I have really missed you guys!!
Thanks for sticking with bellanaija
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well…
I’m sure you are all gearing up for the holiday season……no matter where u r I know its going to be fun…
Anyway unto today’s stuff…hope you enjoy it!
Please leave your comments…Much luv MUAH
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Beauty pageants are a big deal in Nigeria…
Most beauty queens become celebrities while very few become legends…forever embedded in Nigerian pop culture history….
Here are some of Nigeria’s most famous beauty queens and an update on where they are now.
Helen Prest AjayiMiss Nigeria 1979, Helen Prest Ajayi’s image is deeply embedded in the minds of many Nigerians (including blogger Molara Wood). She served as Miss Nigeria with grace and composure and is one of the beauty queens of note.
She represented Nigeria in various beauty pageants including the Miss World pageant. Helen is a graduate of Obafemi Awlowo University and also holds a LLB and LLM from the prestigious Kings College London. Helen writes a popular lifestyle column in ThisDay Style. She is the Creative Director of Media Business Company and mylifestylesolutions.com.
Bianca Onoh OjukwuBianca is the only Nigerian beauty queen who resigned from her position (although some reports say she was forced out). She won the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria crown in 1989 and went on the win the Miss Intercontinental crown. Bianca became embroiled in controversy when it was revealed that she was dating her father’s close friend – Biafra leader - Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. It turned out to be a serious relationship as they got eventually got married. It took more than a decade but after many years of animosity, her father Chief Christian Onoh finally relented and she and Ojukwu formally married in the 2001. Bianca runs a successful cosmetics company in Enugu where she resides with Ojukwu and their twins.
Regina Askia WilliamsRegina Askia didn’t actually win the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 1989 crown but when Bianca Onoh resigned halfway through her reign, Regina took the crown.
She represented Nigeria in various international beauty pageants and proved herself to be a worthy beauty queen.
This hazel-eyed former Miss Unilag stayed in the spotlight by pursuing a career in acting. She featured in various TV shows including Fortunes and Mega Fortunes. She was also one of the pioneering actors in Nollywood.
Regina presently lives in New York where she is a prominent figure in the New York-Nigerian entertainment scene. She owns various start-up businesses including Regine Promotions. Regina is married to Ruddy Williams (a former employee of the New York Mercantile Exchange). She has three children - Stephanie Regina Hornecker (her father is a French businessman), Rudolph (Jnr) Williams and Teesa Olympia Williams.
Nike OsinowoIn 1991, Nike Osinowo was crowned as the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. Beautiful and vivacious, Nike is a Nigerian style icon. Despite being in her 40s, Nike is always impeccably groomed with a wardrobe to die for. She founded one of Nigeria’s first spas (she eventually sold it). Nike is still very active in the Nigerian social scene, she appeared on the cover of Genevieve magazine and discussed her reasons for bucking Nigerian conventional tradition by deciding not get married or have children.
Nike is also very involved in non-profit and humanitarian initiatives.
Agbani DaregoAgbani won the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant in 2001 and went on to secure her place in history by winning the Miss World 2001 crown (she was also a Top 10 finalist n the Miss Universe 2001 pageant where Donald Trump offered her a modelling contract). She became the first black African to win the Miss World title and created a media sensation, she was given a Nigerian honor by President, Olusegun Obasanjo. Agbani is one of the few ex-beauty queens who have gone on to have a successful modeling career. She is a former L’Oreal International model and is currently signed to Next Models New York. Click HERE to see a recent photoshoot and HERE for info on her at UN Fashion For Food show.
Are they good role models?
Are beauty pageants really a path to a brighter future?
What ever happened to all the other pageant winners? Toyin Raji, Sabina Umeh etc…?
What do you think? Let us know!
43 comments:
we all have our bag of dirt... and anyone who doesn't, all I can say is tough luck!
I love them queens, but the intelligent ones sha... am proud of N.O., A.D., and H.A... love seeing women doing positive things... the negative things they indulge in just gives the balance that is only natural.
blog on!
LOL. I like this post. Ah. Not a fan of NO. Sorry broccoli. These women are holding their own though and they all still look great....
http://www.sabinaworld.com/
sABINA UMWH'S WEBSITE
NEYENWA NWAJEI
Yeah FAB women in all their various works of life and still looking beautiful even with age.
Role Models?????Now that's debatable.
Nice one Bella, some of them honestly are the bom!!! and lovely roles models but the dark side of them i agree is what makes them natural abi
Dimples is right lol...but nice post, not bad, ure prob the only consistent blogger, a lot more than I can say for myself, we bloggers have been slacking lately, might be something in the water!
