Being a pageant doesn’t mean the abandonment of our rich African heritage but in fact to further promote it over foreign values. Someone once asked me why I am fond of putting on Ofi, Ankara and other African wears and I reply that as an Ambassador I owe it a duty to promote African values, Yoruba values and most importantly my ‘Abilofa’ values.
It is often heard that conservative parents and Nigerians alike criticize pageantry contests and engage in name calling contestants, jump at different levels of conclusions about the character and morality of participants.
I was faced with similar criticism during my participation in pageantry contests, first from my family members, friends and from those who felt I need to be more decent to be on that train.
Then I sat back to ask myself, if critics of pageantry contests were wrong or was it my views that are wrong? I first saw the ethnocentric nature of our country, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa/Fulani tribes aside the minority tribes. We all have different cultures and traditions aside from our various belief systems.
Speaking for my tribe, Yoruba, Ibolo and Offa, where I hail from and represent as an Ambassado; Offa is a distinctive Omoluabi race. We are a people that value self esteem, integrity and self pride. Yoruba people strongly believe in sanctity of our values, self respect and name of our clan.
In Yoruba culture, “Omoluabi” is a concept that embodies the ideal character traits and values of a Yoruba person. Omoluabi literarily means a child born with good characters.
An Omoluabi is a morally guided person, a virtuous behavior who strives to ensure culture and traditional values of Yoruba people.
Being a pageant doesn’t mean the abandonment of our rich African heritage but in fact to further promote it over foreign values. Someone once asked me why I am fond of putting on Ofi, Ankara and other African wears and I reply that as an Ambassador I owe it a duty to promote African values, Yoruba values and most importantly my ‘Abilofa’ values.
I saw a picture of a half nude Nigerian pageant putting on only pant and body showing off. I am not criticizing but must point out that such dressing is not of African, Nigerian culture, it is purely colonial mentality syndrome.
Its not Igbo culture, not Hausa /Fulani Culture and Yorubas don’t dress that way, so where is it from? I saw a one-time Miss Nigeria picture, Bianca Onoh now Bianca Ojukwu. She is Igbo, her dressing depicts sound moral consciousness and discipline. It’s almost forbidden to find a Hausa /Fulani girl participate in pageantry contest. They are beautiful and good looking but most parents will never want to support their daughter going in for the contest, simply because of misconceptions about the pageantry.
In view of this, I need to state categorically and emphatically that pageantry is not prostitution, not immorality and not an expression of wayward life.
Pageantry is an avenue to showcase God given beauty, intelligence and natural talents coupled with good understanding of cultural and traditional values of the people being represented. As for me, I am an Ambassador of Offa, a proud representation of Abilofa and first born of my parents making them proud not bringing home shame to the family.
A competent worthwhile Pageant will not only carry the culture and tradition of her people to her head but will live it, act it and demonstrate that African culture has better values than any borrowed culture especially the colonial master’s way of life.
Pageantry is an age long tradition to Africans, especially Yorubas. A king is said to deserve the best and most beautiful wife, usually crowned as Olori or Queen. There was usually a contest where maidens are often chosen based on their beauty, level of intelligence, character and knowledge of her culture. This tradition was a form of pageantry contest, where the most suitable woman was selected to be Queen for the king.
I make bold to say, based on historical facts that pageantry of beauty contests was not brought by colonial masters, our people only modified the contest after certain pattern of civilization, though like many African values suffer neglect to so called civilization, pageantry also became troubled when the ways of the colonial masters were brought into ours and eventually, abuse came in and some moralist parents see it as evil, indecent and immoral contest. Before colonial masters arrived beauty pageantry competition was mainly organized to select the most beautiful maiden that can be crown as wife of an Oba or King. It was the involvement of colonial master that had some impact, undesirably on the preservation and promotion of Yoruba culture. It is from traditional beauty contests that brings up “Olori”, wife or Queen for the Royal father. In ancient Yoruba history, Queen Moremi was a beauty pageant and till date the contest holds annually in Ile-Ife, Osun State, to commemorate the Offa born legendary Queen, Moremi.
In view of this, I am making it known that pageantry contest is for the promotion of cultural values of the people and I want to urge the elites to disabuse the minds of parents from hindering their beautiful, intelligent and charismatic damsels from participating in such contests.
I see any such hindrance as a form of violence against women in the interest of the Adorable great minds whose future is being threatened in ignorance. Agbani Darego was allowed, she ruled the world, Bianca Onoh later Bianca Ojukwu was not hindered, she became Miss Nigeria and still relevant till date despite being advance in age.
The shine of a star can neither be hindered, hidden nor truncated and no matter the challenge encountered by a star, it will only enhance its shine because stars are created by God for their generations to know that only Him makes the crown and knows whose head he places it.
My candid advice to the beauties out there is that we should differentiate between value and volume. Our value is not until we put on something expensive or extravagant; being modest cost less but makes descent. Being nude doesn’t make any girl or lady more attractive; in fact, descent guys will see a nude person of less value compared to a wife material that looks descent, respectable and attractive. Nudity is not of African origin therefore pageantry does not cause any well trained Queen to become wayward or immoral.
AREWA Offa, Amidat Oluwaferanmi Mustapha is the reigning beauty pageant of Offa Kingdom