By Jeremy Fregene; With Agency Reports

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader who often derides Nigeria’s politics and institutions, is facing questions over her own credibility after claims she once received an offer to study medicine at Stanford University collapsed under scrutiny.

Badenoch has long repeated that at age 16 she was offered a place, sometimes describing it as “pre-med,” at the prestigious California university, alongside a partial scholarship. But Stanford itself makes no such offers to high school students, as applicants must hold a first degree before admission to medicine, and there is no such thing as a pre-med degree.

According to The Guardian, former admissions officer Jon Reider, responsible at the time for international applications and bursaries, flatly denied Badenoch’s account. “Although 30 years have passed, I would definitely remember if we had admitted a Nigerian student with any financial aid. The answer is that we did not do so,” he said.

Other Ivy League admissions experts echoed that view, saying it was implausible that Stanford would admit any student, let alone grant a scholarship, based on SAT results alone. “I assure you we would not have admitted a student based on test scores alone, nor mailed an invitation to apply overseas on that basis,” Reider added.

Labour has demanded answers, insisting the Conservative leader “come clean” about whether she has been misleading the British public. “Honesty and integrity aren’t optional qualities for anyone who aspires to lead,” a Labour source said.

Confronted on Monday during a visit to Surrey, Badenoch doubled down, insisting she remembered receiving the letters, though she conceded she no longer had the papers. “I was 16, I had done very well in my SATs. But this is 30 years ago. I don’t have the papers,” she told PA Media, accusing The Guardian of hearsay and of ignoring Britain’s “woeful government record.”

The controversy has exposed inconsistencies stretching back to 2017, when Badenoch first claimed she had “got into Stanford pre-med” but turned it down because it was cheaper to study in Britain. As recently as 2024, The Times reported her family could not afford the “partial scholarship” she supposedly received.

But former Stanford officials said such partial offers would never have been made. “There was no point in offering them less because they would not have been able to attend,” Reider said.

While Badenoch continues to lecture Nigerians about truth, governance, and integrity, her own CV is now under question—raising the uncomfortable irony that the story unravelling around her Stanford “admission” is the kind of political fabrication she so often mocks in others.

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

By Chukwudi Ani

Oh, poor Fredrick! Did you write this in your personal capacity or in your capacity as, what did you describe yourself as? Senior Special Assistant on Public Engagement to the President? What a genuine surprise! Congratulations!

It is interesting that there is an Igbo man among the retinue of Mr. President’s media aides. How many Igbos are there? Maybe only you.

It is intriguing that this is the first time one has seen a press statement issued on behalf of the presidency by you or indeed any other Igbo person. Again, I repeat, I’m unable to characterize the capacity in which you wrote due to your repeated use of the first person pronoun, effectively referring to yourself.

However, I have a mixture of pity and disgust towards you. Pity, because I don’t need your confession (you may pretend all you can), to understand that you work in an environment that doesn’t welcome or value you just because of your name and where you come from. It’s not your fault. However, I guess your threshold for endurance is high. More strength to you.

Disgust because you had the presence of mind to defend Abike in the face of the vile and abhorrent post she made against the Igbo race. You are not more discerning than other Nigerians. We follow Abike’s tweets and the insults, vileness, and bigotry that she often transmits. Who is after her in the first place? How many Nigerians consider her as holding an important position in the government? Why should we bend down to lick her boots for doing a job that she is being paid to do with taxpayers’ money? Is she serving Nigeria pro bono?

In any event, you wrote your long epistle within a particular context. While Abike is being called out by well-meaning Nigerians for retweeting/endorsing a tweet that described the entire Igbo race ( the one to which you purportedly belong) as monkeys, children of gorillas and bastards, you permitted or indeed freely offered yourself as a vehicle through which a defence and image laundry would be launched for her. Your defence is a fatal failure, and it is a huge shame.

However, in your long epistle, you made not even a veiled reference to that controversial tweet. Why? Should we take it that you chose a rigmarole because you couldn’t in good conscience (if you possess one) muster any form of defence for that action that has received a worldwide condemnation? That’s understandable, but if that’s the case, you are being dishonest. How do you defend such an obnoxious and reprehensible act, especially coming from a federal public office holder? I don’t have the answer, but you must.

Fredrick, people hate history for a reason. Because it never forgets. History will remember you for being a staunch defender of ethnic bigotry, hate, and racism. Enjoy your tenure and the perks that accompany being within the precincts of power while they last.

Chukwudi Ani, Esq

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

By Tony Omagbemi

​The recent actions of Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), have ignited a firestorm of controversy and brought a critical issue back to the forefront: the normalisation of ethnic bigotry by public officials. By reposting a social media message that used vile, dehumanising language to describe the Igbo people, Dabiri-Erewa did more than just share a post; she appeared to endorse a culture of hatred and division. Her use of laughing emojis alongside the derogatory remarks has been widely seen as a blatant display of contempt, sparking outrage and earning her the moniker “grandmother of bigotry” from many Nigerians.

​This incident is not just about a single social media post. It’s about a pattern of behaviour that many critics argue is part of a larger, troubling trend of tribal favouritism and bias.

