On the 16th of the month before the festive month, an almost 19-year-old girl arose to bring Nigeria’s name to the world stage, her name, Agbani Darego.
The year was 2001 when Nigeria was still finding its ground amidst its economic situation. Agbani Darego was then a student of Computer Science at the University of Port-Harcourt. Although just 12 when she lost her Mother to Breast Cancer, she remained undeterred in pursuing her dreams. Her win did not only mark a breakthrough for Nigeria but for Africa as she became the first indigenous African, crowned Miss World.
The 6ft 1-inch star was born on 22nd December 1982 and hails from Abonnema, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Her final question at the Miss World event was “In this man’s world what do you think you can change that a man cannot?”
to which she responded,
“First and foremost, I entered the Miss World competition because I know it’s a very charitable organization and in this man’s world, if there’s anything I can do to help the less privileged in the society because I’d really really want to give them as much help as I can give. I love helping the needy at all times and I have this great love for humanity that helps me and promises me to be the best I can be and to help everyone in need.”
Though a pretty simple answer, it was salient enough to win her the crown.
The Pageant was held in Sun City, South Africa, and had a total of 93 contestants. Darego won a total cash prize of $100,000, as well as gifts valued at $150,000. Moments before being crowned by Priyanka Chopra, the previous Miss World winner, was quoted to have said: “Black is beautiful”.
It’s been almost 22 years after her win, and Darego has tried staying true to her words. She has donated to children who face abuse and trafficking, girls suffering from Vesico Vaginal Fistula disease, victims of breast cancer, as well as people who face police brutality
She has since served as a brand ambassador to L’Oreal, Arik Air, Samsung, and Silverbird group, as well as modeled for numerous fashion brands such as; Avon, Target, Macy’s, Sephora, and Christian Dior.
More importantly, the star’s longtime desire of having children came through after marriage to Ishaya Danjuma on April 8th, 2022.
