How has your journey been so far as Miss Grand Nigeria?
My journey as Miss Grand Nigeria has been an amazing one. You know, it has always been my dream to touch lives and be a voice for people, this crown has afforded me that opportunity and I remain so grateful to the Miss Grand Nigeria Organization for this.
I would also describe it as a learning curve. Wearing this crown, I have learnt a lot about life and about myself.
Many don’t know that you were a contestant at MBGN 2015 pageant. How was the experience like for you?
I was not a contestant at MBGN. I was a contestant at the Miss Nigeria beauty pageant in 2015 and boy, was it competitive! That was the year the pageant re-launched after their 1-year hiatus, so there was a large number of entries. It was my very first National pageant and I was sort of like… clueless (lol)! Not exactly, seeing that the team had a lot of faith in me to have selected me to make it into the finals, out of over 1000 pageant hopefuls.
It was a wonderful experience and it was in there I got to learn a lot of the things I know about pageantry today.
You represented Nigeria at the Miss Grand International pageant in Vietnam, how was your experience like and what were the challenges?
Yes! Still the most supercalifragilisticexpialidocious experience of my life so far (lol). I still try to imagine it… looking at the pictures and it feels so unreal. An absolute honor it was to have represented the giant of Africa all the way in Vietnam.
‘The best part of it for me was being called “Nigeria” by everyone. I realized a deep love for my country that I never even realized existed, I was proud to be called Nigeria’
Challenges? You say challenges, I say facilitators. It is in everything that seemingly went wrong that I gathered a great deal of experience. For every door that was slammed shut, a whole estate gate was flown open. No regrets whatsoever.
What memories did you take from the pageant in Vietnam?
Too many to list! All the memories are special. The friendships I formed are priceless! I have 76 friends from 76 different countries in the world. What can beat that? I experienced a different country apart from mine, different cultures and got to see a lot of Vietnam. That was my first time in Vietnam. Each time I hear the finale theme song or Despacito, I get teary-eyed. Lol.
Many say that we have lost the true essence of pageantries in Nigeria, what’s your take on this?
It is true that Beauty pageants are no longer held in high regards like they used to be. Personally, I think the industry has become too saturated, and with oversaturation comes a lot of evil. We definitely need a body to regulate the beauty pageant organizers. You cannot just wake up and decide you want to start organizing a beauty competition in your room. It is not acceptable. A lot of girls are being exploited under the guise of beauty pageants.
“The government too has to give recognition to this sector, we are contributing to the economy as well… directly or indirectly. There is a lot that can be achieved through beauty competitions”
As for the aspect of winning international titles, we need to study the way things are done in international pageants now. Things are not the way they used to be during Agbani’s time. 17 years later, a lot has definitely changed and we need to be receptive of this change in order to keep up.
What’s your educational background?
I hold a Bsc in Industrial Chemistry from the prestigious University of Port Harcourt. Looking forward to doing my masters.
With your latest feature on the movie CLUB, it seems you are venturing into acting; do you plan on adding this as one of your hobbies?
(lol) Yes. Cliché as this may sound, acting has always been my thing… I don’t really have to be acting to act. I totally enjoyed being on set for Club, so that’s a yes! Nollywood, better be prepared.
How do you manage to stay healthy and keep this body size?
Hardly do I go a day without encountering this question. To be quite honest, my physique is mainly attributed to good genes. To stay healthy, I drink a lot of water… (lol) not exactly, I plan to start soon though start doing yoga and maybe I’d go to the gym twice every week. In the meantime, I do nothing.
We have always known you to be a fashionable and stylist model, what are your two most priced fashion and beauty items?
I am an ardent believer in the Instagram quote “living a champagne lifestyle on a palm-wine budget”. Honestly, I don’t buy very expensive things yet. When I become wealthy, I will. No rush.
What current projects have you been up to lately?
Quite frankly, there is a lot on my plate. Such that I get full even from staring at it. Some of these projects I can’t share yet, but expect to see a lot from me soon. Parts to me I bet you never knew existed. You can always be rest assured there’d be a lot of Humanitarian works.
How do you hope intend to fund these projects?
Now I’m wondering which of the projects you are referring to. I’d assume you mean my pet project. Funding for my pet project would be done through the office of the Miss Grand Nigeria… With the help of my amazing management. That office holds a lot of power.
What should we expect from you in the remaining part of 2018?
Like I said earlier, there’s a lot to be seen: Business, Entertainment, Humanitarian works, etc. Still unfolding, I’m a cabbage.
