Night of Beauty
When the judges at the 39th Miss Nigeria Pageant were asked what they were looking for, somebody mentioned a good “knowledge of the country”. Traditionally, pageant shows are expected to be judges of abstract qualities like intelligence, as much as they are of charisma and physical attractiveness. But – it was lucid – the Miss Nigeria show sought to add an extra layer of criteria to the entire process of selecting the model Nigerian woman, who embodies the values and character of a diverse nation.
“This is a national pageant,” the show’s organiser, Fidelis Anosike harps, “and we have to talk about national consciousness.”
Anosike believes that pageantry is a great thing, a powerful medium that, if well harnessed, can be used to galvanise the incredible force of women in a society. Of course, there are lots of pageantries in the country, but none has been able to accomplish what Anosike hopes to do with Miss Nigeria – to create a national pageant that reflects the values and ethos of the Nigerian woman. But, he is not exactly creating, but re-creating.
Miss Nigeria was started by Daily Times Nigeria in 1957. Then, contestants were required to post their photographs to the Times headquarters in Lagos, before the finalists were shortlisted and invited to compete at the Lagos Island Club. It was the premier pageant in the country, and was a powerful medium which empowered several young Nigerian women, and inspired the country as a whole. Grace Oyelude won the maiden edition. She would not be the last.
The pageant continued to prosper until it was rocked with several scandals, the collision with military history and national turmoil, and the unfortunate decline of its parent brand, Daily Times. It lost his exclusivity, uniqueness, and credibility, and was virtually buried under the sands of history.
In 2005, Anosike took over a decapitated Daily Times. Young and bustling with energy, he set out to revamp the vintage legacy of the publication. He has since set his sights on rewriting the story of Miss Nigeria and graft in new chapters filled with hope, dignity, and value.
“For us, Daily Times and Miss Nigeria is one and the same,” Anosike told me recently, just before the 39th edition. “The show . . . is going to be the premier platform that the company’s products, services, and different people can use to connect to every woman. Every woman is a queen. What we’ve been doing over the past ten years is to get the Pageant to metamorphose into what it should be.”
They are on track. The 39th edition held last weekend in Lagos, at Oriental Hotels, and the chic traditional hue of the beauty queens on parade was an important iteration of what it takes to be a model Nigerian woman. There were no bikinis or leanings towards the commerce of nakedness. There was a lot of culture and a breathtaking display of brilliant couture.
“Nigerians don’t go naked,” Anosike said. “We go fully dressed.”
Also, for this year’s edition, Miss Nigeria teamed up with the Bank of Industry (BOI) to organise a business plan competition for the contestants. The contestants were trained on how to articulate and prepare a business plan. Guided by the list, they were mandated to produce a business plan, and the best were selected for financing by BOI. The project is part of the Bank’s offering of a single digit loan for the creative industry.
The winners were Temitayo Seyilato, Hope Nkiruka and Florence Ebele. BOI pledged to support each of them with N5 million, as seed capital for their proposed businesses.
However, a 22-year-old graduate of Computer Science from the University of Port Harcourt, Pamela Peter-Vigboro was crowned the winner of the pageantry. It was a close call. The judges had to make hard decisions. Pamela, who was representing Cross-River State, was tied on points with Kehinde Itunu, who was representing Jigawa State. The judges had to vote, and Pamela scored seven votes to Itunu’s six. Asiana Mary, who was representing Oyo State, emerged as the first runner-up.
Pamela was crowned by the out-going queen, Ezinne Akudo. The crown comes with a N3 million cash prize, a brand new Kia Rio car, a six month skill acquisition programme in any institution of choice, a serviced apartment for one year, and an all expense paid trip to a foreign destination.
“I feel really excited to have won this,” Pamela said, just few minutes after being announced queen. Although I’m still trying to get used to it, I look forward to a very fruitful year. I’ve always had passion for impacting women. My focus will be on value re-orientation for young woman.”
She also urged every girl out there to “believe in their dreams; no matter what, it will happen.”
The winner of the maiden edition of Miss Nigeria, Madam Grace Oyelude, who was an employee of the United African Company (UAC) at the time of her win and is now 82-year-old, was present at the event and was presented with a brand new Peugeot 601 saloon car by Heritage Bank.
Other notable personalities present at the event include Chief Segun Osoba, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, Dr. Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, and Mr. Innocent Oparadike, all of whom were former Managing Directors of Daily Times; Senator Daisy Danjuma; and Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Nkem Okeke, and several notable entertainment and society personalities.
“Nothing is impossible once you have sincerity of purpose and alignment of vision,” Anosike said at the end of the pageant. His eyes were flooded with accomplishment, pride.
But this is the end of the beginning. The next edition should be the cynosure of all eyes, again. For now, Miss Nigeria has positioned itself as a national pageant focused on espousing the values of the model Nigerian woman.
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