Miss Nigeria

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]

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]

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]

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]

Miss Nigeria 2019 Beauty Tukura competing as Miss Taraba

• Denotes Region/state of origin during time of coronation

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]

• Official website