Culture and Tourism

Cultural Boost, As Face Of Epic Africa Pageantry Launched In Abuja

Published

5 years ago

July 7, 2021

Joel Ajayi

A contest aimed at celebrating diverse cultural endowments of African countries and also to showcase their uniqueness to a global audience has begun formally in Nigeria.

Also, the organizers say the contest is to bring back the lost glory of African culture and exhibit their innate and outward beauty.

The face of epic Africa pageantry 2021, the premier edition, which kicked off over the weekend to a grand finale date, come November this year , is already generating waves among young, beautiful girls across Africa, with many jostling to contest for honours at the event.

Speaking at the press conference, on Sunday in Abuja, the Chief Executive Officer CEO Face of epic Africa 2021, Mr Ojo Anthony, said the project is envisioned to encourage young African girls between the ages of 18 and 28 to showcase their culture, intelligence, family values and knowledge on African culture, as well as other unique values.

He said the contest will go a long way in bringing back the lost glory of Africa’s culture to the continent.

Mr. Anthony revealed that face of epic Africa pageantry is a rare platform uniquely packaged to enable young African girls display their beauty, elegance, artistic skills, intelligence, leadership qualities and deep knowledge of cultural heritage.

According to him, we want to teach them the value of Africa, we are looking at the cultural aspect of Africa, where we have the Zulu of South Africa, Asantee of Ghana, three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, amongst others, to promote our culture.

“We want an event that will make the contestants independent even after the contest. The winner, 1st and 2nd runners up will work with our company for one year to have more knowledge about self-esteem.

We are doing this, just to bring back the African culture, the western culture has eaten into us that we have forgotten the Africa culture, the damage European life has done to us is more than good.

On her own, the pageantry communicator of face of epic Africa, Eneh Gold, while giving hint on the modality of the event, said: “there are arrangements to camp the contestants for ten days and its open to all Africans ladies from 18-28 years, we are going to train and groom them on how to become a queen.

“We are expecting close to 20 contestants, and in every beauty pageant there is always a star prize, we have everything in place, we intend to give a car and other prizes for 1st and second runner up and also, we have consolation prizes for all our contestants.

When asked how to communicate with other African countries? She replied: “We have social media to communicate with them, a platform to get them registered with a N5000 registration fee.”

Share on Facebook

Culture and Tourism

Awakan Marks First Anniversary as NTDA DG, Charts New Course for Tourism Sector

Published

1 week ago

September 24, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

As the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) enters its second year under the leadership of the Director-General, Mr. Ola Awakan, the focus will remain on building partnerships and converting Nigeria’s tourism assets into greater opportunities for investment and accelerated economic growth.

That simple message framed the one year scorecard presented on Wednesday by Mr. Awakan during NTDA Tourism Week 2026 and activities leading to World Tourism Day held in Abuja.

“Nigeria does not lack tourism assets,” Awakan said. “What is required is a system that connects these assets to investments, jobs, technology, enterprise and sustainable economic value.” He added.

Reeling out his scorecard, Awakan observed that over the past year, the Authority concentrated on stakeholder engagement, innovation, investment facilitation, digital transformation, destination marketing, tourism intelligence and institution building.

He explained that efforts have been made towards deeper collaboration with government institutions, traditional institutions, private-sector operators, development partners, financial institutions, professional bodies, communities and international partners.

On the digital front, the NTDA boss said the Authority has advanced NITOUREY, a dedicated tourism streaming platform and content ecosystem meant to take Nigerian destinations, culture and experiences to wider audiences, in alignment with this year’s World Tourism Day theme, “Digital agenda and artificial intelligence to redesign Tourism”.

He also identified Naija Flavour as a flagship project to position Nigerian cuisine as both a tourism asset and a tool for cultural diplomacy, linking tourism to Nollywood, music, fashion, food, festivals and digital creativity.

Speaking further, Awakan reiterated that the NTDA is also digitising tourism enterprise accreditation and regulatory processes while developing a grassroots tourism framework to identify, document and promote assets across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.

Internationally, NTDA has expanded ties with tourism institutions, diplomatic missions, development partners and global organisations on technical cooperation, investment, destination marketing, capacity building, cultural diplomacy and market access.

The NTDA helmsman however recognised that challenges remain such as infrastructure gaps, weak tourism data, limited connectivity to some destinations, security concerns in certain locations, regulatory compliance shortfalls and the need for stronger private-sector participation.

Awakan remained positive looking ahead with his priorities including the mobilisation of more tourism investment, accelerating the development of viable assets, expanding domestic and international marketing through deeper digital transformation, strengthening regulation, increasing community participation, building capacity of tourism professionals and deepening partnerships with international tourism institutions.

The DG also announced plans for the expanded Naija Flavour International Tourism Expo to be unveiled in Abuja later this year making it the ultimate platform aimed at drawing international participation, investors and development partners into the sector.

While thanking President Bola Tinubu GCFR for giving him the opportunity to serve, he added that, “One year in office is not the destination. It is a checkpoint,” reiterating that the next phase would require stronger partnerships, greater investment and sustained institutional commitment.

Earlier, the Director of Marketing and Promotion of NTDA Mr. Olufemi Akinyele, said the milestone was being marked as part of NTDA Tourism Week, which began with a road walk and a guided tour of Abuja under the theme “Digital Vibes, Nigerian Pride: Celebrating Tourism, Culture and People.”

Government and industry representatives at the event congratulated the Director General and commended the Authority’s increased engagement with tourism stakeholders.

Share on Facebook