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A Green Partya candidate urging Britain to pay trillions of pounds in reparations for slavery has roots in Nigeriaroyal family that traded slaves.

Antoinette Fernandez serves as the ‘reparations officer’ for the party’s Global Majority Greens faction, which advocates for ‘racial and environmental justice’.

Nevertheless, she is the daughter of a billionaire oil magnate who was among Africa’s wealthiest individuals.

The local electionThe candidate has advocated for British taxpayers to fund reparations related to the transatlantic slave trade and claimed that politicians who disagree with this stance display a shocking self-importance.

Ms. Fernandez – who is running for Zack Polanski’s party inLondon– is the daughter of theQueen Motherfrom Lagos and is referred to as ‘princess’ in Nigerian media.

Her mother is Abiola Dosunmu, and her father is Antonio Deinde Fernandez, a renowned business tycoon and former UN diplomat who reportedly accumulated his wealth through ventures in oil, gas, and mining. At the time of his death in 2015, he was estimated to have a net worth of $8.7 billion (£6.5 billion).

Through her mother, the Green politician is a descendant of the Obas (kings) of Lagos, some of whom historians refer to as ‘significant’ slave traders who earned ‘profitable incomes’ from slave transactions.

A historian noted that one of Ms. Fernandez’s early ancestors personally owned 1,400 slaves, while another reportedly returned slaves who had been sent to Brazil to construct homes in Lagos.

The family of the activist accumulated riches via the slave trade, which they utilized to acquire ‘velvet garments, royal umbrellas, hats, and fashionable robes,’ according to the report.

On Monday, the Conservatives and Reform UK criticized Ms. Fernandez, labeling her the “ultimate hypocrite” for urging financially struggling Britons to pay for reparations.

However, the Green Party claimed that documenting Ms. Fernandez’s ancestry is ‘racist’ and a ‘dishonest effort to weaken the argument for reparative justice’.

Britain ended the slave trade in 1807 and subsequently invested millions of pounds—equivalent to billions today—and sacrificed thousands of sailors’ lives to eradicate the practice globally.

On Monday, Laila Cunningham, who is running for mayor of London under the Reform UK banner, labeled Ms. Fernandez as “the ultimate hypocrite.”

A Reform Party councilor stated: ‘As Britons struggle with the rising cost of living, she is pushing for billions more in reparations for slavery, despite the fact that Britain has already invested tens of billions to abolish the slave trade.’

In March, the United Nations supported the idea of former colonial nations compensating for slavery – potentially as much as £18 trillion, as stated by a UN judge in 2023.

Following the vote, Ms. Fernandez stated: ‘Britain and the United States, especially, must recognize the inhumane acts they committed against African populations over many years and the continued effects of these actions on the developing world.’

Ms. Fernandez, who has characterized her upbringing as ‘privileged’ and attended Millfield School in Somerset, which exceeds £60,000 annually, contested the 2024 General Election under the Green Party banner and sought the position of deputy leader within the party in 2025.

She is running as a council member for Lea Bridge, located in Hackney, east London, during the upcoming local elections.

Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake stated that her campaign “aligns with a trend” within the Green Party, noting: “The Greens are not a genuine political entity. They have been taken over by radical Leftist activism and student influences.”

Ms. Fernandez was asked for her response.

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