Eight Nigerian-American politicians have emerged winners in their respective elective posts in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and the District of Columbia (DC) in the ongoing US midterm elections.
They are Segun Adeyina, Gabe Okoye, Solomon Adesanya, Tish Naghise, Phil Olaleye, Carol Kazeem, Oye Owolewa and Esther Agbaje who won legislative seats as State Representatives in their respective Districts on Tuesday.
Earlier, President Muhammad Buhari has congratulated them for making Nigeria proud and also wished them well in political contributions to the US.
Below are the profiles of the victorious politicians:
Segun Adeyina, IT expert, Georgia
Segun Adeyina vied and won the seat as a Georgia State Representative. He contested under the Democratic Party to represent District 110. He is an experienced Information Technology (IT) specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the automotive industry.
Adeyina is also experienced in databases, IT strategy, data management and system development. He is committed to better education, health care, and infrastructure among other issues.
Gabe Okoye, civil engineer, Georgia
Gabe Okoye contested and won the legislative seat as a Georgia State Representative. He is a Representative of District 102. He was a former Chairman of the Gwinnett County and a Democrat. He is the Chief Executive Officer, Essex Geoscience Inc.
He has lived in Lawrenceville since 1992 and graduated from Gwinnett County Public Schools. He is a professional civil engineer.
Solomon Adesanya, entrepreneur, Georgia
Solomon Adesanya ran and won as a Georgia State Representative to represent District 43. The district covers Marietta which he won under the Democratic Party.
Adesanya is a restaurant owner in Cobb County. As a politician, Adesanya said his primary legislative focus is economic development, quality public education, expansion of Medicaid, protecting women’s right to choose and preserving the climate.
Tish Naghise, businesswoman, Georgia
Tish Naghise contested and emerged victorious as a Georgia State Representative. She won legislative seat for District 68. She is a Democrat and business owner of T & C Transportation.
Naghise has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Clayton State University. She is undergoing her Master’s programme in Clayton State majoring in Strategic Leadership and Development.
Phil Olaleye, public affairs analyst, Georgia
Phil Olaleye contested and was elected as a Georgia State Representative to represent District 59. He ran as a Democrat. He is the Executive Director of Next Generation Men & Women, an education non-profit closing the opportunity gap for under-resourced high school students in Atlanta.
He had also served as the Director of Performance Management at WorkSource Atlanta and as a U.S. Peace Corps Children, Youth, and Family Volunteer in the Philippines.
Olaleye is ex-President of the Organized Neighbors of Summerhill, Phil is a 2021 Georgia Trend 40 Under 40, and was a 2020 Atlanta Business Chronicle 40 under Forty honoree.
He graduated from Duke University in 2007 and received a Master’s in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2014.
Carol Kazeem, activist, Pennsylvania
Carol Kazeem contested and won the seat of Pennsylvania State Representative. She represents District 159 under the Democratic Party.
She attended the Chester Upland School District and also earned a high school diploma from Ridley High School and an associate degree from Anthem College in 2013.
Kazeem worked in the healthcare field for over 13 years in various ways. Kazeem vowed to fight for $15 minimum wage, education equity, combating gun violence, ending mass incarceration, housing foa all and environmental justice.
Oye Owolewa, pharmacist, Washington DC
Oye Owolewa is a politician, pharmacist, and a member of the Democratic Party. He contested and won as the US Shadow Representative from District Columbia (DC).
He was bred in Newton, Massachusetts and nearby Boston, where he attended Boston Latin School and graduated in 2008. In 2014, he earned a doctorate in Pharmacy from Northeastern University and moved to Washington to practice pharmacy.
Owolewa said he is committed to advocacy and community resources, the fight against prescription drugs and climate change.
Esther Agbaje, legal practitioner, Minnesota
Esther Agbaje is a legal practitioner voted as a Minnesota State Representative. He is a Democratic representing District 59B which includes portions of north and downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County.
She graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science, a Master of Public Adminsitration (MPA) from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor (JD) from Harvard University.
Agbaje previously served at the United States Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer. She is an associate attorney with Ciresi Conlin LLP, where she practices in general civil litigation and medical malpractice.
First published in Vanguard