“It Was Like Being in Prison” – Kemi Badenoch Recalls Nigerian Boarding School Experience

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Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, has reflected on the harsh realities of her teenage years in Nigeria, revealing that her time at a federal girls’ boarding school felt like imprisonment.

During an interview with Gyles Brandreth on a podcast, Badenoch shared candid memories from her time at a federal government school in Shagamu, Ogun State. She described the environment as extremely difficult, especially for a young girl living away from her family for the first time.

“It was called a federal government girl’s school, in a place called Shagamu, and that was like being in prison,” she said. “When I tell the stories about using a machete… that’s the place I’m talking about. Having to fetch buckets of water—that was the first time I was away from home.”

When asked if it was a boarding facility, Badenoch confirmed, explaining that students lived in packed dormitories.

“Yes, it’s a federal boarding school. We shared a dormitory with others—about 150 students, with 20 to 30 in a room, and there were six rooms.”

She went on to describe the physically demanding routines students were subjected to, including manual lawn care using machetes.

“The machete is for cutting the grass… Because, well, who else is going to cut the grass? Grass grows, you have machetes to cut it.”

Basic amenities were also lacking, with students responsible for cleaning and maintaining the school despite limited resources.

“Using a machete, having to clean toilets with no running water—I’m not going to go into the description of that—but it is very, very, very grotty,” she said.

Badenoch explained that her attendance at the school was a result of a merit-based national system from an earlier era, where top-performing students were placed in federal institutions spread across Nigeria.

“This was more socialism, so they sprinkled people around. They didn’t want one school getting all the best results. You could end up getting sent thousands of miles away,” she noted. “I was lucky, I didn’t get sent too far away, but I was very far from home. It was like Lord of the Flies. The students were in control.”

“I still always carry with me that understanding—that you never know where you’re going to end up.”

Watch her speak below…

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