Miss Nigeria

Miss Nigeria is an annual beauty pageant which showcases positive attributes of Nigerian women and awards university scholarships. The winner portrays exemplary qualities and serves as a role model for young women in the country. The pageant is currently organized by Daily Times.[1]

Not to be confused with Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria.
Miss Nigeria
MottoEmpowering Women Beyond Beauty
Formation1957
TypeBeauty pageant
HeadquartersLagos
Location
Pageant organiser
Daily Times of Nigeria
Websitemissnigeria.ng

The current titleholder is Law graduate Etsanyi Tukura who represented Taraba, and her platform is Empowerment of the Girl Child.[2]

History

National newspaper Daily Times established the Miss Nigeria franchise which originally started as a photo contest in 1957. Contestants sent photographs to the publication's Lagos office where finalists were shortlisted; those successful were invited to compete in the live final which at the time did not include a swimsuit competition at the Lagos Island Club. UAC employee Grace Oyelude won the maiden edition of Miss Nigeria, and would later use part of her £200 prize money to travel to England where she studied Nursing.[3]

Contrary to popular belief, Julie Coker was not the first Miss Nigeria – she had actually won Miss Western Nigeria but used the 'Miss Nigeria' title for official engagements aboard. However, she did compete in the contest the year after Oyelude's reign, but lost to secretarial student Helen Anyamaeluna.[4] Former seamstress Nene Etule remains the only non-Nigerian to have won the contest; she was eligible as the Southern Cameroons were under Nigerian constitution in 1959.[5] The following year the contest was briefly renamed 'Miss Independence' to commemorate the country's independence from British rule, and WNTV continuity announcer Rosemary Anieze was crowned in a ceremony which included Coker as one of the judges.[6]

The sixties saw Miss Nigeria competing at international level. Yemi Idowu, who won in 1962, reached the semi-finals at Miss United Nations 1963, the same year a swimsuit round was introduced into Miss Nigeria. Idowu's successor, salesgirl Edna Park, became the first Nigerian at Miss Universe in 1964. Park is best remembered for disrupting the show when she collapsed on stage after failing to reach the top fifteen. She was carried away by policemen and contest officials,[7] and spent the night in a Miami hospital under sedation where she was consoled by Nneka Onyegbula, wife of the Nigerian ambassador, who reportedly stated "All the judges are White and they aren't really competent to judge dark girls' beauty". Since Park, no other Miss Nigeria has competed at Miss Universe.[8] Rosaline Balogun became the first official Miss Nigeria at Miss World in 1967.

After the new millennium, Miss Nigeria became a shadow of its former self, and the contest was placed on hold in 2004. With the gradual demise of Daily Times and rivalry with Sliverbird's Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, Daily Times lost their license to send delegates to Miss World and Miss Universe,[9] and no winner was crowned after Clara Ojo's victory from 1994 to 1998 due to the organiser's incapability to convene a pageant during this time. To date, Ojo remains the longest-serving Miss Nigeria; although no contest was held from 2004 to 2010, Ene Lawani had already ceased ceromonial duties long before the franchise was purchased from the Daily Times.

In 2010, after a six-year attempt, AOE Events and Entertainment, headed by former MBGN Nike Oshinowo were brought into the Miss Nigeria franchise by Daily Times.[10][11] For the first time in its history, entry was open to women in the diaspora,[12] and inspired by Miss America, Oshinowo relaunched Miss Nigeria as a scholarship programme which offered free tuition to the winner and second and third-place winners, with the Miss Nigeria titleholder receiving a scholarship to study at any University of her choice worldwide.[13] The new Miss Nigeria now included a reality show The Making of a Queen which saw contestants compete in various tasks synonymous with Nigerian women including cooking on outdoor firewood stoves, hostessing, and haggling with market traders, with a number of contestants facing eviction each week.[14] Evening gowns were made from traditional African fabrics and, most notably, the swimsuit competition was discontinued.[15] The pageant ran for two years before the organization of the pageant was taken over by Beth Model Management CEO and former Miss Nigeria UK Elizabeth Aisien in 2012.[16]

Throughout the year, the winner is sponsored by several prestigious organisations, and may land endorsement deals.[17] In 2016 Miss Nigeria established the Green Girl Project, a community development initiative aimed at empowering young women to become facilitators of sustainable practices towards ensuring a clean and peaceful environment. It also aims to give young women a platform to become agents of change for the environment.[18]

Competition

Contestants are required to be unmarried, childless, and not pregnant, with a good command of English, and of Nigerian citizenship. They should be between the ages of 18 and 25 years old, of good health, and of good character with no tattoos or piercings apart from ears.

