along with rejecting the soft bigotry of low expectaions, black people must not allow one single identity to define them, no matter the structural architecture of racism. Skin colour is surface thin, but it can be devastating as a weapon of exclusion. Kemi has shown that these walls are not static. They may be tough but they can be overcome.
That said, the modern world is very complex and no matter how noble the black agenda might be, it cannot succeed on its own. The challenge is to move away from blind and reductionist ideologies, and the suffocating nihilism which arises from self-pity or even self-hate. This is the lesson that great men like Mahatma Gandhi, Rev. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela have taught us. They tried to take their people away from self- consuming single-story narratives of oppression and prying open their worldviews and the lens through which their experiences are filtered and interpreted, despite the objection of a huge segment of their own people. Often, they paid the price with their lives.
Wimbledon needs a very special recognition as a sacred spot for Africans. It in Wimbledon that Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win the Men’s Tennis title in 1975. It is there that our own David Imonite became the first black African to compete in Wimbledon in 1979. It is with the Wimbledon Football Club that John Fashanu became the highest signing in 1984 and went on to play for that Club for nearly ten years. It is in Wimbledon that the William Sisters held the world spell bound as they both competed against one another and shared the prestigious titles between themselves in 2002, 2003, 2008, and 2009. It is not an accident that it is Kemi’s place of birth!
So, Kemi, accept our congratulations and prayers as you make history. Please work hard but conserve your energy. Wear the shoes of a long-distance runner. And be mindful of presumed allies. Remember that some night, you do not know when, the long knives may come out. All you need to do is just look at the shelf life of other women who have come after you. The work of a woman is never ended. Look back at the fate of your predecessors who are still around with you. Stay in touch with, compare notes or head-ties with big aunties like Ngozi Iweala, Amina Mohammed and others. You never know. Never forget, whatever you may believe today, God brought you where you are and for a purpose. The race ahead is not for the swift or for the faint of heart. Please remember with God on your side, ‘You will run, but you will not get weary, the Lord will renew your strength’ (Is. 40: 31). Well done, and Godspeed. We await the coronation.
Matthew Hassan Kukah is Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and founder of the Kukah Centre, Abuja, Nigeria.
