By Toby Chuks
Ada Ogidi Beauty Pageant is an annual event that bring fortunes for the girl child in the ancient town of Ogidi in Anambra State. The beauty pageant which involves nine participants representing nine villages from Ogidi started in 2016. According to the organisers, the participants must be a university student with the winners smilling home with cash and other prices.
As at last year, the winner Oluebube Miracle Okeke smiled home with half a million naira plus other prices which include gifts from relations, friends and well wishes. As a matter of fact, the stories of the beauty pageant from 2016 till date has been an impressive and interesting one with girls having funny time and making money as well.
More importantly is that the beauty show gives the girl child a sense of belonging to the richly blessed town where the late global renowned literary icon Professor Chinua Achebe comes from. Second is that it makes the girl child to be much proud of her home town with feeling that she is loved and cared for by her people.
Another benefit of the annual event is that it has inspired hope, responsible commitment and even hardworking as well as competition for brilliance and excellence among the girl child from each of the nine villages that makes up Ogidi town.
The beauty event undoubtedly inspires the girl child as a student to think ahead and work ahead on how she could prepare herself to face her colleagues in the beauty field and get the recognition and fortunes thereof by winning the education.
More interesting thing about the beauty exercise is that the founder and sponsor Mr Chudi Nwabueze who doubles as the MD Leophine Residency Hotel and Ebonadi FM Radio is adding more bite to it every year. And like the saying goes that success gets many friends, many more companies joined forces in the sponsorship to add values to it.
An event that started with N50k for the winner now makes available N500k for the winner plus other price for 2nd & 3rd with general consolidation price for all the participants. That tell you the good story of the show so far.
Giving a detailed account of the annual beauty contest so far, the coordinator Mr Jude Nwabueze alias MC Harmattan, explained that contestants are usually Ogidi indigenes or those that share maternal home with Ogidi (Nwadian).
According to him the first queen in 2016 was Queen Daniela Okeke (now Mrs) and she won N50k. Then comes Queen Mercy Arinze – 2017/2018 who smiled home with N150 followed by Queen Okongwu Pamela Chinaza who emerged in 2018 and smiled home with with N350k.
Thereafter comes Ifeanyichukwu Ujunwa Benedette who took the Queenship glory in 2019 and made N350k. In 2020 Aghadike Chinza Maryann joined the roll call of the Queenship and also received N350k. Nwabueze Chisom Mary made the list of the array of Queens in 2021 and was made to coast home with N500k. Okeke Miracle Ngozi won the last edition in 2022 and got 500k.
He added “By 2017 we introduced 1st runner up called Miss Prestige and 2nd runner up Miss Heritage who also coast home with consolation prices of N200k and N100k respectively. More so, each year we have trophy awards of gold, silver and bronze for the winner, 1st and 2nd runner ups respectively. We also have six more trophies for the remaining six contestants who also receive consolation token of N20k each.
The trophies are made in England and sent by Chief Chris Nwangwu (Eze ndi igbo na Holland). At the end of the show the queen will be presented to His Majesty the traditional ruler of Ogidi, Igwe Pharm Alex Onyido (Ezechuamagha) for his royal blessings”
Nwabueze revealed that the co sponsors of the beauty show on the roll are Residency Hotel Ltd, Kemchuta Homes ltd, Castro International Ltd Holland, Ebeonadi FM Radio, Kates Associate Industry ltd Onitsha and Ike Ogidi Canada Motors.
Sharing her experience, the reining Queen Okeke told this reporter that winning the beauty contest changed her life for good in so many ways which include meeting people that matters and being loved and respected in the society and she will ever remain grateful to the organisers of the event.
Findings by this reporter shows that the life of every winner of the annual beauty contest changed for good in so many ways as narrated by the reining Queen Okeke.
Speaking to this reporter, the founder Mr Chudi Nwabueze alias Ebeonadi Ogidi said he was inspired to float the program to support the girl child with his widow’s mite and fortunately, the initiative is working and has continued to attract the total support of the traditional ruler of Ogidi, His Majesty Igwe Ezechuamagha and entire people of Ogidi.
He noted that the annual beauty show is in tune with the quality community leadership being rendered by Ezechuamag adding “well, I volunteered to finance the beauty program as a way of giving little support to the girls in my community and so far so good, it is working and price tags are increasing and hopefully it will continue to grow from strength to strengthen.
My appreciation goes to the co-sponsors, the management and more importantly to His Majesty Ezechuamagha for his Royal support”
When asked if the prices will be increased this year, Ebeonadi said it depends on what the management have on the table.
He however called on people of other communities who are well to do to emulate the beauty pageant or find another possible means to help the development and growth of the girl child adding “In most cases our focus is on the boy child.
Take for instance during Christmas period people that are well to do in various communities sponsor football competition for the boys leaving girls behind, so that was why I dimmed it right enough to float the beauty pageant and thank God that it is working. I believe it can also work in other places as it is working in Ogidi”
