Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has lavished praise on Nigeria’s profound global impact, singling out British cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch as a “future UK prime minister” sent by the West African nation.
Speaking at the 2025 Imo State Economic Summit in Owerri on Thursday, Johnson framed the UK-Nigeria relationship as a dynamic exchange. While acknowledging British exports like pharmaceuticals, he argued Nigeria sends “so much in return.”
“We send you former United Kingdom prime ministers, and you send us future United Kingdom prime ministers in the form of Kemi Badenoch, who comes from Nigeria and is doing better and better these days,” Johnson told the audience, which included Vice President Kashim Shettima representing President Bola Tinubu, and other global leaders.
His remarks extended far beyond politics, celebrating a broad sweep of Nigerian soft power. He highlighted the “Nigerian singer who stole the show” at King Charles III’s coronation, the millions of fans of Nigerian footballers in the English Premier League, a major Nigerian exhibition at London’s Tate Modern, and Oscar-nominated Anglo-Nigerian films.
“It’s wonderful that here in Nigeria, we are united, we have this huge blessing — ties of history and language and woven together constantly by the toing and froing of brilliant Nigerians to my country and back again,” Johnson stated, expressing pride and gratitude for the connection.
The former Conservative Party leader, who served as PM from 2019 to 2022, also commended Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma on security and infrastructure. He expressed firm belief that Nigeria’s “great days lie ahead.”
However, Johnson swiftly pivoted to the future, declaring that artificial intelligence represents the next great frontier. “What is the future? It is AI,” he asserted, highlighting the colossal coming demand for clean, sustainable electricity to power it. He congratulated local efforts on energy and expressed hope that British firms would seize the related opportunities in Nigeria.
The high-profile summit served as a platform for this vision of partnership, attracting dignitaries including Liberian President Joseph Boakai, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and business titan Aliko Dangote.
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