Beauty Should Be Used For Positive Development – Miss Tourism

Mafo Victoria Waniko, daughter of a retired Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) director is the reigning Miss Tourism International Nigeria 2015. She was one of the top ten finalists at the Miss Tourism International Pageant which was staged on December 31, 2014 in Malaysia. She made the country proud with her record. Competing with over 60 contestants who represented various countries, she describes her experience in Malaysia as exciting and challenging. This stunning model and beauty queen has been on a mission to popularize tourism in the country and promote her pet project. ADEFUNKE NASIR sat down with this aspiring businesswoman on a sunny Sunday and both went on a ride through the queen’s life, work and views about the beauty industry. The excerpts.

Take us through the journey of your experiences in the industry.
I started nursing my modeling and pageantry dream when as a little girl I watched Agbani Darego being crowned Miss World. I remember how enthralled I was watching the television and thinking I would one day be on the world stage like that. I believe it was at that moment my interest in the industry developed. But it took the encouragement I also received from friends and family, even random people as I grew older to give modeling a go. To horn my skills, I started with doing ushering jobs for companies like Guinness, Julius Berger, Samsung, Nipco and CBN amongst others and started going for modeling auditions which enabled me to do a couple of commercial modeling and go for pageantry too.

How was your adventure in Malaysia?
I had an interesting experience which exposed me further because I usually love to travel. You know, there is a link between travelling and the tourism industry. In Malaysia, I met different types of individuals with different personalities and orientation. The trip also gave me a chance to learn about other people’s culture too. I visited a lot of tourism sites and monuments. All of these opened my eyes to the benefits of tourism in generating revenue in a country. It was quite explosive.

How can the pageant sector generate jobs for young people?
The modeling industry compasses a lot of creative young people such as photographers, make- up artists, fashion designers, stylists etc. They are very important in any beauty pageant event or fashion show and need to be hired. It gives them in turn an income and enable them to pay their bills and that is how jobs can be generated in the industry even for non creative like the technical people who need to set up the stage and sound. Beauty queens get star prize money and fame that can get them brand endorsements and a start up in life, even other contestants might be financially compensated for their efforts.

What should be the role of government in promoting the industry?
The role of government is to encourage the youth going into skill acquisition by building training centres or institutes where their natural talent for creativity can be fine-tuned and taught for those with desires. Government can also support by investing in these skilled youth to start or stabilize their businesses. It will make them entrepreneurs that can in turn train and employ other people even building modelling schools that will nurture models and advance their careers. I think this will go a long way in promoting the industry. The current attitude of not taking modeling and other beauty related work seriously is a disservice to the nation’s youth who want to make this a worthwhile venture. They need government support by, like I said earlier, providing the enabling environment.

How do you view reports of sexual harassment in the industry? Have you ever been a victim?
I have heard of it but haven’t personally experienced it. If you believe nobody can force you to do what you don’t want, you won’t feel pressured to compromise yourself.

Are you into any form of collaboration with groups or state governments to advance your work.
I am at present partnering an international NGO focused on child rights to create awareness about the effects and dangers of child abuse in the society. We are campaigning so the general public will become more conscious about having a society where the lives and welfare of children will be of utmost priority and they won’t go through any type of abuse be it mental, physical, emotional or sexual. Also being a tourism queen promoting the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria and uniqueness of our diversity and natural resources so the world can visit Nigeria as a tourist attraction is of great importance. This will generate more revenue for the country and I’m also working as a tourism ambassador with prospective investors to develop potential tourists’ sites and places of interest.

Tell us about your projects since winning the pageant.
I am a young lady so anything that affects the young and limits their potential also affects me. I am all about youth empowerment and child rights. I don’t like to see disadvantaged children in unwelcome circumstances due to poverty or demise of family members. So I have used and I am still using my platform as a beauty queen and even as a concerned citizen to touch lives by donations of provisional items and materials to various orphanage homes to facilitate better living conditions for the children. I am also hoping my efforts can be encouraged through any medium either morally or financially to help more children.
I am also involved with shifting the focus of the youth into skill acquisition because with the rate of unemployment in the country, white collar jobs should not be the only option to have an income. That is why I have embarked on my pet project which is a programme aimed at ensuring the lives of children in Nigeria are safe and secured. This will go a long way in ensuring Nigeria is a better society for investment and tourism which will in turn boost our economy. It will keep the mind of a youth productively engaged to reduce social ills.

Do you believe there is a proliferation of beauty contests? If yes, how do you suggest a streamlining?
I think so sometimes but then again it’s a free world and as long as it is value oriented it is ok. Streamlining is welcomed by establishing a reputable body that can govern these pageants to make sure they are doing the proper thing.

What word do you have for ladies going into this field?
I will advise them to put God in everything they do and be willing to make a positive difference in the society and touch lives. Beauty can become a vital force for development. It should not be put to uses that devalue it as a quality.