I cried for joy when I won cos I had participated in six beauty pageants and lost –Collete Nwadike, Miss Tourism Nigeria 2014

Collete Nwadike Miss Tourism Nigeria 2014 has started having movie roles. The 24-year-old English and Literature graduate of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, unveiled her lifestyle to Adaeze Amos.

Which other beauty pageants did you participate  before Miss Tourism pageant?

Before I contested for ‘Miss Tourism Nigeria’, I had done six other pageants; this was the seventh. The first I did was in my department; that was NASEL which means National Association of English and Literature Students. Someone else won it. I was neither first nor second runner-up. I also tried the Miss UNIZIK, the university queen. I didn’t win. At that point, I felt like giving up. Then, I said, let me give a bigger pageant a try. I auditioned for the ‘Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria’. I didn’t even make it to the audition. I still pushed. I decided to go for ‘Miss Earth Nigeria’ and I came out as ‘Miss Photogenic’, still not a runner-up. It was just a recognition, they didn’t give me any crown. I then went for ‘Miss Global Nigeria’ two years ago. I didn’t even make the third 10. I felt like quitting. But I later asked myself, why am I giving up? I decided to do more. I went for ‘Most Beautiful Girl’ pageant in Abuja; and I came out as the second runner-up.

Were you satisfied with that?

I wasn’t satisfied because I felt I was supposed to win. Friends kept telling me that whenever it was my time to win, that nothing or nobody would stop me. I also believed that whenever it time for my star to shine, it would. I wasn’t okay with just being the second runner-up in the ‘Most Beautiful Girl’ event in Abuja, I wanted to be queen. So, I auditioned for ‘Miss Tourism Nigeria’. I was indeed determined. When I got to the camp, I saw very beautiful aspirants; fashionable and brilliant. It was intimidating. On the day of the pageants’ profile, everyone was in her beautiful costumes. There were brilliant girls because we actually did so many things to show how intellectual or intelligent you are. It was really a stiff competition.

When they called you out as ‘Miss Tourism Nigeria’, how did you feel?

It was the happiest moment for me really.

What’s your advice for girls who had participated in many beauty pageants and are yet to win?

It happened to me. At first, my mum was not even in support of my going for beauty pageants. She saw it as a distraction to my studies. ‘How could you leave your studies and go and camp for weeks because of beauty pageants, it’s not encouraging’. That was what she kept saying to me. She would shout and fume at me. It got to the extent that sometimes, I would even hide the pageants from her. But when I got tired of hiding it, I would tell her that I got auditioned for a beauty pageant and that I was going to be camped for some weeks. You need to see how she would get mad at me. When I did that for about three times, she got tired and allowed me. She saw that it was not something she could talk me out of. That it was a passion I had, so she now gave me her support. Actually, for ‘Miss Tourism Nigeria’, she bought the form for me. I want to say that no matter how people try to discourage you, they want to see how confident or passionate you are. If you don’t give up, they would have no other choice or option than to support you. Don’t feel like people are beginning to mock you because I had the whole lot of that. Even my friends would tell me ‘Collette and beauty pageants; aren’t you tired??’ If I had listened to them, I would have given up. I was determined to be a queen and not to just be first or second runner-up. I wanted to wear the crown. Perseverance or hard work is the key.

What about some mothers who would not allow their daughters to opt for such pageants?

My mum behaved like that at first but then it is all about your child. If you really love your child, you would give her what she wants. If you push her to go and do something else, she might not be good in that; and then you frustrate her life. But if you allow her to do what she wants, she would be better at it. She only needs guidance not to go astray. Just lead her to the part she wants to follow.

How did you feel when you were named ‘Miss Tourism Nigeria 2014’?

At first when they said ‘Miss Anambra’, I was like, ‘let me hear it again and be sure it’s me’. I represented my state, Anambra. We were 35 contestants representing different states of Nigeria. When I heard ‘Miss Anambra’, I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to be sure. You know this feeling one has when the heart is filled with joy. I cried, tears kept pouring from my eyes, I couldn’t control it. I broke down and had to retouch my makeup before I came back on the stage. Everyone could see I was full of excitement that night.

How did your mother react to your triumph?

She was excited. She kept on telling everybody she knew, ‘my daughter is ‘Miss Tourism Nigeria’. My younger brother, my cousins were there, they started running up and down the hall, shouting and jumping up. Then they rushed up the stage and took pictures with me. Also my daddy was happy for me. He was really very proud of me.

Who do you look up to in the beauty world?

Agbani Darego is an icon, she is worth looking up to. There’re other beautiful ladies I admire too. There is also Oluchi Onweagba, ‘Mnet Face of Africa’. I also admire Adaeze Igwe, former ‘Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria’. She wasn’t there for a long time and she got married because that was the part she actually chose. I think it was a good one.

As ‘Miss Tourism Nigeria’, what are your duties?

I have a duty to my country and to my state, Anambra. I also owe a duty to the little girls out there who actually would be looking for the kind of opportunity that has been given to me. I have a project on the girlchild education and that it is actually to give a library, particularly to the girls. I could contribute books and laptops, computers to libraries. Everything that builds up a standard library; I’m ready to do that particularly for girls’ schools.

Why do you have soft spot for the girl-child education?

Because I know that the female child can be something. In my place, we used to say Nwanyi buife, which literarily means woman is something. And that her education should not end in the kitchen.

Apart from that, what other things are you going to be busy with?

I would go to each state in Nigeria to find out their tourist sites; about the people. If I go to a state, I want to find out its centre of attraction: what you actually have to show to the world, not just to Nigeria, about tourism.

Why are you referring to the world?

I would be going to represent Nigeria this year in Bangkok, Thailand for the ‘Miss Tourism World Contest’. I would want to visit every state so that I would be enriched with the knowledge of what makes them thick in the tourism circle. This includes places that one needs to visit when one travels to every state.