Corona Girls in the house!
Nice post up Bella!. Fact is.. Looks are a lot of what our culture is about. We hate to admit it but omo foiness is always a show stopper. I commend these women for stepping out and being recognized for their hot looks and then using that look to get everything else.. DAAS JES SEXXY...
"I commend these women for stepping out and being recognized for their hot looks and then using that look to get everything else"....LOL @ ICY...now that's calling a spade a spade.
ME I LOVE BEAUTY PAGEANTS AND THE BEAUTY QUEENS.... THEY ARE JUST FABULOUS!!!! If only we can just move away from the BEAUTY ONLY PART TO 'BEAUTY AND BRAINS'
what happened to binta sukai?she was my best
DAMN!..These Women aged well oh..lol..@ all the inuendo's...I dont know them personally, but from all the "news" and "rumors"...i don't think ill term them role models...
DAMN!..These Women aged well oh..lol..@ all the inuendo's...I dont know them personally, but from all the "news" and "rumors"...i don't think ill term them role models...
bianca is my role model....it pays to marry your sugar daddy lol
I was just asking a friend about Regina Askia this weekend. She still looks pretty good. Are her eyes really hazel or its contacts lol?
And congrats to Agbani, the gods are on her side.
Well I wouldnt really say they are all role models cos ppl barely know about them besides their social lifestyle.
But N.Oshinowo's got my vote any day! She has the courage to ditch that so-called norm of the society and live her life, lady's got guts! I love her still
Nike Oshinowo is the Beauty Queen of all beauty queens. She always looks classy and elegant. I love her style!
All of dem don marry?
Thanx Babz.
They are all fantabulous women in their own rights. I admire Bianca a lot.
Gosh Beauty Queens, i got my first taste when i was about 4 years old. I sang in the opening for the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria in 1986...and i remember having to go the national theatre every day, with some of my classmates from Abbey Nursery School to watch the queens to be and also to rehearse. It was the first time i met Ben Bruce and i think my first exposure to the entertainment world.
These women work hard and i can only commend them...
Wonderful post.
Slapped me down memory lane
I loooooove beauty pagents. I think they are a way in which we celebrate those who have been blessed with God's "beauty stick". So people have photographic memories, other people are very good at Math and some people are born to be great beauties. The difference with beautiful people is that we get to see their gifts before we get to know them as a person.
Mehn that Ojukwu woman is fine o
I love all this women and admire them especially nike oshinowo. I would like to ask a question however, I want to someday compete in the MBGN pageant but have heard negative things such as an ordinary girl can't win if she doesn't know some prominent people, have money, be some big man's daughter, or as nigerians say it (have/use leg to win). Is this true? I don't really want to believe the pageant is rigged but people keep telling me not to waste my time. I aspire to be an ambassador/humanatarian and feel I have a message to deliver. Should I quit dreaming????
agbani is by far the prettiest.....regina still got tho love her eyes
yea luv Nikes style..she looks gracious everytime i see her..
To the last 'Anonymous' who asked about rumours surrounding what it might take to win (hopefully, not in all cases!) a beauty contest, whether 'leg' or 'bottom power' helps...
It may interest you to know of a recent scandal with Miss Great Britain, who was removed when it was discovered she had slept with one of the judges (footballer Teddy Sherringham) ahead of the event. Danielle Lloyd won on a combined Judges/audience vote. Sherringham was the only judge who voted for her.
http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news?id=24360
MW
Bianca Ojukwu is gorgeous...damn. I remember my mom used to go on and on about how beautiful she was, but i have never seen a picture of her. Is she full black?
Great post!
If only the social responsibility of these queens are highlighted, they would surely make role models....
It's actually a good avenue to give back to the community by channeling monies from the wealthy to the underpriveledged if only it could be highly maximised.
Nice one, Bella!
Hmm...not my cuppa! Role models? For who? For what? No! They're not, they're just china dolls, end of!...lol
I really think you can learn something from EVERYONE, even if it is HOW NOT TO...(behave, dress, talk, stuff like that).
I took a liking to Helen Ajayi after I read excerpts of an interview she did sometime ago. The answers she gave were not thoughtlessy thrown out but really intelligent.
She's not all in your face and she is certainly role model material. I want to look like her at her age (If not better...LOL)
Bella Naija, this was a great post.
