By Vivian Onyebukwa
The grand finale of Nigeria’s biggest teen beauty pageant, which took place in the ancient timber city of Sapele, Delta State, was the climax of an intense one week of camping activities that involved leadership training, etiquettes, life soft skills, and entrepreneurship training.
Stephanie Oluebube Offordile, emerged as the overall winner of the 2024 edition of Teen Queen Nigeria (TQN), in a fiercely contested competition that has high flying teenage beauties with brains and brawn.
The audience erupted with tumultuous applause, when delectably congenial and beautiful Stephanie Oluebube Offordile, representative from Enugu State, defeated 6 other beautiful teenagers to emerge the third edition winner.
The contestants who came out in 6 appearances namely, traditional costumes, introduction, swim wears, fashion walk extravaganza, talents display and evening gowns, wowed the audience with their colourful displays.
The contest, had Miss Blessing Ebbah, reigning Miss Africa United Nations, as head judge, while Miss Morayo Akinyomi, former beauty queen and Medical Biochemist and Miss Confiance Oluebube Victor, outgoing Teen Queen Nigeria winner 2022, were co-judges.
Miss Stephanie Oluebube Offordile, will represent Nigeria at Teen Queen International, later in the year.
Nigeria’s King of Queens and National Director of Teen Queen Nigeria, Gwendolyn Elohor Tagbarha, and her team members ensured that the very best amongst the beautiful, talented and intelligent teens, emerged the overall winner.
While speaking to media on how the winners emerged, Gwendolyn Tagbarha, stated that like the first two editions, 70% scores was taken right from the auditions, home task assignments, behavioural assessment, hard work, attitude, and camp activities. All were put together and submitted to the judges while their stage performances during the grand finale has the other half of 30%.
The organization also ensured that none of the contestants were given tickets to sell like it is done with other pageants. This is to ensure credibility of the brand, fairness to all contestants and to also ensure all contestants compete keenly on a level playing field.
In addition to representing Nigeria at an International pageant, the winner also walked home with the sum of N300,000 in cash, amongst other prizes, while, Angel Obinwunne, (Teen Imo), 1st Princess, Jewel Enobong Akpan, (Teen Akwa Ibom), 2nd Princess, walked home with N200,000, and N100,000 in cash, respectively.
An elated Tagbarha, who is an ex-beauty queen reiterated that the Teen Queen Nigeria brand is a major platform that grooms young girls from the foundation, to become worthy role models, ambassadors and subsequently become useful to themselves and the society at large. She added that when they eventually decide to contest at adults pageant brands, they would have been groomed thoroughly to adequately prepare them to become high flyers in the future. “When any pageant organizer tells them anything contrary to what they have been taught, they will make informed decisions”.
She also stated that since the values of the pageant industry has debased to the extent that beauty queens are not respected due to the ills being perpetuated by some pageant organizers and some unscrupulous ladies, the Teen Queen Nigeria brand is out to redefine, mould and reshape the mindsets of young teenage girls, as well as the pageant organizers. “I strongly believe that we are truly on the path towards sanitizing beauty pageantry in Nigeria and I am super proud to say that Teen Queen Nigeria cemented her place in Nigeria as the biggest and brightest teenage pageant brand, and with God on our side, we shall continue to work to sanitize the system and subsequently change the narratives of pageantry in Nigeria”, Tagbarha concluded.