The leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, Kemi Badenoch, said she is more a Yoruba woman than a Nigerian.

Badenoch rejected the Nigerian label, stating that she has nothing in common with the people from the northern part of the country.

According to TheCable, Badenoch stated this during an interview with the Spectator on Thursday, December 12.

Badenoch stated this after Vice President, Kashim Shettima, lambasted her for ‘denigrating’ Nigeria.

Shettima highlighted Nigeria’s importance as the largest black nation and its projected population growth by 2050, despite Badenoch's comments.

He stressed the importance of migrants in driving innovation and economic progress, reaffirming the government's commitment to protecting their rights.

Badenoch said she is proud of her Yoruba ancestry which has given her a “very strong identity”.

She was born Olukemi Adegoke to Nigerian Yoruba parents in the United Kingdom before her last name changed to Badenoch after she married a Scottish banker.

“I find it interesting that everybody defines me as being Nigerian. I identify less with the country than with the specific ethnicity [Yoruba]. That’s what I really am,” she said.

“I have nothing in common with the people from the north of the country, the Boko Haram where the Islamism is, those were our ethnic enemies, and yet you end up being lumped in with those people.”