What I want to achieve as ‘Face of the North’

My name is Etu Jane, a 200 level Civil Engineering student at Auchi Polytechnic. I am the first child of five children. I ventured into the career because I love constructive creativity. What is the Face of the North project all about? The Face of the North contest is a beauty pageant, for the 19 […]

My name is Etu Jane, a 200 level Civil Engineering student at Auchi Polytechnic. I am the first child of five children. I ventured into the career because I love constructive creativity.

What is the Face of the North project all about?

The Face of the North contest is a beauty pageant, for the 19 states in the North. It showcases the beauty of the North. Contestants come from virtually every part of the North. It is geared towards the girl child. To make sure that even the girl-child can achieve whatever she wants to achieve in life just like their male counterparts.

There is an increase in the number of underage street traders in virtually every city of the country and the North is not left out of this trend. The girl-child forms a major percentage of this. What do you think should be done to stem is the negative trend?

It is a natural thing in Nigeria to consider female as the one to do such menial tasks. Interestingly, one of the aims of this project is the reduction in the number of underage hawkers with particular emphasis on the female ones. We intend to carry out massive sensitization programmes to enlighten the populace on the negative impact of such trends on the Nigerian child and we are making progress.

What other successes has this project recorded since its conception?

A lot has been done since the start of the programme. Since my emergence as the Face of the North, I have spoken to many audiences comprising of females around the country. I have been able to educate some of these women, young and old on the idea behind the project which I understand and I am supposed to disseminate. More girls have come up to identify with the project with so many of them opting to pursue careers that they had hitherto abandoned. Many more have started to take particular interest in their future as against the initial apathy they displayed. Many of them have come back to say, Jane I thank you for giving me hope again. Whereas, I am the one saying thank you to the organizers today when I see the impact that the project is making in the lives of so many girls.

Who are the sponsors of the project?

A group of Nigerian artistes. It is spearheaded by Yusuf Michael, the youngest producer across the Niger Delta region. He came up with the idea for the project and all this while it has been a success.

How long has the project been in existence?    

It has been in existence for the past two years.

What is the basic concept underlying it?

Basically it is to emancipate the girl-child particularly those in the north from some limiting cultural values in the region which impede their progress in life. Some of these values do not allow these girls to fully become what they are meant to achieve in life. We aim at giving them back this confidence. For some of them, their dreams simply die unfulfilled. We make these girls believe that they can actually become whatever they want to become in life despite these cultural hindrances. We tell them they can make it in life without messing up themselves. We also aim at erasing some of the unverified views in the North where careers like modeling and acting for women are regarded as a form of prostitution and therefore frowned upon. We also try to tell these women that yes you can actually become a model and not walk naked. You can actually be an actress or model and not being a prostitute. We aim at striking a balance between these conflicting views. There is always a positive side to everything in life.

What do you as the current face of the North supposed to represent?

I project the rich cultural values of the North. I promote their unique lifestyle. That is, in terms of wears, cuisine, tourism, arts, crafts and values. I promote everything the North stands for. I aim at promoting the positive sides of the North while at the same time seeking for ways to erase the negative perception many have about the North.

How do you strike a balance between the shy, soft spoken person, you are the extrovert nature that you are supposed to project as an ambassador of a great region such as the North?

As a beauty queen many people believe that you have to live a make belief life but I disagree. Definitely, I am not the same person I was before the competition since I have been exposed through my new personality and the position I have now assumed. But, I simply live just the way I am now without any embellishments. Through this, it is much less difficult to be who I really am. To a great extent, I still remain myself and of course, thanks to my strict upbringing.

What do you hope to achieve at the end of your tenure as the Face of the North?

I want to encourage the Northern women to focus more on their strengths rather than their inherent weaknesses. That is what the average Hausa, Fulani or northern woman can do best. I want to be able to make them do this so that their standard of living can be greatly enhanced. In Kaduna, recently, we initiated the cooking competition that was a huge success. We are repeating that this year. It is an inter-local government cooking competition. We try to make the average Northern woman that they can actually make use of this seemingly simple skill of cooking to enhance their living standard. You can own a big catering business through this and earn a living for your family. We also have a cultural festival that will take place towards the end of next year. A lot of empowerment programmes like these are in the pipeline and I hope to complete all this before the end of my tenure.

Any challenges?

Basically, sponsorship. We need more people to identify with the project as it is capital intensive. We still have our old sponsors whom we appreciate but we need more.