After beating 16 other contestants from the Igbo-speaking states of Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Anambra, Imo, Rivers and Delta, 18-year-old second year undergraduate of microbiology at the University of Port Harcourt, Joy Ngozika Obasi emerged the first ever Miss Ikenga.
The Abia State-born beauty queen went home with a brand new car, N500,000 cash reward and a return trip to Dubai.
Organised by Ikenga Entertainment and Awards, the highly contested pageant, which took place on Saturday, April 11 at the banquet hall of All Seasons Hotel, Owerri, was put together to promote the beauty inherent in the Igbo woman.
Breaking away from pageant culture of its nature, Miss Ikenga 2009 saw all contestants appearing in four different costumes (Igbo wrapper, Creative wear, Dinner Africana and Akwa Egwu) all made of apparels from the Igbo culture, just as the event did not feature any swimming suit or bikini.
After the initial round of four appearances, the 16 contestants were reduced to 10 based on the results of their respective performances, and later to five from among whom Miss Obasi emerged.
The remaining winners from the last group were Modesta Alozie from Abia State, a student of the Imo State University, who emerged as the first runner up (Miss Ihuoma), while Nneka Anyansi from Anambra State, a 300 level student of French from the Imo State University, was declared as the second runner up (Miss Agwaoma).
Other winners were Uchechi Akubiro, who is the new Miss Ukwuoma, while Ugochi Opara became Miss Akoluche. Apart from the cash prizes, Alozie went home with a return ticket to Ghana while Anyansi is to make a visit to the popular Obudu Ranch.
Speaking at the event, President of Ikenga Entertainment and Awards, organisers of the pageant, Chris Nwandu, affirmed that the overriding objective of the culture-oriented pageant was to showcase the intrinsic beauty of the typical Igbo woman.
Nwandu therefore called for the support of corporate organisations and the Igbo nation (Ndigbo) at large for what he promised to become the biggest annual beauty pageant in that part of the country.
With the support of telecoms giant, MTN and All Seasons Hotel, the maiden edition drew people from different walks of life, especially from the nation's entertainment industry.
Earlier in the day at the same venue, the First Ikenga Merit Awards were held. Fidelity Bank Plc went home with the Bank of the Year award, while Okey Nwosu, MD/CEO of Finbank was the Banker of the Year. Other winners were Emeka Mba, director general of the National Films and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), who won the Regulator of the Year award; Azu Ishiekwene of Punch Newspapers was named Journalist of the Year, while Kanayo O. Kanayo clinched the Movie Personality of the Year award. All Seasons Hotel got the Hotel of the Year award, while Abia State Governor, T.A. Orji was declared Ikenga Governor of the Year.
Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wamakko, received the Friend of Igbo award while Mr. Amadi Ogbonna of Vanguard Newspapers received a recognition award for his contribution to the entertainment industry in Nigeria.
Oriental Brothers International and People's Club of Nigeria received the Lifetime Achievement award.
Chairman of the event, former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, was represented by Edwin Igbokwe chaired the event.
REF: Daily Independent Newspaper, Saturday, April 25, 2009 edition
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