The road to success is certainly strewn with all degrees of bumps, upon which only the focused and determined go the whole hog resolutely to become bastions of courage and inspiration. Newly crowned Miss Unity Nigeria, Queen Silver Ezenezi is cast in the mould of that description. With a passion for fashion and modelling, the dazzling queen with a zest for impacting her society in shining light, had prior to her latest feat, carted away the Miss UniZik and Miss Nigeria International crowns, defying the odds in her paths, with prospects of blazing the trail globally in what she loves to do best. In this interview with editor, MANNY ITA, Ezenezi bared her mind on her sojourn into fashion and modelling, as well as the courage to successfully navigate the labyrinths of pageantry and other sundry issues.

Excerpts:

Give a brief introduction of your background.

I am Silver Ezenezi, I’m from Anambra state and a graduate of Political science from the prestigious Nnamdi Azikiwe university.

How did the journey into beauty pageantry begin?

I’ve always had a love for fashion and modelling since I was in primary school, I used to watch runway shows on TV and thought that I wanted to be like them someday. When I was in secondary school, I applied at a popular agency, but I wasn’t accepted because I was underage, so when I got to the university immediately went into pageantry starting from Miss Political science to Miss UniZik and beyond, and that was it.

What and who were some of the influencing factors towards that dream or desire?

Like I said the models I used to see on TV inspired me, then in school, I heard about some past beauty queens who had achieved a lot and I wanted to be like them.

What do you seek to achieve with pageantry?

Through pageantry, I aim to be a representative of children, youths and adults who have experienced any form of bullying, I need them to know that being bullied should not define what they can or cannot do.

Were your parents supportive of your sojourn into pageantry?

Yes they were. I’m so blessed to have parents and family members who are enlightened and always try to support my journey through advice, finance and even embarking on long trips just to watch me live on stage.

Nigeria is a trailblazer for the African continent when it comes to pageantry; how do you hope to sustain that as a queen and beyond your years as one?

Unfortunately in Nigeria, beauty queens and models are seen as sex workers, so I would like to change the narrative and to keep proving to the ignorant ones that we are great role models and advocates for a better society and world.

Emerging winner of a beauty pageant from among a lot of prospective winners must come with some emotions, can you speak on that?

It is indeed overwhelming, it’s just a rollercoaster of feelings, I can’t even explain it.

Tell us one unforgettable moment in the business of beauty pageantry?

I once registered for a pageant some years back, most people around me discouraged me saying I was trying too hard and that I can’t succeed in that particular contest. My mum advised me to ignore and push through with it and I did. And guess what, I won. I can never forget that experience.

What have been some of the challenges?

As I said earlier, beauty queens are perceived to be unserious, people do not realize the amount of work we put in physically, mentally and financially. Getting sponsorship can be difficult even after presenting a very achievable project.

What further plans do you have?

Beauty queens have a life outside pageantry. For me, I’m working on owning my cosmetic brand and other businesses yet to be disclosed, so you guys should watch out.

Has pageantry affected your education adversely?

No, it hasn’t. But it has helped to broaden my knowledge further about life in general.

Are you in a relationship?

Lol that is a private question. Moving on…..

What is your definition of beauty?

I believe beauty is personal to every individual. For me, beauty should emanate from inside and out.

How do you think pageantry can be used as an economic development pivot?

Pageantry is used to create platforms for young people to discover and develop their skills, this in return reduces the rate of unemployment in the society and boosts the economy.

Is the pageantry a suitable platform to address or tackle issues of female discrimination, oppression or abuse? If so, are you thinking in that direction?

There is no better platform to handle these issues if not pageantry. Being a beauty queen, gender inequality is one of the problems I lend my voice to.

How do you get inspired?

Prayers and words of advice from my mother.

Have you had any ugly encounter of any kind in the course of your pageantry?

I have been pressured into exchanging sex for money but as an uprightly moral lady, I turned down the offer and it cost me the sponsorship and support I was seeking.

Many girls aspire to become prominent in pageantry; what advice would you proffer?

Lots of challenges will arise, lots of discouragement will surface, but if you truly want to be a beauty queen for the work and not just for the glamour, keep pushing and you will get there.

Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf has expressed willingness of the Ministry to collaborate with owners of private beaches in Lagos, describing them as key stakeholders in the State’s hospitality sector.

She made the promise recently during an interactive session with private beach owners at Redline Leisure Beach Resort, Okun-Ajah Community Okun-Mapo, off Abraham Adesanya Roundabout, Lagos.

