UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, has opened up about her tough childhood and schooling experience in Nigeria, describing her time at a Federal Government Girls’ College in Sagamu as “prison-like.”
In a recent interview from Westminster, just steps from Big Ben, the British-Nigerian politician reflected on her early life in Lagos, growing up above her father’s medical clinic, and her transition between Nigeria, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Badenoch, who has served as Member of Parliament for Saffron Walden since 2017, recalled that she was just 11 years old when she was sent to the Sagamu boarding school. A life-changing moment that exposed her to harsh realities.
“It felt like a prison,” she said, describing the dilapidated conditions of the school. “We used machetes to cut grass because there were no lawnmowers. We fetched water with buckets because there was no running tap. It was a grim environment.”
The MP painted a picture of overcrowded dormitories where up to 30 students were squeezed into a single room. She also remembered giving up her food in exchange for books and losing a lot of weight because she couldn’t stomach the meals, especially fish.
“It was my first time being away from home, and it was a real shock,” she said.
Watch the video below;
“Who else is going to cut the grass?… It was like Lord of the Flies… having to clean toilets with no running water.”
Kemi Badenoch talks about her horrible experiences as a student of FGGC Sagamu. pic.twitter.com/noly0vYzhz
— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) August 3, 2025
This isn’t the first time the politician has criticized conditions in her country of birth. Comments that have previously drawn reactions from the Nigerian Presidency and Vice President’s office.
Though now one of the most influential Black politicians in the UK, Badenoch has never shied away from discussing her Nigerian roots, often using her experience to highlight issues of governance, infrastructure, and opportunity in Africa.