US Extraction of Maduro Morally Right — Kemi Badenoch
Nigeria-British born Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch says the United States military action in Venezuela that ousted President Nicolas Maduro was morally right.
Badenoch said her position on the matter was drawn from her experience living under military rule in her early years in Nigeria.
Badenoch spent much of her childhood in Nigeria, living there from shortly after her birth in the UK in 1980 before returning as a 16-year-old to Britain in 1996.
In that period, Shehu Shagari ruled as a civilian president from 1980 to 1983, followed by military leaders Muhammadu Buhari from 1983 to 1985, Ibrahim Babangida from 1985 to 1993, and Sani Abacha from 1993 until his death in 1998.
Before Abacha took the reins of power, Ernest Shonekan ruled briefly in 1993 as a civilian president.
Characteristic of an authoritarian rule, Maduro has ruled Venezuela since 2013.
Last January, he was sworn in for a third six-year term after disputed elections.
Badenoch told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the US forceful removal of Maduro was “extraordinary”, but she understood why it was taken, describing Venezuela as a “gangster state”.
“Where the legal certainty is not yet clear, morally, I do think it was the right thing to do,” she said.
“I grew up under a military dictatorship, so I know what it’s like to have someone like Maduro in charge.”
Maduro and his wife are currently in New York where they have been charged with weapon and drug offences, and accused of enriching themselves from a violent crime ring smuggling cocaine to the US.
Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
