How Queen Ubah Emerged Winner.

It was a night characterized by high fashion, glitz and glamour as 20 pretty contestants put their best foot forward in a keen contest for the Miss Centenary crown. The classy event hosted by the Bayelsa State government took place at the Gloryland Cultural Center, Yenagoa on Friday December 6, 2013.

Organised by the Nike Osinowo led AOE Events and Entertainment Company, the Miss Centenary pageant is one of the activities lined up to mark the 100th year of Nigeria as a sovereign nation. There was a lot of buzz over the pageant as many had predicted that it will be one of the high points of the yearlong celebration to mark the 1914 amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates and it precisely lived up to the billing.

Guests to the event started making their way into the Gloryland Center as early as 6pm. However, fun seekers had to wait till 9pm when the show hosted by the handsome duo of Wunika Makun and Mai Atafo kicked off with a worthy curtain raiser in the soulful rendition of the national anthem by Kemi Ajumobi. Her performance was closely followed by the inspiring presentation from 10-year-old Ayomikun Eunice. Titled “The Nigeria of My Dreams”, Eunice, on behalf of millions of children across the country, asked for quality education, exemplary leadership and the provision of basic amenities. She equally urged that Nigerians live in peace.

Speaking at the event, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, described the pageant as “a very important part of the centenary celebrations”.  Anyim, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Documentation, Ferdinand Agu, stated that despite the challenges confronting the country, Nigerians have several reasons to celebrate.

After the SGF’s speech, the judges for the night were unveiled. They include the Global Sales Director of Arik Air, Treble Henry, Bimbo Johnson, Mariam Ikoku, Director General, Bayelsa Tourism Agency, Ebizi Indiomu-Brown and the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria World, Anna Ebiere Banner.

Later, the contestants took to the stage for the traditional attire parade, which was greeted with screams of approval from the crowd. Ms Osinowo’s welcome address followed the exciting traditional attire display. The former beauty queen who looked chic in her sun yellow cat suit thanked guests for making it to the “beautiful and vibrant city of Yenagoa”. Explaining the choice of Yenagoa as host city for the event, an obviously elated Osinowo said: “We are honoured to be in Yenagoa and Bayelsa State. It has played a pivotal role in the creation of the country with the proceeds from the first oil well discovered in Oloibiri community. It is a thing of beauty that the centenary pageant was done here”.

She proceeded to thank other sponsors of the event such as The Sun, Arik Air, Federal Capital Territory Administration and NNPC for making the pageant a reality. Osinowo then gave way for the choreography session tagged, “Dance of Veils”, which was one of the high points of the event. When it was time for the governor’s speech, Ms Ebizi Indiomu-Brown stood in for Governor Seriake Dickson, who was at the event but later excused himself for an urgent matter of the state, On behalf of the governor, she welcomed all to the state and urged the guests to enjoy the show. Her speech was followed by Timi Dakolo’s rendition of Lemar’s ‘If there’s any Justice’.

Contestants soon took turns to treat guests to an evening wear fashion parade donning dazzling designs from Maureen Ikem Okogwu’s Sunny Rose. Then came the awards with Miss Photogenic going to Rabi Hassan (Miss Adamawa), Best National Costume went to Ruth Cobham (Miss Cross River) while Miss Congeniality was grabbed by Justina Clement, representing Bayelsa.

The competition became stiff after the award as judges selected 10 out of the 20 contestants. Miss Anambra, Edo, Cross Rivers, Oyo, Ogun, Gombe, Imo, Ebonyi and Adamawa were in this select group. They were further pruned to five out of which three finalists were selected including Queen Ubah (Miss Imo), Roots Odutola (Miss Ogun) and Ruth Cobham (Miss Cross Rivers). Unlike some other pageants where contestants fumble when answering questions, the interview session for the Miss Centenary went excellently.

The moment everybody had been waiting for crept in and an eerie silence descended on the hall. It was later punctuated by the wild applause that greeted the announcement of Queen Ubah as the winner. However, Miss Centenary didn’t depart Yenagoa empty handed. She was hugely compensated. Her prizes include a scholarship to study in any institution of higher learning in the world, a monthly income for life and a luxury car to be changed every five years for the rest of her life

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