In December 1988, Odumegwu-Ojukwu was crowned Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. She also achieved a milestone by becoming the first African to win Miss Intercontinental. She also represented Nigeria at Miss World and Miss Universe and was named Miss Congeniality at the now defunct Miss Charm International in Russia where she was a semi-finalist. It was revealed she was romantically involved with late Biafran leader Chuwkwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu in 1989, a man she later got married to till his death in 2011. In 2011, she was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs by President Goodluck Jonathan while in 2012 she was named Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain. She has also been a former ambassador to Ghana.
Regina Askia-Williams (1989):
Regina Askia-Williams first wore the crown of a queen when she was crowned Miss Unilag back in 1988. That same year, she came second in MBGN but earned the crown when the reigning queen Bianca Onoh (Bianca Ojuwkwu) resigned.In 1990, she was Nigeria’s representative at Miss Charm International and placed second. She later went on to become a star actress following her role in soap opera Fortunes back in 1993. She won “Best Actress in Nigeria” at the Afro Hollywood Awards in 2000 and has been compared to Elizabeth Taylor. She has her own fashion label Regine Fashions and is currently a registered nurse in New York and married to Rudy Williams with children.
Nike Oshinowo (1991):
Born Adenike Asabi Oshinowo, she is not the same woman that won the MBGN crown over two decades ago. Shortly after obtaining her degree from the University of Sussex, Oshinowo, who was mentored by former Miss Nigeria Helen Prest-Davies, represented Rivers at the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant and became its first Yoruba winner in 1991.After her reign which saw her compete at Miss World, Oshinowo featured in a commercial for Venus cosmetics and hosted a fashion and beauty show on Nigerian television. She is fluent in five languages including Japanese and French; she is currently a pageant director and style icon.
The name Agbani Darego does not need much introductions as she was crowned MBGN in 2001 and went ahead to be the first black African to become Miss World. The feat won her national honour of MFR. Prior to the Miss World pageantry, Agbani Darego, was a contestant at Miss Universe which got her an invite from international model Naomi Campbell to participate in Frock ‘n’ Roll - a charity fashion show in Barcelona. She became the first Nigerian to be among the top ten semi-finalist at Miss Universe and the only Black African semi-finalist that year. Contrary to the tradition of wearing a bikini, she wore a maillot during the swimsuit competition. Following her reign as Miss World, she signed a three year contract with L’Oreal becoming the only second black model to achieve this.
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Omowunmi has come a long way since her days as queen back in 2005. The daughter of a former Central Bank of Nigeria director, she represented Nigeria at the Miss World Pageant in China after emerging winner of the MBGN pageant. She also emerged first runner up at dance show “Celebrity Takes 2 Dance” and a short while after she established her own public relations and usher-hiring business called Elle Poise. Once a beauty queen, you have to admit always a beauty queen as she continues to remain stylish and graceful a trademark which earned her an award at Allure Style Awards in 2011. She is an Environmental Ambassador for Lagos state and in 2012 she obtained a Masters degree from King’s College London in Environmental Monitoring, Modeling and Management.
Munachi Abii wore the crown of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) in 2007 after beating other beautiful contestants to wear the crown. Not just beauty without brains, she is a graduate of International Relations and Diplomacy from Benson Idahosa University and she won the beauty pageant while in her second year in the university. Muna as the light skinned beauty is fondly is also a rapper that has been able to remain relevant in the entertainment industry. She has written songs for the likes of J Martins and Waje as well as appeared in numerous music videos.In 2011, Muna signed an endorsement deal with Unilever as a model for Lux and currently features in commercials for the brand, following in the footsteps of Patti Boulaye and Genevieve Nnaji.
Adaeze Igwe-Yobo (2008):
Adaeze Igwe beat 29 other hopefuls to emerge winner of the MBGN competition in 2008 at the age of 18. She made top twenty in Miss World Talent and placed second in Miss World Sports. She established a charity The Adaeze Igwe Foundation during her reign which promotes awareness about AIDS and breast cancer. In 2010 she married footballer Joseph Yobo and a year after she was ranked 92 in a list of 101 Sexiest Soccer Wives and Girlfriends.
