The newly elected leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party and a Nigerian-born lawmaker, Kemi Badenoch, has expressed her stance on the topic of colonialism
Badenoch argued that it is misguided for former British colonies to consistently attribute their underdevelopment to colonial history.
In a video that gained traction in October, Badenoch, who previously served as the UK’s business and trade minister, stated that countries often point to British colonialism as the cause of their slow socio-economic growth.
She asserted that instead of blaming colonial rule, such nations should acknowledge the British Empire’s role in ending the transatlantic slave trade.
Badenoch emphasized that while the British Empire had its faults, it also accomplished significant things, including the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.
She said: “There are many countries now who want to use guilt to try and exploit the UK. They asked for reparation. I saw it as a trade minister. It is not a culture war.
“I was at the WTO. I won’t name the minister from another country. And he was telling me we need to give up some of the things we were doing because of colonialism and they needed time to develop. These arguments are a scam. Don’t fall for it.
“We need to make sure we put this country first, we work well with our neighbours, we work well with other countries. But we have to look after ourselves.
“There are many things the British Empire got wrong but there are many amazing things the British Empire also did. We need to be honest about it and stop pretending that it was all bad. The British Empire ended slavery, the Atlantic slave trade. We need to talk about that more.”
See video below: