“I prayed, fasted with mum, pastor to emerge 2021 Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria” says 25-Year-Old Nursing Graduate

The 2021 Nigerian Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria who happened to be a graduate from Nursing department from the University of Texas, has shared her story to success in an interview with THE PUNCH.

Education Background

My name is Oluchi Madubuike, I attended Cita International Private School in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for most of my elementary education. I moved to British American Academy in Oman, Middle East, when I was in Grade 4.

I later came back to Nigeria, and I attended Charles Day Memorial International School in Port Harcourt, where I finished JSS3 to SS3. I attended the University of Texas, where I got a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and I’m 25 years old.

Academic feat

I graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a magna cum laude (distinction) in 2017. But it was not just that alone, I also bagged an honour when I wrote a thesis titled ‘Facilitating the integration of Nigerian nurses into the US hospital environment’.

I was able to achieve this academic feat because I was focused on my goal. I didn’t just want to graduate from college; I knew that if I got the degree, I would be able to relieve my mother of the burden of fending for myself and relieve her of her financial responsibilities. I also wanted to help her in other ways to take care of my siblings.

These thoughts motivated me to seek excellence. However, it was not by my power that I attained this; I prayed and relied on my faith. Also, the thoughts of not letting my parents down helped me.

Memorable moment

One of my most memorable moments was in the company of my late dad. When I was about five years old, Agbani Darego won Miss World; my dad and I were watching it, and he saw how enthusiastic I was about it. He saw that I was truly intrigued about it too; so he told me that I could do whatever I wanted to do, adding that if I wanted to become Miss World, I could be. It was truly gratifying to know that I have a father who truly believed in me strongly. I am happy that I have been able to achieve my goal, not only for myself but for him as well.

Career as a Nurse

I had always known that I wanted to be in the health care sector from a young age. In fact, my end goal is not to be a nurse but to become a doctor. The reason nursing was included in my journey was that when my dad died, he had a journal documenting people that had made an impact in his life in his final days battling leukaemia. I realised that a lot of persons he wrote about were nurses who made an impact in his life. Knowing that gave me another direction because I just wanted to make that kind of impact. That was simply my greatest motivation; I wanted to be an intensive care unit nurse, to be there for patients, family and friends during such a trying time in their life.  I am a registered nurse.

MBGN 2021

I decided to participate in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 2021 because I had a nudge in my spirit towards the end of the year 2020. It was like God wanted me to go for the pageant. I was not very sure which pageant he wanted me to contest. I just knew he (God) wanted me to be in Nigeria in a big competition. I prayed for direction and went on with it.

Also, recall that I had wanted to be in a pageant when I was just five years old. But moving to the United States seemed like it was a dream that I would not be able to accomplish anymore.

Thankfully, when I had the nudge in my spirit, it made me pursue my dreams passionately like I always do in my other endeavours.

The crown

Winning MBGN 2021 is a dream come true for me. It is a fulfilment of a prophecy that I got three years ago. The pastor told me that I was going to win the title. At that time, I didn’t see it as feasible, and I did not know that it was achievable but God did it in His perfect time and this gives me great joy.

Nonetheless, it feels surreal to know that I am also seen as a beauty queen in the US. To come back home to win a pageant in my country is one of the sweetest things to have happened to me.

I do not have a huge fan base in Nigeria but the way people accepted me made me feel at home. A lot of people sent me messages on social media and also prayed for me.

When I was announced the winner of MBGN 2021, all that was going through my mind was gratitude. I could only think about my late dad at that moment because I knew he would be proud of me. I was just grateful that I made my parents, family, friends and supporters proud. I am grateful for the grace to fulfil the prophecy; I am grateful that God spoke to me and held up his own end of his bargain.

Wins and losses

Life is about wins and losses. I do not believe that anything is truly a loss; it is either a lesson or a blessing. If I have not won MBGN, I would have still pursued my passion and find other ways to bring about my advocacy. I would also understand that it wasn’t mine to win.