Longford’s political history just took a remarkable turn after Cllr Uruemu Adejinmi was elected as municipal district cathaorleach. Adejinmi succeeds cathaorleach Cllr Peggy Nolan at the local authority’s annual general meeting. The new municipal district cathaorleach described her election a dream come true for her and her family.
Adejinmi was born in Nigeria. She moved to Ireland with her family in 2003. Since then, she had lived in Longford for 15 years when she decided to run for local elections under Fianna Fáil about two years after she was introduced to the party by her neighbour.
Before that time, she had never been involved in politics—not even remotely. “The last thing migrants think when they arrive in a country is to get involved in politics. For me, my priority was to settle down, get a job, raise my kids and be able to live a comfortable life,” says Adejinmi.
“I thought if I get this role, I would be able to influence policies and highlight the issues of minority groups in the community. Having someone who they can instantly relate to make things a lot easier and quicker,” she says.
Adejinmi chairs the Longford African Network and she says that the best part of her job is knowing that she can use her position to put smiles on faces.
Out of 949 local councillors, there are only 10 who are migrants and only 2 are black.
“We have no shortage of migrants in different communities and I’d like to see them run in every local electoral area, in every county in Ireland. That would reflect the support minority groups are getting and would make for a more inclusive country,” says Uruemu Adejinmi, Ireland’s only other black public representative, serving on Longford County Council.
The 43-year-old has a degree in maths and says her academic background has made her a natural problem solver.
