The United Kingdom’s Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has sparked fresh debate on immigration policies after revealing that her children are unable to obtain Nigerian citizenship due to her gender—despite many Nigerians securing British citizenship with ease.

In a recent interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Badenoch criticized what she described as the UK’s overly lenient immigration system, comparing it with stricter policies in countries like Nigeria.

“There are many people who come to our country, to the UK, who do things that would not be acceptable in their countries,” she said.

When asked if she would support Nigerian immigrants in recreating a “mini-Nigeria” in the UK under the guise of cultural integration, she firmly responded: “That is not right. Nigerians would not tolerate that. That’s not something that many countries would accept.”

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Badenoch, who is of Nigerian descent, used her personal experience to highlight what she called a double standard. According to her, while she holds Nigerian citizenship through her parents, she cannot pass it on to her children simply because she is a woman.

“It’s virtually impossible, for example, to get Nigerian citizenship. I have that citizenship by virtue of my parents. I can’t give it to my children because I’m a woman,” she said. “Yet loads of Nigerians come to the UK, stay for a relatively free period of time, and acquire British citizenship. We need to stop being naive.”

The Conservative leader, who has three children with her husband, Hamish Badenoch, declared that she would make acquiring British citizenship “a lot harder” if elected Prime Minister.

Born in London in 1980 to Yoruba parents, Badenoch spent a significant part of her early years in Nigeria before returning to the UK at 16. Her political journey has seen her serve under Prime Ministers Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak in various cabinet roles between 2022 and 2024.