The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, may look like your avancular next door neighbour, when not provoked. But his hidden nature came to the fore recently when he angrily told the chosen leader of the United Kingdom (UK) Conservative Party, Right Honourable Kemi Badenorch to change her name, after she bashed Islam, Muslims, and her country of birth, Nigeria, describing the first two as the problem which lead to the apparent stagnation of the country’s progress.

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, had earlier employed the same bigotry during his election campaign to woo voters on his side, telling them that the religion of Islam and Muslims are the problem of UK. That the Labour Party was eventually elected in the UK with more votes than the Conservative Party, was because it is the lesser of the two evils.

King Charles, who is the nominal leader of the kingdom, denied the claims of the prime minister, arguing that there is no way the Western World would have achieved scientific advancement without the contributions of Islam and Muslims. He noted that many of the sciences in ancient times were founded and advanced by Muslims, even pointing out that ‘Algebra’ is an Arabic word.

The Nigerian Vice President did the right thing in defending his country by lambasting the Conservative Party leader, without insulting the United Kingdom (UK). He accused Right Honourable Kemi of turning her back against the country from where she went to the UK, to have the daring to accuse Nigeria, her country of birth. He advised her to change her name, if she felt so attached to her adopted country.

Even before the involvement of the Nigeria’s number two citizen, the firebrand former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, took the Conservative Party leader to the cleaners on his X handle, calling and describing her in very unedifying names and terms.

According to him, she is totally wrong to blame Islam and Muslims for ‘your’ country’s problems. The problems, according to him, are her society’s creation under the supervision of the so called values she cherishes.

In disagreeing with her on Nigeria, Islam and Muslims, he called her all manner of names that are not edifying. Among them is that “you are an ingrate who turned her back on the country of your birth because of the gift of the moment, given to you by your enemies, who choose you to be the new Conservative Party leader in the UK.

“Apart from your insulting categorisations of Northern Nigeria’s Muslims, describing your country of origin as a ‘living hell’ where one had to ‘walk for miles to get running water’ and  where lizards run out of the taps’, shows you to be an ingratiating ingrate of the highest order, that deserves to be tarred and feathered.

“As far as you are concerned, Nigeria is a land of demons, while the UK IS a land of angels. You forget that the UK has a long history of corruption, looting and barbarism, and that London the world’s capital for money laundering.

“In Kemi’s most graphic display of ignorance, mendacity, religious bigotry, tribalism and racism she said that she does not believe that Northern Nigerian Muslims should be allowed in the UK because they are, in her view, ‘Islamist’.

“Such a person is nothing but a special liar, an unconscionable opportunist, a bigoted racist and a cheap political hustler who will do or say anything, including selling her own people down the river, for political power.

“The irony of it all is that despite her pretence at being more English than the English and conservative than Enoch Powell, by the time the British right-wing finish using her, they will flush her down the toilet like the turd that she is”.

Yours sincerely had also chipped in with his contribution, telling Right Honourable Kemi that she would not have been allowed to enter the country she now regards as her own, if the policy of that country was to deny non citizens entry on any flimsy ground, even if raised by its born and raised citizen, no matter how highly placed they may be.

In an article I penned on 13-11-2024, titled ‘UK: Islam, Muslims And Nigeria Not The Problem’ I advised the new Conservative Party leader to treed with caution, because the Prime Minister, who is the Labour Party Leader, had followed same path, but the even the British monarchy disagreed with him.

But her spokesperson said that the new Conservative Party leader was a candid person. The two adjectives are however, words that do not go hand in hand with politics. One does not utter them in one breath, unless the intention is to serve purposes other than the one their political party or country believes in . In politics, not unlike in foreign relations, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

For the public Relations Officer (PRO) of Honourable Kemi to come with a statement defending the indefensible action of her boss, is akin to adding fuel to an already raging fire. The PR effort actually backfired with more people condemning the Nigerian born Conservative Party leader, than serving and saving her.

Following the severally condemned statement of Hon. Kemi Badenorch, the respected British broadsheet newspaper, Financial Times, a kind of Bible for investors, financial analysts and other finance experts, held a political session, where most of the panelists agreed that the new conservative leader was wrong to have made that statement. In particular, a Conservative analyst, Mr. Albie Amankona, said it was unfortunate for the party leader to speak so badly about her country of birth, which also happens to be one of the sixth growing economies in Africa.

He added that it was indeed a very ill timed statement to make, more so at a time when the UK required legitimate businesses from across the world, particularly emerging economy like Nigeria.

He went on to say that the immediate past UK Prime Minister, Mr. Rishi Sunak who immigrated from India, never spoke like that about his native country. He also confessed to having some emigrated Nigerians in the UK Parliament, who told him in confidence their disapproval of what their new party leader said about Nigeria.

A female panelist claimed that the personality of “Kemi Badenorch is not suited to be a leader of the opposition. If she would be someone who will fuel a diplomatic raw at a whim, and not be bothered about it, one might wonder how responsible her spokesperson is? It is like a Teflon response to say ‘well, I have said what I want to say, and I don’t care. That is not the way to conduct diplomatic relationships”.

In any case, if Nigeria was such a bad country, where only “lizards come out of the taps”, why did you spun the attempt of the Chairman of the Diaspora Commission, Honourable Abike Dabiri? You could have given her your time and listen to what message she had for you. She might be conveying a request from the president of the country to you, to come back to your native land and fix the taps, among all the other things that do not work there.

By the way, you would fit the bigoted vision of the president, whose singular purpose appears to be to reduce the Northern part of Nigeria to a ‘stateless’ entity, by joining his EMILOKAN team.

He has filled his cabinet with people from his tribe, including those who abhor his bigotry. He is hoping that they would eventually see things his anti North way.

It must be a blessing that you are no more on these shores, otherwise the peace loving Muslims of the North would have mistaken you for a friend, while you harbour nothing for them but hatred. An insidious friend that you would be, a ‘black sheep in a wolf’s clothing’.

May God rid Nigeria of the bad people who would sell their country for mare acceptance by some people who do not consider them worthy to exist on the earth.

Malumfashi wrote from Katsina.