On Saturday, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, expressed her connection to Nigeria, describing it as her country and sharing her humbling experience of discovering through a genealogy test that she had Nigerian heritage.
According to the Associated Press, Meghan revealed this during a program organized by women in leadership and co-hosted by Nigerian economist and Head of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in Abuja.
Since Friday, the Duchess of Sussex has been in the country alongside Prince Harry to advocate for mental health support for wounded soldiers and young girls.
It’s worth noting that Meghan had previously disclosed on her podcast in October 2022 that she learned through a DNA-based test that she has Nigerian ancestry, amounting to “43% Nigerian.”
But while addressing the women in leadership at the Abuja event, she re-echoed her Nigerian roots, calling the African giant “my country”, saying, “It’s been eye-opening to be able to know more about my heritage.”
“Never in a million years would I understand it as much as I do now. And what has been echoed so much in the past day is, ‘Oh, we are not so surprised when we found out you are Nigerian.
“It is a compliment to you because what they define as a Nigerian woman is brave, resilient, courageous, beautiful,” Meghan told the audience.
Meghan attended the event to collaborate with female industry figures like Okonjo-Iweala in addressing the significance of mentorship for young women and the career obstacles faced by women in a country like Nigeria, where it’s uncommon for women to hold prominent leadership and political roles.
When asked by the anchor about her sentiments regarding becoming the first woman and first African to head the WTO, Okonjo-Iweala remarked that it was long overdue.
“When I will feel right is when we stop saying, ‘the first woman to do this… to do that’. I have mixed feelings about being the first woman because I think women should have been there already,” she said.
She also spoke about mentors who have helped her career, including as Nigeria’s former finance minister.
One way to mentor young girls is by “returning home” to be closer to them, Meghan said, citing the case of Okonjo-Iweala as an example.
“You need to come back home, you need to, at least, be a familiar face for the next generation to say, ‘Oh she looks like me and I can be that’,” she added.
