By Adedayo Adejobi
LAGOS SEPTEMBER 6TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Miss Precious Chikwendu was Nigeria’s representative at the Miss United Nations World Beauty pageant in 2014. Not only did she sponsor herself to the event but she got herself well groomed with her own resources up to the required international standard. With the confidence of a lioness and the heart of an amazon she embarked on this great journey which ultimately brought not only tremendous recognition to Nigeria but also immense respect.
She contested in this intimidating international pageant which took place on the 7th of July, 2014 in Kingston, Jamaica. She competed against a host of other participants who came with the full backing of corporate and individual sponsors from their respective countries, intimidating delegations, large crowds of international celebrities and well-heeled supporters and other nerve-wracking credentials. They came from countries like the United States of America, Great Britain, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Canada, the Ukraine, Russia, Japan, Guyana, Martinique, Gaudalupe, the Bahamas, Australia, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica (the host nation) and many others.

Amidst all this, Miss Precious Chikwendu of Nigeria, was all alone. She had no sponsors, no delegation, no international celebrities, no corporate giants, no media gurus, no lobbyists and no Olympian credentials to back her. The only things she had were her natural beauty, her warm charm, her brains, her university degree, her confidence, her faith in God and an impressive catalogue of the sterling achievements of her numerous works of charity here in Nigeria. Despite the tough competition and the intimidating obstacles and factors that she was faced with, she worked her socks off and got through to the final where she, in spite of all the odds, became the winner of the keenly contested pageant.
This achievement makes her, not only the first ever Nigerian to have won the crown but also the first ever African to have emerged as winner in the prestigious pageant whose rules, conditioning and criteria for winning are more stringent than most.
This has brought honor and glory to her fatherland and further projected Nigeria as a country of not just resilient and hardworking people but also a country where beauty and brains can walk and work gallantly hand in hand. She has proved that Nigeria is not just about all the negative things that the hostile international media want people to believe about her. She has proved that our ladies are not only achievers but also imdividuals with very strong personalities and characters. She has proved that our women can be outstanding and that they can excel in whatever field of endeavor that they choose no matter who is involved and no matter what the competition is.
Examples of such women abound in Nigeria. Women who have proved their worth in their various fields of endeavor. Such women include Dr, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Managing Director of the World Bank and the immediate past Honorable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Arunma Oteh the immediate past Director-General of The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the first African female Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank, Dr, Oby Ezekwesili, the former Minister of Education and former Vice President of the World Bank, African Division, Chioma Ajunwa, the first West African woman and the first Nigerian to win an Olympic gold medal in a track and field event, Agbani Darego, Miss World 2001, Sophie Okenedo, the Nigerian-born Hollywood actress, Mo Abudu, the international broadcaster and entrepeneur, Genevieve Nnaji and Omotola Jolade-Ekhinde, the Nollywood actresses and so many more.
With her achievement and glaring success Miss Precious Chikwendu has joined this noble league of great women who have brought accolades and fame to Nigeria by the sheer dint of their hard work, determination, focus and faith in God. She has by this feat, convinced a very large section of the international community that Nigerian women are not only pretty faces but that they are also hardworking, confident, versatile, industrious, intelligent, honorable and virtuous.
Given her success in Jamaica and high visibility, Miss Precious Chikwendu, Miss United Nations World 2014, ought to be utilized by the relevant government and non-governmental organizations in our country to help Nigerians that are in need. This can be done in addition to her numerous ongoing charity projects which she more often than not sponsors herself. She ought to be further projected to the world as the face of our ever vibrant young ladies, the character of our women and the heart of our mothers. Relevant agencies of government and other NGOs can also partner with her in enlightenment and awareness campaigns to our girls in schools and tertiary institutions.
Other contestants who represented their countries at the Miss United Nations Pageant and particularly those that ended up winning the coveted crown of “Miss United Nations World” over the years have always been given due recognition in their respective countries. They have been provided with opportunities and official platforms in order to help impact their societies in a positive way and to be a greater force for good. Sadly this has not been the case in Nigeria. In our case our intermational Queen has been made to carry on all alone as if we are averse to those who bring glory to our great country. A good example of the way other nations have rallied around their Queen and celebrated, encouraged and supported them is that of Miss Sherrie Gerhardt, Miss United Nations 2015, who won the international pageant in July this year and who is Miss Precious Chikwendu’s successor in office. Sherrie is from the United States of America and she did very well for her country by winning this years pageant. Since that time she has been all over the world doing charity work and all over America with the full support and backing of many American NGO’s and corporate bodies. It appears that the Americans appreciate the efforts and achievements of their beauty Queen far more than we do. Were it not so Miss Chikwendu would have received far more commendation and support in Nigeria than she has been getting.
A former model and professional actress who has featured in popular movies and TV series such as “Thy Will Be Done”, “Love Struck”, “Onye Ozi”, “I come Lagos”, “Secrets & Scandals”, “The Hustlers” and many more, Precious Chikwendu is a well sought-after in her field. In terms of her acting career we have heard from the grapevine that offers have come flooding in from Hollywood ever since she won the international pageant. If she follows this up and decides to take the full plunge it appears that she is set to follow in the footsteps of other African actors on the world stage like Chinwetalu Ejiofor, Lupita Nyongo and others.
Yet for now she is content with all that she is doing under the auspices of her Snowhite Foundation. This includes her acts of philanthropy and her support for the more vulnerable and weaker in our society. To this end she has used her own personal finances and much of the foundations money to complete humanitarian projects all over the country and offer scholarships to children for both schools and tertiary institutions as part of her charity work.