Background
My name is Anna Banner. I am 18 years old. I am the current Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. I hail from Bayelsa State. I am the first girl but last child of my parents.
I had my secondary education in Port Harcourt last year and in the last Unified Matriculation Examinations, I scored 214 and was waiting to write post-UME. I applied to read communications at University of Port Harcourt. I worked partly at an oil company in Port-Harcourt because I didn’t want to be idle.
Support
from parents
I had the support of
my parents. Initially, I did not tell them about the auditions. I thought that
I would not make it to the final. It was only after I scaled through the
audition process that I informed them and they were happy. There were even at
the finals to cheer me on.
Winning
the crown
This is my first
attempt at a beauty pageant. I had always wanted to participate in a pageant
but I never got encouragement until a friend advised me to buy the form. I went
for auditions and saw so many beautiful girls. I felt intimidated and did not
even expect to make it to the grand finale. I won due to God’s grace and not
because I was the prettiest or had the loudest applause. It is not because I am
from Bayelsa. My victory was purely on merit.
I
remain my old self
I am still Anna
Banner; it is just that I am wearing a crown. Adjusting to my new status has
not been easy because a lot of things are new to me. For instance, I get more
calls from well wishers, my Facebook page has been bombarded by requests but in
all, I am grateful to God. Sometimes, I feel I have been robbed of my privacy
but I know every queen before me experienced same and I am handling it all.
Pet
project
Being a queen is a
selfless assignment and not a ticket to join the world of glamour. The crown
has given me a platform to actualise my dreams which is helping humanity and
the best part it I will be doing it on a larger scale. My area of focus will be
HIV/AIDS.
Role
models
As the first female
black president in Africa, I admire Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson for her strength,
courage and resilience. Apart from her, I also have God and my mother as role
models that inspire me.
Dream
for Bayelsa State
As a Special Adviser
on Culture and Tourism to my state governor, I will use the MBGN platform to
awaken people to the tourism potential in the state such that it will generate
revenue and also create employment opportunities. By the end of my reign, I
want Bayelsa to have become the Dubai of Nigeria.
Male
attention
The men have been
there even before I went for the pageant, so it is not a new thing to me. I
just try to stay focused on other things without getting distracted by the
attention I receive from the opposite sex. I come from a family where my
parents don’t spare the rod and are religious. I have always had a curfew time
and prior to MBGN, I had to be home by 6pm, before then it was 5 pm.
Now it has been
relaxed a bit because they realise that my designation sometimes demand that I
am out a little bit later than my curfew. Except for that, since I became
queen, my parents have refused to treat me differently. I still do house chores
and I am sure they will still scold me if the need arises.
Fashion
I like to look chic
and glamorous. I don’t like wearing high-heel shoes but I don’t have a choice
now. When shopping for shoes, I go for comfortable heels which I can wear for
four or five hours without feeling stressed.
Beauty
routine
I drink a lot of
water, get enough rest by sleeping and I never sleep with make-up on because my
pores need to breath. I also eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits. Staying
slim is not a struggle and I eat moderately. But I still visit the gym to keep
fit not necessarily to lose weight. My statistics is 34-26-39 and I am 5 ft 7.
Source: Punch Nigeria