The Commissioner expressed satisfaction with the efforts of the beach owners along the axis for putting in place standard infrastructure capable of attracting and stimulating the interest of tourists.

Akinbile-Yussuf also promised to assist the beach owners in the area with government presence that will further enhance their operations and increase tourists’ accessibility to the beaches.

Part of the incentives which the Ministry will give to the operators, according to the Commissioner, is in the area of publicity on the Ministry’s Website where most local and international tourists would be able to interface with the owners directly.

She said, “I want you to know that your operations complement what the Ministry is doing. You are very key in the area of attracting tourists to our State and as such we must ensure that your businesses thrive”.

The Commissioner explained that only registered establishments are given due recognition by the government, adding that anyone operating any hospitality establishment without registering with the State Government is regarded as an illegal operator.

Citing the instance of the N1 billion soft loans approved by the State Governor for the owners of businesses in the tourism, hospitality and entertainment sector, the Commissioner stated that one of the criteria for the beneficiaries is to be registered with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

She also mentioned the need to classify and grade the various beaches according to their facilities in order to give the beaches commensurate ratings that would guide visitors in making informed decisions when considering beach visitations.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Princess Adenike Adedoyin-Ajayi, remarked that the government is not interested in burdening the beach operators with unnecessary financial obligations, but implored the operators to regularise their business by registering with the Ministry.

Princess Adedoyin-Ajayi urged the beach owners to standardise their operations and bring their businesses to international standards for greater visibility to both local and international tourists.

The beach owners had earlier sought the intervention of the Ministry in the area of extending the tarred road in the area and assistance on the review of several fees and charges from the government.

When it comes to the business of Real Estate in Nigeria, the name Morola Olabisi Babalola is definitely worthy of some accolades and encomium. Driven by her passion to create impact and see many rise from the scratch of shelter, to live among the high and mighty in the society, coupled with her spirit of hard work and wealth of experience, she has turned the fantasies of a countless number of families into fantastic realities.

No doubt, when Morola was going into the Nigerian property business, she had one goal at the back of her mind, to help those who would not have dreamt of owning a house, not just to own a house, but to own it among the high class. Her imprints in the industry have shown that she set out to impact the actual end-users, people who are actually in need of homes, reaching out to new families who are just growing up with the creation of “middle-income-homes” in the high-ranked area of Lekki and Victoria Island. She is said to have been one of the realtors that broke the fallow ground of that area. Today, many professionals, families, small and medium business owners who are now proud house owners, have her to thank.

As if that was not enough, Morola in her bid to ensure no one is left out no matter their level of income, pioneered a housing cooperative “Affordable Housing Cooperative Society Ltd” which is aimed towards seeing tenants become landlords of the houses they rent, empowering members and putting their dreams right in their hands. (Watch out for the unveiling of this very soon)

With about two decades of experience, the Ogun state born mother of three began her career in real estate when many were still scared of venturing into the sector. She has been exposed to the industry right from the beginning. As a pioneer staff with the foremost real estate company, Primewaterview Limited, Morola started most of the housing units in the company, with individual units in Oniru. At the time, she was also the head of Corporate Services in charge of marketing and managing of high net worth individuals.

Morola’s hard work, passion and creativity saw her climb the ladder of greatness when she was deservedly promoted to become the Managing Director of PWV Management Services (a subsidiary of the group company) where she turned the subsidiary around from drowning into a profitable venture and later the Group MD and Chief Executive Officer of Primewaterview Holdings Limited in 2012, after the resignation of the erstwhile GMD and CEO, Adetunji Ogunwusi. She practically organised the facility management and other subsidiary companies for the firm.

After selflessly serving under the Primewaterview company for close to 20 years, Morola finally emerged with her own, Townsend Property Investments Limited, a seasoned and fast-growing indigenous real estate Company with a passion for affordable and comfortable housing development, in 2017. Although the company had been incorporated earlier, the full operation began in the year 2017. It is interesting to know that this was a period when the country’s economy was being shaky, but Morola was born to succeed even in the stormy weather. Almost immediately, Townsend hit the ground running with the launch of a 38-unit home in Lekki delivered to the subscribers on the 5^th of February, just as promised. At the moment, some other massive, outstanding housing projects are in the pipeline.

With Townsend Properties Limited, Morola is setting a new goal post for others to follow, with the launching of real estate into various other sectors, like tourism, with partnership deals with international organisations like the African Union, AU. This is geared towards building tourist destination centres across the state of the federation. This is in a bid to create more comfortable and stress-free experience for tourists. This initiative will see tourists in a whole new world of a fascinating experience.