Rotimi Adebari (born 1964 in Okeodan,

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

) is a

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n-born Irish politician. Adebari was elected as the first

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 2007.

Early life and background

Adebari was born 1964 in Okeodan,

, and studied economics at the University of Benin.

Life in Ireland

Failed Asylum claim

Adebari arrived in Dublin with his wife and two children in 2000. Adebari claimed that as after he converted from

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, he fled Nigeria in 2000, and made a claim for asylum on the grounds of religious persecution.Shawn Pogatchnik
"Ireland Gets Its First Black Mayor"

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, 28 June 2007 His application was rejected because of a lack of evidence that he had personally suffered persecution, Adebari did however gain automatic residency when his wife gave birth to a son in Ireland shortly after they arrived.

Election to Laois County Council

Adebari and his family settled in

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

. Adebari completed his master's degree in intercultural studies at

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...

. and set up a firm called Optimum Point Consultancy. In 2004, he was elected as a town councilor in local elections. In June 2007 he was elected as mayor of

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Ireland. It is located in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. The 2016 census shows that the town's population increased by 9.5% to 22,050 ...

Town Council (9 members), with support from

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

and an Independent councillor. In the 2009 local elections he was re-elected to the town council and also to Laois County Council for the Portlaoise electoral area.

Alleged work in United Kingdom

Later in 2007, Adebari denied claims that he was a train operator in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

who worked out of the Queen's Park depot on the

Bakerloo line The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that goes from in suburban north-west London to in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs partly ...

. Multiple

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

employees, including Paddy Clarke, a retired tube driver from County Louth, stated that Adebari worked as a train driver in London during the late 1990s before moving to Ireland. Clarke stated, "at the very least 50 drivers and six or more managers will remember him. His photograph and signature are on file with London Underground’s personnel office which were used in the issue of his free travel-pass and identity card." Adebari asserted he travelled to Ireland directly from Nigeria via

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and never worked or lived in London at any time.Shane Phelan and Eimear Ni Bhraonain
Candidate rejects claims he lied to stay in Ireland

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

, 7 February 2011 Adebari ran as an independent candidate in the 2011 general election for the Laois–Offaly constituency, he failed to get elected and received 628 1st preference votes (0.85%). In 2014, Adebari ran as an Indepentent in the

Local Election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

but failed to gain election and lost his position on Laois County Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adebari, Rotimi 1964 births Irish people of Yoruba descent Nigerian emigrants to Ireland Converts to Christianity from Islam Independent politicians in Ireland Irish Christians Irish former Muslims Local councillors in County Laois Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland Nigerian Christians Nigerian former Muslims Yoruba politicians People from Ogun State People from Portlaoise Politicians from County Laois Living people Black Irish people 21st-century Irish politicians