MEET THE FIRST MISS NIGERIA ; CHIEF MRS. GRACE OYELUDE





      Mrs. Grace Tinuke Oyelude was the first Miss Nigeria, 1957. From the story of the 84-year old ex-beauty queen, the Miss Nigeria beauty pageant has gone through an evolution. 
        She said, 'I was living in Kano then and like I always said, I have always been repeating the same thing. My brother saw the advertisement in the newspapers and advised me to go to Lagos for an interview to be selected as a Miss Nigeria contestant. He applied, and the result was that I was supposed to be in Lagos for the Miss Nigeria contest and I was working in the UAC then, and they also were involved in the pageant. The following day they got me on a plane to Lagos and that was it.
      We arrived in Lagos, there was no accommodation, so we all had to look for our accommodation, we were later asked to come to the Daily Times office after, so we all met, about 200 of us. I was the only one from Kano.
After the interview and other processes, on the day of the Miss Nigeria which was on Saturday in 1957, we met at Lagos Island Club , we were offered drinks and someone came and told us we would be asked to go to a wall and then they asked us to walk around, there was music of the late Bobby Benson that was playing then we went round the first time, the second time and the third time. Af­ter a short while, they made the announcement of the new queen which I was but I didn’t hear until someone touched me that I was announced the winner and I was later taken up to the stage and that was how I became Miss Nigeria and that night I had to find my way home. My brother was a broadcaster; he was on duty when they told him about my victory. That is the story of how I became Miss Nigeria'
     The secret of her beauty at this age she said, 'I live a normal life, no hustle, no bustle, no stress. I don’t allow my­self to have stress. I eat well, sleep well. I do a little exercise; I walk in the mornings and evenings. I go to bed early. I can wake up in the middle of the night to read my Bible and novels'. 
       According to her, she has not had a specific beauty regime apart from the usual soap and water.
      It was from the 200 pounds sterling that was given to her that he spent in going to England to study Nursing. 
      She mentioned in one her interviews that she wore 'iro' and 'buba' for the competition and she was wearing no make-up. She was just natural, did her normal walk and yet she emerged as the queen. That has made me to notice the simplicity in some of the beauty queens. I'm proud of the life she had lived and she still lives. 
      From her story, I have learnt that beauty is more from within than outside. Stay beautiful! 

                                         ~JhummieOOZ 

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