The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, has offered N5 million to the first 1,000 aspiring aspirants of the forthcoming second edition of Queen Moremi beauty pageant contest slated for October.
The Ambassador to the maiden Queen Moremi of Ile-Ife, Princess Ronke Ademiluyi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that amount was to offset their registration.
“His Royal Majesty has donated N5 million as registration fees for the first 1,000 young ladies aspiring to participate in the 2017 Queen Moremi contest coming up in Ile-Ife, in October.
” The monarch said the amount is to encourage more young ladies who may not have the financial means to participate in the contest to do so
“I am therefore, encouraging more young girls to embrace this exceptional opportunity of free registration,” she said.
Ademiluyi said that the idea behind organising the Queen Moremi contest by the Ooni, was a recreation of the Legacy of the referred and legendary Queen More I Ajasoro
She said that the contest would enable young ladies of today get prepared for the future, reawaken their cultural identity and imbibe decent morals in them.
” As a cultural promoter and ambassador to Queen Moremi, I encourage young girls to embrace decent and culturally edifying outfits and brands.
“A lot of morals have been lost, the new generation of women don’t have much values for themselves and the Moremi project is trying to instill back those values.
” Values as selflessness, caurage and discipline, which Queen Moremi Ajasoro exhibited in her lifetime,” she said.
She noted that the vision of the Ooni, was to bring back those unique values associated with the Queen, through the cultural pageant.
She said that the curent queen, Blessing Animasahun, a 600- level Dental-Surgery student of the University of Ibadan was crowned by the Ooni of Ife out out 375 contestants in 2016 in Ile Ife.
Ademiluyi, who is the founder of Africa Fashion Week Nigeria/London, said the cultural contest, first of its kind, was to boost our culture and tradition, especially among youths.
“The contest is open to young ladies from ages 18 years to 25 years, of which at least one of their parents must be of Yoruba lineage from Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Lagos, Ondo, Kwara and Kogi states,” she told NAN.
She also said that “the winner of the contest would become the cultural ambassador to the Ooni of Ife, in addition to the gifts a car, wardrobe allowance among other gifts. (NAN)