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Beauty Queen, Abimbola Abayomi: I’ m dedicated to creating opportunities for youths to excel

Miss Abimbola Abayomi, a graduate of Language and Literature of the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, is a model and presenter, who is the current Nigerian Queen, under Miss Grant International, one of the top tier pageants in the country. She spoke with FLORA ONWUDIWE on her reign as the 13th Nigerian Queen, impact on youths at the grassroots level and importance of pageantry. Excerpts…

How did your journey into the beauty pageantry begun?

Whilst growing up, I have always wanted to be a beauty queen; because when I was young, I felt in the face of glamour, crowning night, I felt that is a place to be, I would like to do that. I felt it was just the idea of the beauty of the night, just like modeling, because I started out my career as a model. So it was just by the crowning moment beyond modeling what next, beauty pageant. For me, it was I could do this, I really want to do this. But growing up not being a young girl anymore and seeing what the pageant space is like, the value of the ladies that emerged at the society with their community service and the impact that they have, it just made me want to do it more. Because I felt it will give me the opportunity to be able to impact my society beyond my little corner, beyond my immediate family, so I felt that it was a very big platform for the young ladies out there, who may have vision and ideas for the society. How you want your society or community to progress.

What is your vision for the society and what impact have you made?

For me, I have always been a model and presenter, I transited into being a presenter as a full career. So, I have always had a conversation, I have a platform called Blue Heart where I talk to lawyers and different people on how young people can be better in society. So I have always had this affinity towards the youths, where you hear things that they are doing that they are not meant to be doing. What can we do to engage these young minds because there are always potentials out there, so what are the things that are standing in their way and not actualising their dreams or becoming people of repute in the society?

Why is it that it looks like most of the young people are towards the negative aspect, so I started this online platform with my friend and we were always talking about what young people are up to in Nigeria and how they can also be active part in the society?

So when I went for my pageant as the Nigerian Queen, I decided to further fleshed out these plans and see beyond talking, what else can you offer, what opportunities exist for them? So I decided that my project would focus on creating an avenue for opportunities not just talking to them about showing love and care, so that is why I decided to partner with some organisations, businesses that will be able to bring these young people that show interest on board, giving them job opportunities or starting up a business in line with their own businesses or opening up the avenue for skill acquisitions.

What does being a queen means to you?

Being a queen is a responsibility. So growing up like I said I wanted to a be a Queen, but I got very negative response from my family, they said no. When I finally decided that I was going ahead to contest, I told myself, you are what you make of yourself, you are your values, you are what you believe, so if you believe that if you go in there, people will take advantage of you, probably that is what you come across. I can say in my year as Nigerian Queen I haven’t had such experience. People would want to hang out with the queen, are you telling people that you are available or you are more than that? But if you tell people that you are available more that is the way they will see you. So is a personal joy to be able to express my individuality, express my understanding of what the pageant space should be about, that it is given back to the society, which is what I admire about it from the onset. Young women who are giving the opportunity to influence their society, that is exactly what I am taking away from the pageant, that is exactly what I want other young ladies interested to see that they can do so much by being pageant queens rather than being simply beautiful.

At what point did you notice that you will be crowned Nigerian Queen?

It was a stiff competition, when I got into the camp period, you know for the pageant you have a camping period where all the girls meet, you know each other. You carry out tasks, so for that very first week at the camp, I was just having fun, we had about 30 participants that was after different auditions. As some point I said let me just do it for the fun of it, let me not stress myself. Like I said pageantry has always been what I wanted to do, so I wanted to increase my base, outreach especially for my online advocacy and conversations that I do. So that was the focus, so when I got into the house and I saw the ladies that were there, amazing, intelligent, beautiful, I got in late, then I had moved from Port Harcourt back to Lagos, so I had to go back for the contest. It wasn’t easy settling back at Port Harcourt, the time when I became confident that I was a real contender for the crown was during the first leg, the preliminaries, you had mini – competitions where the external judges come around to ask questions and after the entire preliminaries, I realised that I did well, even some ladies that I thought will over shadow me, they didn’t. It was an amazing experience, so I said there is a possibility now, it looks like it can be achieved now. So that is when I started getting confident.

What were those striking qualities that made you overshadow other participants that were equally as good, beautiful and intelligent as you were?

I think during those questions and answers segments I did very well, my response to the questions from the judges were well taken, they were very relatable, you know I am a presenter, I did not stutter, my presentation and my wardrobe which was taken care by my best friend, went a long way. I think I presented myself very well all through the event. All these put together were what made me emerge the winner.

Who is your ideal life partner?

Someone who is supportive, someone who understands that we have to work together to make things work. It does not matter who is the head or who the tail, we are a team. We work together to make things work. Someone who is caring, because as I am, I am like a television girl and a model and if my partner is not understanding it will bring a lot of issues, things that are not meant to be problematic will begin to carry the day. It must be someone who is willing to be a partner because I have a long way to go.

How do you relax as you are quite busy with different engagements?

I like travelling and visiting other places, I like to experience new things.

In beauty pageantry, did you have any mentors?

I think every pageant queen in what I saw always likes to mention Agbani Darego because of the class she brought to the pageant space. Apart from her winning Miss World, as the first Nigerian ever, there is serenity to her, there is this expectancy of a queen that is met in the way she carries herself. So as pageantry, I did look up to her. She still exudes this quintessential presence. I think she values a lot of things that centre around family, she keeps her family private, keep her space private, even though she is a public figure. I really took that, because all along with what happen to pageant girls it is really great to see someone who can do that and still be revered in her space.

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