We know of feminism, a concept which has created its fair share of real women and really peculiar women. There is women emancipation, the type we were told in primary school Social Studies classes was the forte of valiant women like Margaret Ekpo, Funmilayo Ransom Kuti and Gambo Sawaba. There is the perpetual fight for equality of women, a concept which remains as befuddling and divisive as it comes. There was also the ‘Beijing ’Conference’—that is, the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in the Chinese capital in 1995. All these were meant to further the cause of the womenfolk in the society, whether they are well-conceived, well-received or not.
Then, there is Kemi Badenoch.
This woman is none of the things that had been listed above about women and their needs. She is not for the needs of anyone but her colonisers. She is not into feminism. Kemi is not known because of women’s emancipation or equality. She is not known for speeches or actions about women and their suffering. She was just 15 years old when the Beijing Conference was held and so could not have been part of it. She was not a woman in 1995. She is all about Nigeria. This woman has confused everyone, including some of the politicians urging her on. She had thrown many off-balance, and they can no longer beat her into any known kind of useful instrument.
The Fourth World Conference on Women was one experience which brought a number of gains for the women in all parts of the world, especially in Africa. Among those who realise the impact of this are Ekiti people, which has remained the most prominent in gender issues, women abuse and violence against women. In Ekiti State, for instance, it can be told how much impact one of the biggest voices in women’s issues in Africa, Erelu Bisi Adeleye Fayemi, has made in that state. Mrs. Fayemi was a delegate to the Beijing Conference. In her book, Speaking Above a Whisper, she recorded her experience there, as well as the good, the bad and the ugly of her struggles as a human and as a woman.
In the midst of the serious business that took her and other notable women advocates to China, Mrs. Fayemi also recorded a rather hilarious turn of events when they went for lunch before the opening ceremony of the conference. “One of the things we looked forward to in Beijing was the opportunity to eat as much Chinese food as possible… We went to a restaurant and ordered lunch. Some of us ordered chicken. When our meal arrived, we all sat in stunned silence, staring at our lunch. The chicken arrived, perched on the platter. The only thing missing from it was its feathers. The head, beak, feet, everything was still on.”
Women who went in search of means to better the lot of their fellow women, especially the oppressed and abused among them, ended up losing their highly anticipated lunch after high hopes of an afternoon of sumptuous meals. Rather than be bitter or take it out on their hosts, she said: “We decided to be a bit more careful and tried to avoid ordering food that would make us appear like hostile visitors.”
The conference resulted in significant gains for the womenfolk. The efforts of Bisi Fayemi and her associates led to the adoption of the “Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.” From their advocacy and activities across the continents, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, described as “a landmark document that set a global agenda for achieving gender equality” came to be. The conference also identified critical areas of concern for the womenfolk. That is why twelve critical items, including poverty, education, health, violence against women, and women in power became top issues for governments in various continents today. There are legislations in Ekiti State which origin could be traced to Mrs. Fayemi as the First Lady of that state. These still stand to her eternal credit.
Then, there is The Right Honourable Kemi Badenoch! Kemi Badenoch, born Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke, was born in England as Mrs. Fayemi. They both had fathers that had lived in Lagos and England. Those might just be the only things that are similar between the two women, apart from the fact that they have risen in their respective careers.
Kemi Badenoch rather than remind us of the efforts to emancipate people, is rekindling the fire of colonialism, imperialism, domination, oppression, apartheid and mental slavery. Kemi Badenoch is a sad reminder of a sordid past. She is a repugnant remnant and bitter residue of the outcome of the Berlin Conference.
About the only thing the Berlin Conference did that could be described as a ‘positive’ for Africa was the abolition of the slave trade, but with people like Kemi Badenoch, the slave trade ended only on paper. When Kemi’s disposition to her country of birth is considered, it is obvious that she is making more enemies for herself in Nigeria and even in England. Her resolute climb to the pinnacle of her political career in that country notwithstanding, her denigration of her father’s country is a symptom of mental slavery. When England is done with her, they would use their left hand to show her the way home—a home she had described using her own left hand.
Kemi’s notoriety among Nigerians in Nigeria and in that England of hers, is now among some of the things the high and mighty in Nigeria discuss. Her soaring disrepute among Nigerians which stemmed from her unrelenting denigration of Nigeria and everything Nigeria is so exasperating that Vice President Kashim Shettima spoke up. An infuriated Kashim Shettima asked her to drop the name ‘Kemi’ and take another one. By doing so, she would erase everything Nigerian about her. But if she drops her name, would she also change her skin colour or her known origin? If Kemi had been of the same skin hue as the outstanding Super Falcons defender, Ashleigh Plumptre, only the heavens know what she would have done to Nigeria. And I urge her to remember the ordeal of people like Linford Christie.
Added to the mix is that she has never for once been progressive in what she says, nor has she given any known prescription for addressing the issues she raises. Or, could that be as a result of her trying to be more conservative than the owners of the political party she is currently leading? One sometimes wonders if what she does to Nigeria is among her strategic objectives to make her political party in England more acceptable to her people, or she is just being plain daft. She must note that her continued pillory of Nigeria and the persistent cheap political points-gaining with this, rather than make her a star, are telling the watching world that she is not fit to lead a nation.
The Ghanaians advise navigators of life thus: “Follow the river and you will reach the sea.” But Kemi, rather than follow the river, has decidedly chosen to be that river which has forgotten its source. The Yoruba warn that a river that forgets its source will dry up in no time. I think this is a very good time for the owners of Kemi to do something about her persistence gaffes about Nigeria. Since she lived the first fifteen years of her life in Nigeria, it is safe to believe that she will still remember some cultural characteristics of the Yoruba. She should still remember that omoluabi ethos, one of which is respect for the elders.
If the elders tell her to bridle her tongue and gauge her thoughts about Nigeria or any issue whatsoever, before uttering them, I expect her to see it as a useful advice from the seniors. They should put her on a leash with their wise words and tell her to face her British politics and leave Nigeria in her past since she has decided not to look back. This is not meant to be me sending her to her kin, and at the same time the child of the orange attracts the stoning she endures. I think Kemi has done enough, she has fetched ant-infested firewood… She is the black face of white imperialism, a shameful giggle in the mouths of white supremacists. But she seems not to know this, or perhaps, she does not just care.
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