The competition starts with a call to entry where interested participants are required to purchase registration forms after which a casting call commences in the country's 6 geopolitical zones. Judges select 37 girls out of the thousands that apply. The chosen 37 head out to bootcamp lasting a total of 2–3 weeks. During bootcamp, contestants are given tasks to test their skills in different areas. They are also given training in various activities to empower them, develop their entrepreneurship skills, and expose them to different industries enabling them to understand and begin to learn the role of an ambassador. Originally, contestants were given numbers during live shows, but this was changed in 2010 when they each represented Nigerian states. For the 2013 edition, they represented their respective individuality – each contestant had their name printed on their sash, and only twenty-one of the thirty-six semi-finalists competed in the final.[19] In 2015, the contestants once again represented states.

Prizes for the winner vary each year; as of 2013 this includes ₦3,000,000, a luxury car, the Miss Nigeria diamond-encrusted crown, an apartment for the duration of the winner's reign, and a modeling contract with Beth Model Management. The full scholarship now extends to higher institutions in the country only.[20]

Criticism

Critics described the original pageant as a parade of beauty with no brains. Former pageant manager Yomi Onanuga told an interviewer in 2006: "We are tired of seeing girls on stage after two weeks in camp, and having much fun, all we see is that they ask them [questions] and they win. Two months after, somebody asks her the same question, she cannot answer, and people begin to ask, Where did she get her crown from?".[21] English Literature student Ibinabo Fiberesima was unable to name the vice-chancellor of the University of Ibadan which she attended.[22] Fiberesima has claimed in numerous interviews and on her former website that she had competed in 1997,[23][24][25] but this statement is questionable as no contest was held from 1994 to 1998; she had actually been a contestant in 1991, finishing second behind Bibiana Ohio.

In 1988, dark-skinned trainee caterer Stella Okoye crowned her successor Wunmi Adebowale who was also dark,[26] thus breaking a long line of light-skinned winners, yet Okoye's reign had not been without controversy – fellow contestant Omasan Buwa told The Punch in 2011 "In the hall that day, there was a big uproar and they had to take her out with police escort[s]. The audience felt she was very dark."[27]

The mediocre prizes, along with the lack of endorsements and connections were a cause for concern before the new millennium. Miss Nigeria 1963 Alice Adepe told the Idoma Voice "After my reign, that was end of the story. There was no follow up, nobody cared to know how I was faring. Things were no longer rosy. I was abandoned, so I decided to return home." [28] Similarly, 1993's winner Janet Fateye stated "People thought I was raking in all the money there was, but that wasn't the case. The prize money at the time was a mere N12,000, given to me at N1,000 a month. Yes, I got the car prize that was being serviced by Daily Times, but then I had to buy petrol!"[29] Millennium queen Vien Tetsola reportedly resided in accommodation hardly matching her status as reigning Miss Nigeria.[30]

Scandals

Miss Nigeria 1977, Toyin Monney, was a single mother who had also withheld information regarding her real age, and was banned from competing at Miss World, leaving no time to process a visa for Miss Nigeria's first-place winner. Miss Nigeria 1981 Tokunboh 'Kemi' Onanuga had forged the WAEC certificate she used to gain admission into the University of Lagos, [31] and was expelled by the institution. In 2011, WAEC confirmed on their Twitter account Onanuga had committed exam fraud.[32]

Binta Sukai's eligibility to compete in 1990 was questioned when she was rumoured to be non-Nigerian, until it was confirmed that the aspiring fashion designer was only one-quarters Scottish.

In 2001, tabloid magazine City People revealed that the reigning Miss Nigeria, thirty-year-old Valerie Peterside, had lied about her actual age (she had told organisers she was twenty-five) and forged her university qualifications (she was reportedly expelled from Ahmadu Bello University prior to graduation due to examination malpractice).[33] Following an investigation by several prominent Nigerians including former Daily Times editor Tony Momoh and former Miss Nigeria contestant Julie Coker, a decision was made to dethrone her. Peterside, who had competed the previous year (Again as a 25-year-old), fought to keep the crown, but was forced to resign, allowing first runner-up Applied Chemistry student Amina Ekpo to take over.[34][35]

