(L-R)2nd
runner up, Chucks Obichukwu, Mr Nigeria Deji Bakare and 1st runner up
Melvin Oduah
The third edition of
Silverbird‘s
Mr Nigeria
pageant went down on Saturday, October 29, 2011 with last year’s winner
Kenneth Okoli passing the crown to
Deji Bakare,
making him ‘the most desirable man in Nigeria’.
The event which created a lot of buzz over the last two weeks held at
the
Silverbird Galleria attracting a huge turnout as
the floor and staircases of the venue were well occupied by guests and
many ‘onlookers’. It was a night of manly show-offs; muscles, six-packs
abs and cute faces, so as expected the crowd was dominated more by women
than men.
Anybody who was expecting the pageant to be as glamorous as the
female version –
Most Beautiful Girl In Nigeria would
have been totally disappointed. The organization and effort put into the
Mr Nigeria pageant was nothing compared to the MBGN.
The venue was an absolute no-no as they were only about 50 seats
available, 60 per cent of guests had no choice but to stand and cheer,
hence the staircases of the galleria being occupied.
The anchor of the night,
Munachi (a former MBGN
queen herself) was far from a good host; the model-rapper lacked
charisma and poise as she often fumbled her lines.
According to the contents in the event’s brochure, the pageant was
meant to field four judges –
Joseph Benjamin, Nadaya Letova,
Kelechi Amadi-Obi and
Ms Ladi Ene-Garba. But
neither actor/show host Benjamin nor photographer Amadi-Obi showed up. A
makeshift judge
Baxter Slaton was added to round off
the panel to three judges.
Performances were nothing out of the usual as
JJC, Eva
and
Chidinma set the guest in the right mood with
musical interludes.
After the Swim and Evening wear appearances and ‘Question and Answer’
session, the judges narrowed down the contestants to just five –
Deji
Bakare, Joseph Agossa, Bandele Adebule, who by the way
received the highest cheers from the crowd at any point,
Melvin
Oduah and
Chucks Obichukwu.
Fourth runner up went to Joseph Agossa, third runner up to Bandele
Adebule, Second runner up to Chucks Obichukwu. The second position was
given to Melvin Oduah, leaving Deji Bakare to be pronounced as Mr
Nigeria.
Other awards like Mr Photogenic, Mr Sports, Mr Amenity, Strongest
Man, Mr Smart, Mr Talented, Mr Physique, and Mr Personality went to
Henry
Ojini, Chidi Onuike, Alex Uriesi, Oluwagbemiga Adetuberu, Ikorishor
Ajabi, Deji Bakare, Ugochukwu Uzowuihe and
Ayomikun
Odunwole respectively.
