Victoria Obaze, a woman with
Nigerian heritage, made history on Wednesday after she was sworn into office as
the first black female civic mayor of London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Obaze’s inauguration on Wednesday
is the latest in turn of events that have seen Nigerians emerge as mayors in
their area councils of residence in the UK.
Ernest Ezeajughi and Kate Anorue,
both from Anambra state, were recently sworn into office as mayors of London
Borough of Brent and Enfield, respectively.
Obaze, who contested three
previous councillorship elections in 2010, 2014 as well as 2016 and failed, eventually
succeeded in an election conducted on May 5, 2018, in Whitechapel ward.
A statement containing brief
history of Obaze NAN obtained from Blessing Chijekwu, coordinator of Ugonwanne Social Club Nigeria Int’l, a
Nigerian socio-cultural group in the UK,
the newly sworn-in mayor had lived in Borough for over 30 years.
“For Councillor (Cllr) Obaze life
is all about service to humanity with diligence. Her political experience
started when she was elected as one of the board of directors to oversee the
regeneration of her area, the Ocean Estate, in the 1980s,” it read.
“The move motivated her to get
into politics having noticed that there were no black women in the council
chambers and this led her to open a project named Healthy Life Style for
Stepney Women, East London.
“The project was funded by local
authority through Ocean African Caribbean Association which she and her late
husband Chief Evangelist Charles Obaze, co-founded.
“She also established Ocean
Saturday School aimed at ensuring school attainment for children, as well as
Ocean Football Club through which young boys were able to have residential
football experiences with Chelsea football Club.
“Above all, Cllr Obaze loves God
with a passion; she is a member of Parochial Church Council (PCC), as well as
an Executive Council member at St Dunstan’s Church of England Parish in
Stepney.
“She is also a Secondary School
governor in Tower Hamlets and a habitual visitor to the elderly and physically
challenged in the community,” the statement quoted Chijekwu as saying.
Obaze who has four children and
two grand children attended West London College and Metropolitan University
where she studied business administration and community sector management at
different times.
She also has certification in
childcare which enabled her operate a registered charitable childcare centre in
UK named Vicharles Play Centre.
Obaze is from Imo state.
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