Despite her popularity as Miss Nigeria 2002, International relations graduate Sylvia Edem attracted further media attention when it was rumoured she had forged her date of birth to compete, like Peterside before her. It was believed that Edem was thirty years old, until an investigation confirmed she was indeed twenty-three.[36]

Title holders
Miss Nigeria 2019 Beauty Tukura competing as Miss Taraba
Year Title Holder Region/State of origin* Notes
1957 Grace Oyelude Northern Region Now retired from nursing
1958 Helen Anyamaeluna † Eastern Region
1959 Nene Etule Victoria Now Nene Malafa; married former Director of United Nations Information Services in Nigeria, Pen Malafa;[37][38]
1960 Rosemary Anieze also known as "Miss Independence" Mid-Western Region Now Rosemary Anieze-Adams, worked in TV and radio
1961 Clara Emefiena
1962 Yemi Idowu Western Region Now Yemi Majekodunmi; was semi-finalist at Miss United Nations [39]
1963 Alice Adepe Northern Nigeria First Idoma winner
1964 Edna Park Mid-Western Region First – and last – official Miss Nigeria at Miss Universe; now lives in the United Kingdom[40]
1965 Anna Eboweime[41] Mid-Western Region
1967 Rosaline Yinka Balogun Western State First official Miss Nigeria at Miss World
1968 Foluke Ogundipe Western State
1970 Stella Owivri[42] Lagos
1972 Victoria Bamidele Lagos
1977 Toyin Monney Lagos
1978 Irene Omagbemi Lagos
1979 Helen Prest Bendel Later Helen-Prest Davis and now Helen Prest-Ajayi; lawyer, author and columnist[43]
1980 Syster Jack Rivers
1981 Tokunbo Onanuga dethroned Lagos Dethroned after false WAEC results were discovered[44]
1982 Rita Martins Lagos
1984 Cynthia Oronsaye Lagos
1985 Rosemary Okeke Imo Later Rosemary Wright, fashion designer[45]
1986 Rita Anuku †[46] Bendel
1987 Stella Okoye Imo
1988 Wunmi Adebowale Lagos Now Wunmi Ogunbiyi; manager with Zenith Bank[47]
1990 Binta Sukai Kaduna
1991 Bibiana Ohio Lagos Worked as an actress and dog-breeder[48]
1993 Janet Fateye Lagos Now Janet Gabriel; IT consultant in United Kingdom[49]
1994 Clara Ojo Edo Longest-serving Miss Nigeria
1998 Regina Nwabunar Abia
2000 Vien Tetsola also known as the "Millennium Queen" Delta
2001 a Valerie Ama Peterside dethroned Rivers Dethroned for forging age and qualifications
2001 b Amina Ekpo replaced Peterside Akwa Ibom Now an applied chemist[50]
2002 Sylvia Edem Cross River
2003 Nwando Okwuosa Anambra Last Miss Nigeria to compete at international level
2004 Ene Lawani Benue Now a fashion designer specializing in headgear[51]
2010 Damilola Agbajor Delta
2011 Feyijimi Sodipo Ogun
2013 Ezinne Akudo Anyaoha Imo Now a lawyer and activist
2015 Lessi Peter-Vigboro Cross River
2016 Chioma Obiadi Anambra
2017 Mildred Peace Ehiguese Adamawa First North-Eastern winner
2018 Chidinma Leilani Aaron Enugu
2019 Beauty Etsanyi Tukura Taraba First winner from Taraba State
  • Denotes Region/state of origin during time of coronation

