That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;
But when he once attains the upmost round.
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend. . . ."
That she made it to the last 4 in her aspiration to become the UK Prime Minister tells how far she has come in British politics. Yet nearly all her Conservative parliamentarian supporters who voted for her until she lost out are well-known far-right members of the Tory party. When she lost out yesterday, any keen follower of British politics and those who follow the politics of Westminster knew the game was up for Penny Mordaunt, and the flow was now smooth for Liz Truss. Both Kemi and Liz shared the far-right members of parliament, and once Kemi was out, many anticipated her votes would go to Liz. That is precisely what happened. Hence, Liz, who was in third place, quickly leapfrogged Penny Mordaunt into second place. Why is Kemi a favourite of the far-right within the Tory Party? I could answer that question as a full-page article citing mainly examples from her speeches, but just a few examples would suffice. Interestingly, many left writers choose to label Kemi "a black reactionary". It is not a pleasing label, yet it is consistent and loud across Britain's public engagement. Examples:
1. "it's time, to tell the truth". "Most black British people who have come to our shores were not brought here in chains but came voluntarily due to their connections to the U.K. and in search of a better life. I should know: I am one of them." – Kemi
2. As an equalities minister, last year, she insisted that any school that taught about what she describes as "Critical Race Theory" was breaking the law.
3. She consistently denied the existence of institutional racism that even Tory members admit and suggested that society needs to work on. Instead, she is keen to be associated with the government-commissioned report that said there's no institutional racism in Britain.
4. When she resigned last week to join the PM race, a black newspaper – The Voice – tweeted, "Minister for gaslighting, Kemi Badenoch, resigns."
5. "We're quick to complain about racism, sexism, homophobia, but it's not as bad as people make out. If we're going to be more cohesive, we have to be more relaxed about petty incidents and not find insult where none exists." – Kemi
6. "I grew up in Nigeria, and I saw first-hand what happens when politicians are in it for themselves when they use public money as their private piggy bank when they promise the earth and pollute not just the air but the whole political atmosphere with their failure to serve others. I saw what socialism means for millions: poverty and broken dreams" – Kemi
Finally, neither Rishi Sunak nor Sajid Javid (both originally Indians) nor Nadhim Zahawi (originally Iraqi) has ever needed to throw India or Iraq with her people under the bus to further their ambition. They have all focused on their new beloved nation and sought the support of all British citizens. Not once or twice had Kemi Badenoch deliberately attacked Nigeria to further her interest and ambition. Why doesn't she just let Nigeria be with the attendant problems and move on clean steps to be successful?
I wish her well, and she will hopefully make a comeback in the near future.
Gbolahan Gbadamosi
--GG: I am curious. I would still love to be educated on Kemi, even if she is out. I must confess, I have only limited knowledge of her politics. Please indulge me! Thanks a bunch! MOAOn Wednesday, July 20, 2022 at 11:39:20 AM GMT+1, Gbolahan Gbadamosi <gbola.gbadamosi@gmail.com> wrote:"Here is a juggernaut of British politics in the Tory turf; the prophet(ess) that would have had no honor in her own country. MOA"I don't think so. However, there is no need for further comments or discussion since she is already out of the contest.GG--On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 at 11:33, 'Michael Afolayan' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:--Here is a juggernaut of British politics in the Tory turf; the prophet(ess) that would have had no honor in her own country. MOA
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