Prominent activist Aisha Yesufu condemned the action, stating that Dabiri-Erewa continually “finds a new low” and highlights how the bigotry displayed online has support from leaders.

This perspective is echoed by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo socio-cultural group, which has called for her removal, accusing her of consistently promoting ethnic profiling against the Igbo.

The outrage is not an overreaction; it’s a gut-level response to the casual cruelty of a public servant whose role is to unite, not divide.

The demands for her removal and a formal ethics investigation are a testament to the public’s unwillingness to tolerate such actions from those in power.

​The silence from the Presidency on this matter has been particularly deafening. In a diverse and pluralistic society, leaders are expected to be beacons of unity and tolerance. When they remain silent in the face of blatant bigotry from one of their own, it sends a dangerous message of tacit approval.

As one X user noted, “Any decent person would be appalled by Abike Dabiri-Erewa’s behaviour and react with strong disapproval. But then, what can one expect from her boss whose views she was clearly expressing. Otherwise, why the silence if not approval?”

This lack of response is perceived by many as a failure of leadership, undermining the very principles of national unity and mutual respect that Nigeria desperately needs.

​Ultimately, this controversy is a stark reminder of the urgent need for a national dialogue on ethnic tolerance. The foundation of a strong, prosperous nation is built on respect, empathy, and inclusivity.

When public figures—who should be held to the highest standards—engage in behaviour that promotes division and hate, they corrode the very fabric of society.

It is up to all of us to demand better from our leaders and to actively work towards creating a more just and equitable Nigeria for everyone.

Mrs Dabiri-Erewa’s journey to amplifying the anti-Igbo slant began on Monday when she posted a video of a trafficked girl she identified as Mercy, who was rescued from Libya.

In reaction to Mrs Dabiri-Erewa’s post, an X user, Wale Akere, posting via @akerele_s, lauded the NIDCOM boss for her work while berating Igbos as “monkeys, children of gorillas and bustards.”

“My sister you are doing well allow those monkeys to continue to make unnecessary noises they are born to be ungrateful people. Those animals tagging you they are children of gorilla history told us about them. Kudos to you madam @abikedabiri. @Voiceofigbos see what my sister has done omo ale jatijati,” @akerele_s posted.

In apparent approval of @akerele_s’s toxic post, Mrs Dabiri-Erewa reposted it with memes of laughter, amplifying the message. On Mrs Dabiri-Erewa’s timeline, the post has been viewed by over 15,000 people, gathering more than 53 reposts and over 100 comments.

Of course, following the backlash, Wale S Akerele@akerele_s has pulled down the post and Dabiri-Erewa’s anti-Igbo support reaction.

This is not the first time Dabiri-Erewa, an indigene of Lagos State, former star journalist with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and ex-member of the House of Representatives, has been criticised for anti-Igbo slants.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission had been drawn out by a group, Igbos in Diaspora, who accused the Commission of bias in handling hate speech incidents, personally expressing their disapproval that Mrs Dabiri-Erewa delayed her response to comments made by Kingsley Ugiagbe, who had threatened to kill Nigerians of Igbo extraction in Austria, compared to the hate speech made by Amaka Sonnberger, who advocated for the poisoning of Yorubas and the people of Benin, in Canada.

Again, in late April 2023, following the rescue of Nigerians trapped in Sudan at the outbreak of the Sudanese civil war, an Igbo group, Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, (COSEYL), demanded that the chairperson of Nigerians In Diaspora Commission be sacked and prosecuted for displaying wickedness and inhumanity against Igbo population who were among those trapped in the war-torn country.

The group, in a statement by its President, Goodluck Ibem said it was “alarmed over the inhuman and wicked treatment meted out to Nigerians of Igbo origin by Dabiri-Erewa wherein she and her team ordered all the Igbos who had entered the rescue bus sent by the Federal government to Sudan to come down while conveying Nigerians who are not of Igbo origin. This is barbaric and wickedness of the highest order against humanity and we condemn it in its entirety.”

They expressed regret that Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who is paid by taxpayers’ money, which Igbos are among, will segregate against the same people contributing to her salaries and allowances, stating that “this evil and unpatriotic act against fellow Nigerians, which she was employed to serve must never go unpunished.”

On Sunday August 3, 2025, Mrs Dabiri-Erewa, in an interview on Arise TV, said 20 of the 21 citizens on death row in Indonesia were from a State in South East Nigeria.

Speaking on the interventions of her agency in the recent protests against Igbos in Ghana, Mrs Dabiri-Erewa responded: “The tribe you mention will ask if it’s because of us. No. Like I said, crime has no federal character.”

Citing her experience in Indonesia as an example, Mrs Dabiri-Erewa said, “We had 21 Nigerians on death row. We went to the Indonesian prison and begged them; they said, ‘No, our law is law.’ Four were executed.”

She added, “You know what? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Out of 21 of them, 20 were from one state in the South-East. The other one is from Edo State. But that does not mean you should generalise that everyone from that state is a criminal.”

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.