Miss Heritage Nigeria will promote cultural values’

The CEO of Miss Heritage Nigeria, Chinor Emeka, has stated that her brainchild will promote the nation’s cultural values. The beauty pageant is currently gearing up for its third edition following the success of the second leg held last year. “What sets Miss Heritage Nigeria apart is its unique nature. It is designed to celebrate our cultural values, which have been dying out over the years.

Aside conferment of awards on distinguished individuals and institutions, we also use the beauty pageant to promote our cultural values in terms of youth motivation, mass education and national re-orientation for self and community developments,” she said. According to Emeka, at the last edition, none of the contestants represented her state of origin as they were assigned to different states and required to make detailed research on the customs and cultural practices of their assigned state. She says this enabled them expand their knowledge on the diverse national/cultural heritage of Nigeria.
“Despite the efforts of the National Council of Arts and Culture over the years to forge national unity and identity in the face of Western cultural influences, Nigeria’s national cultural heritage has remained a mirage. This pageant hopefully will compliment other national efforts to globalize Nigeria’s cultural heritage,” Emeka states. On challenges she has been facing packaging the beauty pageant, she explains: “I have been funding this project from my own pocket.
Currently, we don’t have any sponsors but we are hoping that with the successful hosting of two editions, corporate bodies and government institutions are going to start reaching out to us.” The second edition of Miss Heritage Nigeria was held on December 2, 2012 at Concord Hotel, Owerri, Imo State and the 36 states of the federation were represented. Princess Peace Ayoka won the maiden edition, which was held in 2011 while Lilian Onabu, an indigene of Edo State won the second edition.