Bebe Akinboade
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THE BLESSING AND THE CURSE OF THE BEAUTY QUEEN- MOWUNMI AKINNIFESI

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Being a beauty Queen is glamorous, fabulous and exciting. Chaperons go everywhere with you. You travel and represent your country in different parts of the World. You meet people and lets just say you are practically living the fairytale life in reality. Errrrrr, yeah! Just until the responsibilities and pressures of being a Queen kick in. When you have to look a certain way, dress a certain way and even talk a certain way. You practically become a robot while that crown is on your head. But off course when the crown finally comes off, it’s like lifting a stone from your head. You feel lighter and even more spontaneous.
It hurts when I hear people talk about Beauty Queens, saying, “She disappeared”, where is she now? What is she doing? Now let me ask you these questions; do you disappear? Where are you now? And what are you doing? Yeah! Didn’t think you’ll be able to answer that easy. People forget that these girls are actually normal human beings. Most girls win the crown in their extremely young years (Say age 18), and by the next year decide to move on to new and better things. Some go ahead to finish school, some leave the country for better education, some get married and some just decide to be on the low. Being a Beauty Queen is not a career. It is a one-year opportunity to live a dream and whatever you decide to do after that is your choice.
The first encounter you go through as a Queen is that “she slept with the organisers of the Pageant. Hearing this breaks my heart. A girl has finally achieved her life long fairy tale dream and all people say is that she slept with the organisers. That’s pitiful. I can officially and humbly say that participants of “The Most Beautiful Girl In Nigeria Pageant”(Sorry but this is the only Pageant I can vouch for) do not even meet the organisers throughout the event. I am a perfect example.

I went into the pageant for fun, without thinking I would win. My University at that time was on strike and this was an opportunity to have fun. I did not know a single soul. A very dear friend of mine forced me to escort her to the auditions. The dance Choreographer for the Pageant at the time, asked what Agency I was from and I said “From Home”. You should have seen his face “he almost bust into laughter because most girls in the Pageant where from Top Modelling Agencies, they had been on popular Bill Boards, Calendar adverts etc. And all I had done was “come from home”. Yet I won. I must tell you that I never thought I would win. I wasn’t the most beautiful girl there yet my light shone on that day and I was picked.
I hereby urge any young girl that wants to go into the pageantry World to go in confidently. Trust me it’s a fair shot. I am a living example (I’ll tell the journey to the crown story another time).

Winning the crown is one thing the aftermath is another. From the day you win, even if you become President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria people will still address you as “Omowunmi Akinnifesi, ex Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria” or “Agbani Darego, one time Miss World” winner. Hahahahaha, that always gets me laughing. It has its pros n cons but it is strange that your past follows you like a shadow.
Another annoying issue is the stereotype that Beauty Queens sleep around. That just gets under my skin. Why must this be so? Why? As for my case, I have maintained a scandal free aftermath and I humbly thank God for saving me from the hands of the devours. From a man called Dele Fasan: The Red Carpet Fraudster who walked up to me at an event asking to take a photograph and proceeded to granting an interview with journalists that we were dating for years. Or the Naeto C issue where it was said that we were an item and I even met his Mum (Hardly even knew him then), or that “She dates married men” (this one got me laughing hard). All these false fabrications just to sell papers and also to get hits on Blogs. Oh well, it comes with the territory we tell ourselves. The bitter price of fame. People forget that Queens are Human. I am not saying all Queens are clean (I mind my own business). But it just damages the entire platform.

The worst part is that after everything. After all the travelling, exposure and meeting people from different parts of the World, it is said, “Beauty Queens have no brains”. No brains? Are you kidding me? Seriously? Do you know what it takes for a young girl to walk a World wide stage? Or to answer a question in front of billions of people? Maybe you should give it a try, see how it goes. Lol. I guess as in the case of any woman, people will rather stare at you than care if you have anything upstairs your soft fluffy cotton wool brain. Is it not the same brain we all have? Why must a Woman’s brain be different? In our society, a man can date five women at the same time and he’s a “G”, but when a woman is seen “talking” to one man (might be about business, work, possible sponsorships on projects, or just being polite), she is definitely sleeping with him. Come on people, stop being hypocrites. The amazing thing is that it is the women who run themselves down. They can’t just keep their mouths shut. I tell you for free that if a Woman wants to run for President today, the first people to attack her will be Women. Why? Because of envy and jealousy.
Women, girls, Mothers, Sisters, things should not be this way. We must stand together, help each other and prove that “We run this World”. We are all beautiful in unique ways, yet this is exactly what we need to form a body, after all, the legs and the hands on a human body don’t look alike or serve the same purpose. Yet they work hand in hand.

I have said a lot today. I am not here to defend women, I am just saying what I see, what people talk about in their homes and are afraid to say in the open. Stop putting down women that have finally taken a bold step to make a difference. Stay positive, because the bold step might not be too obvious now, but one day ” by their fruits you shall know them”. We are all “Beauty Queens”. Reach for the best and conquer the worst. I love you all, but most necessary is that we all begin to love ourselves. Please remember to pray for women all around the World.

Stay fab

Xoxo

Wumie

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