by Ifeanyi Dike Jr

On Saturday, 29 June, thirty-four girls had their minds set on one thing – the MBGN 2011 crown. So they strutted with all their hearts in their traditional attires, swimsuits and evening gowns, hoping that in exchange they would receive favourable judgement. However, like every competition (except perhaps the BET Awards where D’Banj and Tuface tied for Best International Act), only one person could win.

The MBGN red carpet was brimming with stars – Waje, OC Ukeje, Dr Sid and Lynxxx – as well as even more ‘corporate celebrities’ who had to first answer to the feisty Vixen on the red carpet before going in to enjoy an evening of pageantry.

Many had seen the viral YouTube video, titled “The good the bad and the worst”. From Lagos to Ontario, it had us holding our tummies in laughter – so there was an eagerness to watch how this pageant would unfold. No other topic dared trend on Naija-Twitter (because that is the new yardstick for popularity) and everyone’s TV was set, not only to see who finally won, but to pick up on any mishaps and shower this year’s contestants with their own critique.

Michelle Dede and Chris Okenwa hosted this year’s show, taking off by attempting to tell a few jokes (*coughs at attempt*). The next stop was the cultural display/introduction, the most memorable being Miss Adamawa, Nwando Ebeledike whose attire had massive wings attached to the back, reminiscent of an African Victoria Secret model. We couldn’t help but wonder though – do indigenes of Adamawa really wear wings as part of their traditional getup?

There was a slightly awkward performance by Wande Coal and the contestants. It wasn’t a bad performance, no. It’s just that we’d never thought of “Who born the maga” in the light it was performed. When Wande sang “God change my water to wine, you wan come change am back to water”, and the girls responded by whining vigorously, many of us were slightly confused. Another interesting moment was when one of the contestants stuttered while she was speaking. More glaring was the fact that she was the only one that blundered through the entire competition, but this issue shall be re-visited later.

The swimsuit walk was more than fair, as many of the girls looked nice in their two-piece ensembles. Some swimwear pieces however looked Mercy Johnson-inspired. Next was the fashion show, where some of the girls felt the need to be overly fierce, with the strangest walks and facial expressions. However, the crown for most annoying moment of the night certainly went to the outgoing Miss LaCasera’s speech. First, she read from an iPad (technology, right? Kmt!), and she did it too slowly, allowing the poor contestants to stand for long listening to words that would have been better left in the mind of the speaker.

And the winner is… Miss Taraba, Sylvia Nduka! The MBGN 2011 was the only girl that forgot her lines, stuttered in the introduction and merely skimmed over her answer in the question and answer segment. Little wonder this year’s pageant stirred a lot of controversy.

 

The Event in pictures

Photos: Bayo Omoboriowo for YNaija