Oluchi Onweagba is my biggest motivation – Miss Kogi

Weekly Trust: What were your aspirations growing up?Sarah Yusuf: From my tender years I fell in love with model shows, I always wanted to be the best model in the world with the love of children in mind, especially the less-privileged. They are very dear to my heart and I therefore want to be a […]

Weekly Trust: What were your aspirations growing up?
Sarah Yusuf: From my tender years I fell in love with model shows, I always wanted to be the best model in the world with the love of children in mind, especially the less-privileged. They are very dear to my heart and I therefore want to be a model who cares for them.
How did you come to be Miss Kogi?
Yusuf: I always have my ears glued to (the ground to get) information when it comes to fashion trends. I saw the broadcast message on social network. So I called a friend, Mr. Johnson Ariyo, who gave me the information I needed to get a form. I got it and was enrolled for auditioning.
What was the most challenging part?
Yusuf: Hmmm… the most challenging part was every part of the competition, right from the auditioning to the camp and the finale. It all just seemed like I was contesting for Miss World because all aspects were handled by professionals and you know how challenging it can be when a beauty contest is being handled by professionals in the industry.
Was there anyone you were scared of or saw as a major threat?
Yusuf: Scared? No way! I was not scared of anybody because in a competition there must be two sides, a winner and a loser. If I won, that means my best was good enough and if I lost that does not make me a failure. A failure is the person who loses and stays there without moving and keeps trying to succeed. So, if I lost it simply meant I need to try harder next time and the truth is that all the contestants for Miss Kogi 2014 were outstanding.
What gave you an edge over others?
Yusuf: I would say my edge over them was my confidence and intelligence. Not that the others don’t possess these abilities, but I made good use of mine and used it like my life depended on it. Lastly, my beauty is unique and my smartness was equal to none.
Can you describe those first few moments when you were announced the winner?
Yusuf: When I was announced winner, it hit me like a first kiss, then after, happiness and joy overwhelmed me and I gave in to tears of joy.
Did you think you would win?
Yusuf: No, I never thought I would win because all models were good as I was but I always made their mistakes work in my favour by making my outing better than previous contestants and I always gave my best.
What was the prize given and what do you intend to do with it?
Yusuf: I was given an official car as star prize as well as cash prize for my upkeep. This, I will make use of to open a foundation for my project which is a youth empowerment and development initiative, ‘Kogi Youths.’ I decided on this because when one takes a critical look at our society today, there are a lot of social crisis caused by unemployment. I hope to contribute my quota and join hands with government to fight with no rest for this project.
Who is your biggest motivation?
Yusuf: That would be Oluchi Onweagba. She started in Nigeria as a poor girl but today, she is one of the biggest models in the world, doing good works and representing Nigeria in the modelling world.
Which previous beauty queen do you admire most and why?
Yusuf: I admire Agbani Darego (Miss World 2010) because she is smarter than being sexy and she is also made up of true beauty. She put up a good fight and brought the crown home to Nigeria.