Shola Akinyele
UK Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch is once again the center of online controversy following a viral video where she described her experience at Federal Government Girls College (FGGC), Sagamu, Nigeria, as “brutal” and comparable to a prison.
In the now widely circulated clip, Badenoch said,
“I went to a secondary school. It was called a Federal Government Girls school in a place called Sagamu and that was like being in prison… My worst experience (in the first 16 years of my life) would have been being sent away from home and having to live in what is quite a brutal boarding school.”
She further added,
“Who else is going to cut the grass? It was like Lord of the Flies… having to clean toilets with no running water.”
These remarks were made during a public appearance in the UK, where Badenoch appeared to frame her Nigerian childhood as a hardship story to British audiences. Her statements have since ignited a wave of mixed reactions from both Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.
While some agreed with her depiction of Nigeria’s public boarding school conditions — citing overcrowded dormitories, unhygienic facilities, and emotional trauma — others accused her of weaponizing her past to paint Nigeria in a negative light.
One critic on X (formerly Twitter) wrote:
“Kemi Badenoch is a 45-year-old spoilt brat presenting doing chores at school as a ‘life of hardship’ to White British people. Like she’s a PTSD victim of ‘chores’.”
Another user added:
“She should keep FGGC Sagamu & Nigeria out of her mouth.”
Others, like popular X influencer @KlintonCod, defended Badenoch’s core message, saying many Nigerian boarding schools were, in fact, highly dysfunctional.
“Our dorms were overcrowded, we were underfed, and seniors abused power like prison guards. The only difference was we got holidays.”
The larger debate centers on the dual reality of Nigerian education — how its structure was meant to instill discipline, yet often veered into neglect, poor living conditions, and emotional stress.
Many also highlighted how Badenoch’s rhetoric feeds into a broader issue: successful Nigerians abroad using their platforms to repeatedly demean their country of origin.
“Nobody is saying the schools were perfect,” wrote one user, “but why is every microphone an excuse to throw Nigeria under the bus?”
Yet, some took a more nuanced view:
“Kemi said the truth, but her intent matters. She only remembers Nigeria when it’s time to perform suffering Olympics for clout abroad.”
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