This is my favorite post. Always wanted to know what was up with our Beauty Queens. Thanks Bella. Where do you dig up all this info from??? You never cease to amaze me. Once again, you seem to have outdone yourself!
where is current miss nigeria,ene maya lawani?bella u should put here amongs this,men that girl is a beauty to behold,specially her eyes n height
i have seen the pictures of few beauty queens but i could not see linda chuba ikpeazu, angela ukpoma, nwando okwuosa, munachi abii and many others.. i will be pleased if i would be given the chance to know why..thanks
Binta Sukai updated(stella groove blog)
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS EX MISS NIGERIA BINTA SUKAI?
claim to fame:ex-beauty queen.
who will forget the fresh faced beauty called binta sukai in a hurry?no one!olofofos have whispered into my ear drums on what binta has been up to.according to them,the now 37yr old beauty who is in a secret affiar with one of the ibru boys(remove the last two letters from his name and you will be with the oba of lagos)binta whom is whisepred to still be as single as grain of rice is still as beautiful as ever.according to the whispers''binta used to live in portharcourt,then she came over to lagos where she lodged for a long time at maple cottage in lekki phase 1,she has no car and used to go around in taxis and friends cars,she suddenly vanished out of circulation in november 2007 and no one knows where she is though she is whispered to be currently pregnant,no one knows for sure as she is Missing in action.please if you know the current hideout of ms sukai,help me tell her that her friends are looking for her,if she decides to re- surface!
Bianca and Agbani are my favoruite. The most useless one is that Muncahi Abii 2007, I heard she was dating one casinova boy Lanre Nzeribe, former sugar boy to Grace Egbagbe and Liz Benson. I dont see Munachi near success. I sure hope she doesnt represent anything else in Naija in the future, I hear she has been hanging around with prostitutes in Lagos
na wa for dis bobo lanre nzeribe sha. Is he not tired of linking himself with famous women from one bad publicity to the other? the man no get family wen fit pull him hear? from daniela suleiman wen born pickin boy,Jordan for am. I hear say the bobo leave daniela wen the picken still small for liz benson, then leave liz for stella damascus, then leave stella for grace egbagbe, then leave grace for munachi abii and now to one sugar mommie for washington way day send am laundry money around the world. na wa for lanre o!
Nice post. but whya are the commonwealth queens left out especially Vanessa Ekeke and Nkem Itulidiegwu they are both very beautiful ladies u know. I especially admire Vanessa's personality. Nkem is too much into herself
Congrats to Ada MBGN 2008! I hope you do a better job than that munachi abii who is so rude, i saw it live at the hip hop ward. she was too full of herself. where do you guys find this kind of ghetto queen who wants to rap and act? munachi is nothing close to Bianca or Agbani, this girls have to much class and respect.
To the last person, yes Munachi Abii has no class whats so ever. How did she surface or get into such competition? She was already working elsewhere appearing on videos even before her term ended, shows no respect and value for MBGN. I dont respect munachi because she could have resigned just like Bianca did. Instead the ungrateful thing went on news papers talking shit like 'being queen no longer excites me' shows that she got no value for the brand. she wants to rap and act to? what is silverbird and MBGN organisers doing about this act?
Anyway, I dont think anybody should compare Agbani and Bianca with any of the past MBGN. These 2 women are matured, itelligent, beautiful and have too much class and just cant be comparable!
You mean Munachi Abii dated Lanre Nzeribe? Meanwhile she has been lying on papers 'i have no boyfriend and im not searching'. She is such a big lie! Close sources said it was Rita Dominic who introduced them just after Grace Egbagbe's birthday party last July. What a trash world these people live in. Mainwhile Grace Egbagbe even invited Rita on a special VIP and she did this to her. Rita slept with Lanre before passing him over to the next. I can believe MBGN girl can do such a slizy thing. Meanwhile she is now datng psquare. na wa for the girl o! dont know what to believe when she talks
http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=04/05/2008&qrTitle=Lola,%20Munachi%20fight%20over%20peter%20of%20P-Square&qrColumn=ENTERTAINMENT%20WORLD
(Quoted from the above link)
‘That Peter has opted for munachi has become a major discussion not only amongst his family and friends, but also the entire music industry in Nigeria as most of them are of the view that Peter is stooping low to date munachi instead of Lola who has been instrumental to the growth of his music career’.
I am sorry but Munachi is a big mistake and should never have won the MBGN. First, she was fighting over Lanre Nzeribe with Grace Egbagbe, Now she is fighting of Psqaure with Lola. What kind of a trash queen is this? It’s a total discrace!
Oh noo.... Munachi, queens don't fight over men! Trust me, they are not worth it! At list not the ones you've been fighting for lately
You guys are ignorant , clueless and i bet ugly. Which one of you
two- faced cowards dare stand in the public eye and declare your selves as anything but ill-informed haters.
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