Pulse Opinion: Why Nigerian men obsessed with beauty queens

For Nigerian men, dating beauty queens has to do with money, class and rejuvenation.

The latest reincarnation (and fake news) of Super Eagles player Emmanuel Emenike divorcing a beauty queen to marry another beauty queen has raised the issue of why Nigerian men desire beauty queens.

Nigerian beauty queens most likely rank highest in the list of most desirable women. Coming in second place, are light skin women. Now you know why Nigeria ranks high among countries where bleaching is prevalent.

Oh, another relevant trivia here- since 2018, six of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) winners have been of the fairer skin. Connect the dots.

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The beauty and the General

27 years after he led the secessionist movement known as Biafra, the late General Odumegwu Ojukwu, then Nigeria's ambassador to Spain, married Bianca Onoh who was the MBGN queen in 1998. The 35-year gap might have been one of the reasons why Bianca and Ojukwu's marriage was one of Nigeria's most high profile unions. ]

 

In today's woke climate, such a union would have trended on Twitter surely. Forget social media for a minute, rich and powerful women have always married or had relationships with beautiful young women and beauty queens.

Queen Esther in the Bible was a beauty queen. After King Xerxes I disposed of Queen Vashti, he held a royal beauty pageant to  pick the most beautiful maiden in the land to be his queen. Esther won the pageant and used her royal position to save her people.

For many old men in positions of authority and power, marrying a beauty queen serves as a rejuvenation of their energy. Nothing gets the heart of an old man going like dating a much younger beautiful woman.

Beauty Queens and Super Eagles

Unless you are the President, or an A-list Nollywood actor during the home video era, you can never be as popular as a member of Nigeria's men football squad popularly known as Super Eagles. 

A member of the Super Eagles team is a genuine rock star in Nigeria. They earn thousands of dollars weekly playing abroad, they are watched by millions when they adorn the famous green jersey and are the source of joy for many living in a country where there is little celebrate.

 

Due to their extremely high-status, tales have been told of how the most beautiful women throng the lobbies and hallways of hotels of where the Super Eagles stay when they are in town for a game.

Nigerian football legend and playboy Celestine Babayaro was spotted chatting up to white women at the swimming pool side of Sheraton Hotel during the African Cup of Nations in 2000 which was jointly hosted by Ghana and Nigeria This offered a glimpse to the level of female attraction a Super Eagles squad member gets from the opposite sex.

There have also been rumours of Nollywood actresses and reality TV stars hanging out with Super Eagles after a match. Of course, these worshipped Alpha males get the attention of beauty queens too.

In 2010s, Super Eagles ex-captain and most capped player Joseph Yobo married Adaeze Igwe, a former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. They got married during a night time ceremony...don't ask why.

A top footballer like Yobo and a beauty queen like Adaeze have attracted public and media attention since their marriage.

 

Also, Nigerian football star Emmanuel Emenike is married to Iheoma Nnadi, the winner of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria contest in 2014.

 

For many of the Super Eagles players, who come from humble backgrounds, marrying a beauty queen indicates a rise in status and social standing.

 

In a society like Nigeria obsessed with materialism, marrying the most beautiful woman in the land shows to everyone that 'levels don change'.

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...of course musicians too

Nigerian music legend and all round very sharp guy 2face Idibia dated Vien Tetsola, the winner of the Miss Nigeria beauty pageant in 1999. Even as a budding talent back then, 2face's romance with Tetsola frequently featured on the front pages of  soft sell magazines.

 

Obvious punch line put aside, contemporary Highlife singer Flavour has something in common with 2face Idibia- and that is beauty queens.

The chiseled music star has had the honour of dating two beauty queens. Sandra Okagbue won the Miss Delta Soap beauty pageant in 2010. In the early 00s, Delta soap adverts were insanely popular. The featured beautiful  and sexy light skin women lathered up in a bath tub. These adverts either jumped on the trend of hypersexualizing light skin women or further promoted it.

 

Flavour has a child with Sandra Okagbue and if you believe gossip, the two have been married for a couple of years. Rumours have it that Sandra Okagbue dated Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi for a while.

His other baby mama is the winner of the MBGN pageant in 2013 Anna Banner. In 2014/2015 the pair were involved in a high profile relationship.  In August 2015, she gave birth to a baby girl.

"Ko s’owo l’owo o fe pe sisi
Zombie o, you be zombie"

With Wizkid saying 'you are a zombie if you are broke and call a babe over', money and beauty will always be tied, at least here in Nigeria.

 

For most Nigerian men, getting a nice crib on the Island, and a brand new Japanese car are status symbols. Let's not forget having a beautiful woman by your side. And when it comes to beauty, beauty queens are on the highest level.