“How I became homeless for after competing in beauty pageant” – Bianca Ojukwu
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has opened up on how she was rendered homeless for a month after participating in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) pageant due to her father’s disapproval.
Speaking at the Nigerian Women’s Day event during the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Bianca shared her experience and reflected on her journey from pageantry to advocacy.
Bianca Ojukwu.
She emphasized the transformative power of education in a woman’s life.
Recounting her early fascination with beauty contests, Bianca explained that her childhood dream was to travel the world, and she saw pageantry as the perfect opportunity to achieve that.
“I started off really as a young girl wanting to see the world,” she said.
“I remember sitting in the common room with other young girls always in those days. We would be watching ‘Top of the Pops’, the music videos, Miss World, Miss Universe, and always quite impressed with the exotic backdrops more than anything.
“I just wanted to travel and see the world, and what was the best way of doing that if not going into a pageant?”
Determined to pursue her passion, Ojukwu entered a beauty contest, which she won.
However, the accompanying prize, a one-year modeling contract in Tokyo—was something she had to decline due to her studies.
“So, I started my journey of going first into a certain pageant, which I won. But as a student, I couldn’t take the offer that came, which included a one-year modeling contract in Tokyo.
“Of course, my parents didn’t know. They didn’t send me to school to go and take part in a pageant, so I had to give that up.”
Bianca later participated in the MBGN pageant, a decision that triggered a strong reaction from her father, a former governor.
His anger was so intense that she was left without a home for a month.
“Until when I now took part in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, which rendered me homeless for one month because, naturally, African fathers—my father was livid with rage,” she revealed.
However, over time, as she went on to win other prestigious pageants such as Miss Africa and Miss Intercontinental, her father eventually accepted her achievements.
“But I guess after I had won other pageantries like Miss Africa, Miss Intercontinental, and so forth, he had to come to terms with it.”
Ojukwu reflected on the challenges of handling fame, financial independence, and education simultaneously.
She noted that earning money at an early stage in life can be tempting, often leading young women to abandon their studies.
“But the point I’m making is this: one of the hardest things is when you start earning money quite early, the biggest temptation would be to leave school.
“By the time I was earning my own money, I was a law student living in the hostel with about six other students with no water, nothing, and then, going back to school to finish my education as a lawyer was quite challenging.”
Despite the difficulties, she described her decision to complete her law degree as one of the most significant choices she ever made.
“But that was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.”
Bianca used her personal experience to stress the importance of education, urging young women to recognize its value.
“I think young women need to understand the power of education,” she stated.
Beyond her pageantry career, Bianca transitioned into advocacy and philanthropy, founding the Hope House Trust, a non-governmental organization focused on humanitarian efforts.
