Nollywood actress and philanthropist Rita Dominic Anosike has revealed why she took up the role of chairperson of the Miss Nigeria beauty pageantry.
Speaking on News Central’s TV programme, Jasiri, she explained that her decision was driven by her passion for initiatives that empower young women. She expressed her admiration for the organisation’s values and policies, which align with her belief in supporting women’s growth.
According to her, many young women possess immense talent and beauty but often lack the guidance needed to chart their future paths. She emphasised that the Miss Nigeria organisation provides the necessary support to help these women discover and achieve their potential, a mission she deeply resonates with.
“Now, take for instance, the last two weeks, these young queens have been in camp. I have seen tremendous difference since they’ve been in camp, and it’s just so beautiful to watch. I’ve seen them embrace or come to understand who they are.
“They’ve unlearned, they’ve relearned, and it’s just a beautiful thing to see. So imagine if we even had more time with them in camp, the sort of impact that would be made on them in camp. And it’s very important.
“Look, when I was growing up, we didn’t have many platforms like this. So for me, having a platform like this that empowers a young woman, that helps them, helps to shape them to becoming the leading light of the country, I’m all for it. And I think that’s one of the reasons why I decided to go on this journey,” she said.
Rita Dominic observed that beauty pageantry had experienced a decline in public interest for reasons she could not fully understand. However, she noted a recent resurgence of enthusiasm for such events and expressed optimism about revitalising the Miss Nigeria pageant under the management of the Audrey Silver Company.
She explained that the organisation is leveraging digital tools and integrating storytelling into the pageant to re-engage audiences. One such initiative includes introducing public voting, which allows fans to select a contestant for the top 10. Dominic emphasised that this approach not only involves the public but also sparks conversation and excitement around the event. She believes these efforts, along with innovative strategies, will help restore the pageant’s appeal and relevance.
“I can already see young people, you know, they’re so excited about Miss Nigeria, they want to be involved, they want to know what’s happening, they’re already choosing their queens online, you know, so I’m hoping that all these things that Audrey Silver wants to do with Miss Nigeria, all these ideas, will help, you know, like renew the public interest and I think it’s happening.
“This year our theme is our cultural heritage and political participation for women in politics, you know, and community engagement. Now at the Miss Nigeria organisation we do not have height criteria because we believe that beauty runs deep, it runs across, right, so we don’t have that height criteria.
“We have, you see that some of the contestants who are contesting tomorrow are small, but they are beautiful, they’re intelligent, you know, they’re powerful in their own way and that is one of the things that attracted me to the organisation, that’s one of the things that made me take on this role as the chairman of Miss Nigeria because I noticed that they say to themselves, or their policy is that, look, women all over, women can be beautiful regardless of how you look outside, it’s about how you look on the inside, it’s about your intelligence, it’s about what you bring to the table and that is what we’re encouraging in young men to say, look, you can be beautiful on the outside but ultimately what is important is what is on the inside.”
Watch the complete interview below.
