Yemi Adenuga
Oluwayemi "Yemi" Adenuga (née Solaru) is a Nigerian-Irish politician. In May 2019, she became the first elected black female public representative in Ireland when she was elected to the Meath County Council, and has since become a local and national anti-racism advocate. She has also founded a variety of mentoring programs for women and youth, starred on the television show "Gogglebox Ireland", and worked as a radio and television broadcaster. Early life and education. Adenuga was born in Nigeria, and raised in a town outside of Lagos. She was the sixteenth of 27 children of a  father with seven wives. In 2020, Adenuga told the "Irish Independent", "I grew up in circumstances where, as a girl, I wasn't given a chance." Adenuga completed a Diploma in Business Studies in 2008, a Bachelors of Business Studies in 2010, and a post-graduate certificate in 2016 from the University College Dublin. She completed her MBA at Liverpool John Moores University. Career. Adenuga worked as a radio and television broadcaster in Nigeria for ten years before moving to Ireland in 2000. After moving to Ireland with her family, she was not able to find work in the media  industry, and encountered challenges in work she found that applied her accountancy degree. She settled in Navan in 2004. Adenuga starred on the reality television show "Gogglebox Ireland" for four years before deciding to run for elected office. After being active in the community of Navan, she initially declined an offer from Fine Gael to become involved in politics, but later changed her mind and in 2019, became the first elected black female public representative in Ireland, and the first migrant councillor on the Meath County Council. Adenuga has said she did not consider race when she agreed to run  for office, but encountered bigotry while campaigning "That in itself was the very reason why I was even more determined to win." Soon after the election, she joined with councillor Hazel Chu in calling for urgent action to address racism. In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, the Meath County Council approved her motion to fund an educational initiative and become the first county in Ireland to openly take action against racism. She has also advocated for hate crimes legislation in Ireland that includes penalties for online harassment, and helped organize an online rally against racism. Adenuga has launched  several community initiatives, including the mentoring programs Sheroes Girls club and Sheroes Boys-to-Men project, the Meath Stand Against Racism education campaign, Sheroes Global, to support women and youth, and the Yemi Adenuga Mentorship and Leadership Program (YAMAL), to mentor women and youth. She also serves on the board of Cultúr, a community organization that supports migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. Adenuga began the Sheroes program in 2012, and in 2018, formally launched the program in Nigeria after conducting projects in the country for two years. Adenuga and her husband also manage Nigerian Carnival Ireland, a theatre company that  performs in Ireland and Nigeria. Personal life. Adenuga is the mother of four children and is married to Deji Adenuga, a Nigerian actor, who was also her campaign manager.