Against all odds, against the political permutations of Italian politics, Italy has elected its first black senator, a Nigerian immigrant who is a member of the country’s far-right, anti-immigrant League party. Toni Iwobi, the head of the party’s immigration department, was elected on Sunday (March 4) in Brescia, an industrial city in northern Italy.

His election didn’t go down well with some people who slammed his choice to work against his own fellow immigrants. Iwobi’s party is an anti-immigrant party that has campaigned vigorously against the integration of African immigrants in the past. His party has explored several means whereby the influx of African immigrants into Italy can be halted

Iwobi, 62, came to Italy in the 1970s on a student visa, got married to his Italian wife and became a councilor for the party in 1995. Iwobi said that he wasn’t against immigration but that he wanted people to travel to Italy.

However a  video has surfaced where the first black senator vowed to deport all immigrants who are living in Italy illegally most especially his fellow Nigerians.

Nigeria has the highest number of immigrants in Italy, last year alone over 17,000 crossed the Mediterranean sea into Italy.

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