Joy Onazi, cousin of Super Eagles midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi, has emerged as the winner of the 2014 “Face of Idoma” beauty pageant.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Joy, a final year Theatre Arts Student of Benue State University, Makurdi, defeated 22 other contestants to win the crown.
She also won a brand new Hyundai Accent Salon Car and a foreign trip to Dubai, the United Arab Emirate.
Joy told newsmen in Otukpo after she was crowned the queen that her confidence and smile gave her the crown.
According to her: “I will use the opportunity to touch lives in Idoma land and its environs.
“I have tried about four times to win this crown, but thank God I finally made it this time around.
“Having emerged as the queen, I want to set up a library for ages five to 15.
“The library will be cited in a town where we have a larger population in Idomaland.
“In fact, I want to be something bigger that the whole world will see me as a role model.”
Ochai Edwin, the Chief Executive Officer of Agila Carnival, organisers of the pageant, commended Onazi for her courage and comportment, which earned her the crown.
Edwin said in addition to the brand new car and trip to Dubai, Onazi would be the brand ambassador of Hero Lager Beer and Faro Table Water for one year.
He said: “We will look for something different for the 2015 edition.
“It could be Face of Idoma and Mr. Idoma.
“And we hope that we have the necessary funds to pull this out.
“We are looking forward to empowering her to achieve what she wants to achieve and probably make Idomaland a proud entity.
“By this, I mean being a role model to a common young girl on the street.
“Someone who can build relationship across the Idoma race as a whole and also create awareness for the Idoma lady.”
Edwin said that the pageant had all it takes to produce a Miss Nigerian or a Miss World.
Solomon Abor, one of the partners of the pageant, said the Face of Idoma Beauty Pageant could compete favourably with a beauty pageant in the world.
Abor said: “This platform can compete elsewhere.
“This is a platform just like Miss Nigeria.
“The bar is so high because our girls are beautiful.
“Those Miss World and Miss Nigeria you see is all about packaging.
“You need to see our materials.
“All we need is to come together and package them and they can compete anywhere.”
Keke Bongos-Ikwue, the Chief Judge of the beauty pageant, said selecting the queen was a bit stressful because of the high standard attached to it.
Bongos-Ikwue said she was never under pressure to select the queen.
She said: “What we actually targeted was someone with substance because we want someone that will make us proud whenever she goes about as Face of Idoma.
“We have to set a goal to make this bigger.”
Blessing Adebo-Oguche emerged as the first runner up of the beauty pageant, while Eyum Agbo emerged as the second runner up.