First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has clarified her recent remarks that were misconstrued as a critique of Meghan Markle’s wardrobe during her visit to the nation.
At the invitation of the Chief of Defence Staff, the country’s top military official, Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, were in Nigeria from May 10 to May 12.
The couple travelled overseas to support Harry’s Invictus Games, in which Nigeria participated for the first time in 2023, and to advocate for mental health programs for youth conducted by the Archewell Foundation.
First Lady Tinubu gained notoriety when Arise News’s video of her speaking on the struggles of Nigeria’s youth at an Abuja event called “Celebrating the Woman” went viral.
In her speech, she said, “We are not having the Met Gala . . . We don’t accept nakedness in our culture. It is not beautiful at all . . . They are mimicking and trying to emulate film stars from America.
They don’t know where they came from. Why did Meghan come here, looking for Africa? That is something we have to take home with us. We know who we are, and don’t lose who you are.”
Nevertheless, the First Lady’s office emphasised that Tinubu’s reference to the Duchess of Sussex was about Meghan’s journey to discover her identity and where she originated from after learning she is 43 percent Nigerian.
In a statement to AFP Fact Check, her office noted, “She meant Meghan appreciates the people we are, hence her coming here. At no point did she say anything about Meghan’s dressing.”
The clarification follows reports from multiple local and international media outlets suggesting that the speech criticised the tour attire of the Duchess of Sussex.
As reported by People magazine, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not have a public meeting with the Nigerian president or his spouse during their visit to the West African country.