Newly Crowned Mr And Miss Nigeria UK Vow To Inspire All Young Africans
London-based pageant celebrated Nigerian Independence last week with cultural competition
THE OFFICIAL Mr and Miss Nigeria UK cultural pageant celebrated its second year in action with a sold out audience on October 4 at The Venue in Great Portland Street.
Marking 55 years of Independence, the competition delivered a patriotic line up of young British-born Nigerians who delivered a spectacular performance.
Organisers explained to The Voice that the overall aim of the brand is to empower and enrich the Nigerian culture in the UK and to connect British born and raised Nigerians with their heritage.
As with any competition, only one can walk away with the coveted crown.
This year’s queen was announced as Jane Ezeanaka, a 20-year-old law student.
The Nigerian-born queen who came to the UK a decade ago shared the ambitions of her reign .
“With the title I hope to launch my foundation in Nigeria with strong ties to Nigerians in UK. Amal foundation is something that I’ve always dreamed of opening. The name Amal means ‘hope, expectation, aspiration’ and that’s what I want my foundation to offer. This is the least of things I plan on doing with the title, remember: ‘heavy is the head that wears the crown’.”
Ezeanaka was crowned by her predecessor Adebisi Akindayini who spoke to The Voice this summer about what it takes to be queen.
Akindayini said: “She needs to have a genuine personality, be down to earth and be in the competition for the right reasons.”
The Mr & Miss Nigeria UK cultural beauty pageant is held in support of Compassion UK, is an international Christian child development and child advocacy ministry.
Partnering with local churches, they are committed to the spiritual, economic, social and physical development of children living in extreme poverty in 26 countries, enabling them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.
Also crowned on the night was the new Mr Nigeria, fashion enthusiast
Theo Ogundipe who explained how he intends to use his title as a source of inspiration.
He said: “I hope to use my passion for fashion to develop a clothingbrand, which I wantto use as a tool of inspiration to inspire young Africans not just Nigerians.
“The category of my design is a mixture of the African culture and the new era of fashion. In doing this I hope to make the youth of my generation aware of their culture.”