Nigerian Mum, Yemi Adenuga, Makes History In Ireland
A Nigerian mum, Yemi Adenuga, was elected as first female black councilor in Ireland. The mum-of-two is the wife of former Nollywood actor Deji Adenuga. Mrs. Adenuga claimed her victory after months of campaign and canvassing for votes, and became the first female black councilor to be elected to a county council in Ireland.
Yemi was a seasoned broadcaster before she left Nigeria, and is known in Ireland for her entertaining appearances on the popular Virgin Media TV show.
She, with her husband, Deji, left Nigeria and relocated to and started living in Ireland since 2004. Adenuga said she never set out to make history and only wanted to contribute to her community.
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Speaking with a local tabloid in Ireland after her victory, the newly elected councilor said she was excited and her skin colour never disadvantaged her when she was speaking to locals on the canvass trail.
She went on to say her election victory represented a more diverse Ireland coming down the tracks. Her husband was very well by her side through it all; he lifted her up happily in front of everyone as her victory was announced.
Read Yemi’s statement below:
I will be honest, I am very excited,
I believe that something interesting and amazing is going to be happening – diversity is no longer just a word, it’s action.
And I believe that so many people in this nation who have diverse backgrounds have so much they can bring, so much they can offer and so much they can contribute to the economy so this is a leeway into that.”
Asked if she thought she received the ‘black vote’ given her Nigerian heritage, or the ‘Fine Gael vote’ or the ‘woman vote’, she said it was a mixture of all of the above.
I think it was across the board, it was totally across, because even while we were canvassing a number of parents of some of the young people I worked with in the community were very excited.
Young people as well – most of them are now over 18 – were very excited and looking forward to voting on the day.
It was across the board, it was quite broad and I was very happy about that. I think it really told me the fact that people in the community – young, old, white, black – all valued what people had brought to that community – including myself.”
Adenuga and her family are also well-known for their appearances on TV show Gogglebox.
See her Twitter post below:
That moment we made history!
First black woman elected into a county council in Ireland!!!
OUR GOD IS AWEEOME!!!
God will never share his glory with anyone!!!
VICTORY …??? pic.twitter.com/wJqD3Jcp49— Cllr. Yemi Adenuga – PEACE COMMISSIONER (@SharingWithYemi) May 27, 2019