Notable contestants

Unofficial title holders
  • Former Miss Western Nigeria Julie Coker has often been described as the first winner of Miss Nigeria, but she had actually won Miss Western Nigeria.[58]
  • 1963 saw the reign of the first Idoma winner Alice Adepe, but neither she nor her runners-up were allowed to compete at Miss World after Daily Times decided they were "too ugly". A sub-pageant, Miss Nigeria World, was hastily organised with 16-year-old Martha Bassey emerging winner, but Miss World organisers disqualified her on age grounds. Although Eric Morley had confirmed no suitable Nigerian representative had been selected, Miss World Nigeria's first runner-up, Therese Gina Onyejiaka, became the first ever Nigerian Miss World representative after paying for her trip to London from her own pocket (The Miss World organisers had refused to fly her out to the venue at their expense to avoid accusations of favouritism), yet the Nigerian High Commission refused to acknowledge Onyejiaka as Miss Nigeria.[59]
  • In 1966, after Nigeria was unable to send a representative to the Miss World 1966 pageant (No contest was held that year), London-resident Uzor Okafor was disqualified due to her status as an unofficial titleholder. The Nigerian High Commissioner, Latif Dosumu, had refused to sign her registration form as required by the Miss World Organisation, claiming the High Commission did not endorse pageants and were therefore unable to lend official support. [60] Okafor, who described her participation as a gesture of goodwill, argued the High Commission had assured her she could register as an official candidate, but Dosumu denied the claim. News of Okafor's marriage and two children was also leaked (She had given birth to one of her daughters seven months prior to the contest), making her ineligible to compete, and she was ordered to leave the contestants' hotel immediately. Okafor later claimed she regretted her involvement in the pageant, and had been urged by her British husband Bruce Newman.[61]
  • Shortly after Agbani Darego's victory at Miss World, Miss Nigeria 2001 Amina Ekpo took legal action against her MBGN counterpart who was accused of misrepresentation, stating that Darego had fraudulently presented herself as Miss Nigeria at the international pageant, and had not been authorised to use the title – at international level MBGN representatives are often presented as "Miss Nigeria". Former Daily Times managing director Onukaba Adinoyi Ojo, who had famously described MBGN winners as "lowly-rated queens" supported the $10,000,000 lawsuit, claiming "We will do everything possible to make sure we prevent people from tampering with a patented pageant like Miss Nigeria, [and] will not allow anybody to misrepresent us."[62]
  • The Guardian came under fire for misrepresenting the Miss Nigeria brand in 2011 when Theatre Arts student and former MBGN runner-up Sandra Otohwo was described as Miss Nigeria 2009 by their sister publication Allure. Otohwo, who had represented Nigeria at Miss Universe 2009, posed for photographs in a bikini, enraging the Miss Nigeria organisers who had promoted their swimsuit-free pageant as a wholesome institution, and pointed out that the competition was dormant from 2004 to 2010, therefore making it impossible for the organisers to have crowned a Queen in 2009. The Guardian later apologised and printed the organisers' letter in a subsequent issue.[63]

Difference between Miss Nigeria and Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN)

The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) pageant is organised by the Silverbird Group while Miss Nigeria is currently handled by Daily Times (Folio). The Miss Nigeria swimsuit competition was scrapped in 2011, but this feature remains popular at MBGN.[64] Another notable distinction is MBGN winners automatically become representatives at international pageants while Miss Nigeria acts as a cultural ambassador.[65]

References
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  4. In My Time, We Knew Nothing About Genotype
  5. Cameroon Political Story
  6. "Enahoro's humour made me fall in love with him". Archived from the original on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  7. Miss Nigeria Not Selected
  8. Miss Universe:Beauty
  9. Men Are Scared of Me Archived 27 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
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  11. Olukole, Tope (19 June 2010). "Miss Nigeria Returns After Six Years •To Hold in Three Continents". Nigerian Tribune. Ibadan, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  12. Nigeria: Miss Nigeria Pageant Returns
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  14. Miss Nigeria casting holds in Abuja today
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  16. Nigerian beauty pageants still evolving -Elohor Aisien
  17. Miss Nigeria Pageant... Showcasing Beauty, Brains and Culture
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  22. It’s Not Easy Being A Single Mother –Bibiana Ohio
  23. I Was Destined to Be an Entertainer
  24. My past turned me into a new person Archived 8 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
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  30. New Miss Nigeria
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  32. queen, her age, and tale bearers
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  37. Chief Etule
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  39. Miss United Nations Archived 1 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  40. Edna Park Interview
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  42. Stella Owivri at Miss World
  43. "Helen Prest and Her Daughter". Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
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  48. "Bibiana Court Document". Archived from the original on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  49. Neophonics
  50. "Amina Ekpo". Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  51. Rising Profile
  52. "Julie Coker interview". Archived from the original on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  53. Joan Okorodudu
  54. I Want to Give Hope to the African Child
  55. The Lie Sylvia Nduka Told
  56. Controversies Still Trailing Sylvia Nduka
  57. "elegant apparel by trish o couture". brandiconimage.com.
  58. FAB News: Chief Ebenezer Obey’s 70th Birthday Party in London
  59. Miss World 1963 Archived 4 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  60. Miss World Contestant Review
  61. Nigerian Entry for Miss World Disqualified
  62. Fellow Nigerian's 10-million-dollar suit hangs on Miss World
  63. Miss Nigeria beauty pageant
  64. Miss Nigeria Returns after 6 years, without swim wear segment
  65. Being a Beauty Queen is Huge Responsibility
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