By Christy Anyanwu
Ada Eme is a Nigerian model, entrepreneur, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned the winner of the 2022 edition of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) pageant.
She relinquished her crown in March when another beauty queen stepped into her role as the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria.
She, therefore, is the longest-serving queen (2022–2024) in the history of the MBGN pageant.
She spoke with Sunday Sun recently.
Your reign as beauty queen was unique in terms of the duration; what was really the issue behind it?
There’s no issue behind the duration of the reign. The ‘issue’ implies that there was a problem, but there was none. The only thing was that the work calendar directly affected the duration of the national pageant, so the result continued moving the grand finale forward. It elongated my reign as the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria.
Could you share with us some of the challenges you encountered during your reign and how you were able to surmount them?
I think with everything that is worth doing, there’s usually a hiccup here and there, not necessarily a challenge. I didn’t face much of a challenge per se, but one of the things that stood out to me was that some things should have been done better, like the Federal Government’s involvement in supporting queens who are representing Nigeria and carrying the Nigerian flag. There’s no way a person says she’s Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria and they are still discussing visa issues to go and represent the country internationally. I believe I speak not just for myself, but for a lot of queens that go outside to represent the country. And representing the country entails carrying the Nigerian flag because they are representing the country internationally. The certification, the visa process, securing their visas, and making sure they don’t run into issues in terms of opportunities, all these are things that should be rectified.
What are your next plans?
Nothing like my next plans, because I am somebody that is constantly in motion. No facet of my life stops or takes a break. Despite the pageant, I kept on doing my business, building my life and building my business, building my personal growth, while being MBGN. For me, it’s continuing on the platform I really love and improving on my personal growth and career.
Any Mr Right in the offing; and what are your criteria for Mr Right?
There’s no Mr Right as I’m focusing on my personal growth. I look up to some women that are phenomenal in their careers. I think there’s time to do relationships and marriage, but right now it is the time for me to grow and put in the work in order to impact my community and my life. I am focused now on professional development and acquiring skills that will help me to be a better mother and wife in the future.
You have given the crown to a new queen; how does that make you feel?
I feel ecstatic. It’s been like a long time coming, and I’m glad that this moment has finally happened.
For how long have you been queen now?
I’ve been reigning for almost three years now, making me the longest-serving Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria.
What do you do? Are you based in Abia State?
I am based in Lagos State, Nigeria, but I travel often. I love to travel. It’s one of my many hobbies. I run an event-planning company out of Lagos State.
Really? What’s the name of your event company?
The PENG Event.
So you’re the boss of The PENG Event? How is it going?
Business is not always easy, but we’ve been learning on the job, and it’s been going really well, all thanks to the amazing people of Lagos who constantly do events and are always in a celebratory mood, who always give us good ‘market’.
What lessons have you learnt since your reign?
I’ve learned discipline, and, honestly, I’ve learned punctuality. I’ve learned to take things really seriously because not everything is as it seems; oftentimes, we like to think that things that we get sort of easily, we can play around easily. So, yeah, I’ve learned discipline.
Do you intend to take it to Abia, your state, to encourage the younger ones; do you have any plans for your state?
My projects have always been in Abia State. I’m really, really passionate about Abia State. So, we’ve been doing health outreach, educational outreach in Abia, and we would feel fortunate to get support, and mentors anyone who wants to step up to the role just like me.
What’s your relationship with the state government, especially the office of the First Lady?
I’ve noticed that the office of the First Lady is really welcoming, not just to me, but to other beauty queens that are from Abia as well. So, it’s like an open-door policy in Abia State, where they are welcoming all the children of Abia.
What do you do to maintain this stature, your beautiful appearance, any special routine?
Genetics, yeah, because I eat as much as the next person.