Mrs. Enemchukwu Ebelechukwu Chinelo; Mrs. Nigeria United Nations takes JANE KOLADE through her world; talking about winning the Mrs. Nigeria International crown, and her life as a wife, mother, and professional.
PLEASE tell us about yourself
I am Mrs. Enemchukwu Ebelechukwu Chinelo, a mother of three; two daughters and a son, married to a most wonderful and supportive husband for seven years, Mr. Emeka Enemchukwu. I work with a Telecoms firm in Nigeria as a training specialist, where I facilitate training sessions for audiences of between forty and one hundred participants. Prior to that I was a customer care representative with the same firm for five years.
I am Catholic by faith, and associated with the Confraternity of Christian Mothers of my parish, Catholic Church of the Transfiguration, VGC. I am also the publicity secretary of the Lekki Deanery of the Board of Lectors. One of the most significant developments in my life is the fact that I am the current Mrs. Nigeria United Nations. Having won that title on 16th May 2015, I proceeded to represent Nigeria at the world stage in Kingston, Jamaica, The grand finale held on July 18 and I emerged Mrs. Tourism United Nations.
So I have one national, and one international title, as well as the People’s Choice ambassador Award. With these titles, I hope to impact as many lives as possible through charity. My special thanks go out to all those who voted for me to ensure that I won the people’s choice ambassador. A couple of weeks ago, I was soliciting for Nigerians to vote for me, and the beautiful thing about the vote was that it was not free, one had to pay ten dollars for every hundred votes, and Nigerians, and people the world over voted for me, so I ended up with 63, 900 votes, beating everyone else, across all categories, so I beat the USA guys, the Canadians, Caribbean, all of them.
What exactly is the pageant about?
The pageant, (the United Nations pageant) centers mainly on charity. It is not so much about what you can get, but what you can give. It is a different kind of pageant system, as you know I am a Mrs. In this pageant system, it provides a platform for five different categories; the Miss, Mrs., Ms.( for ladies who are too old to be miss but are unmarried), Miss Teen, and Miss Tourism.
Going by the rules, there five queens; one for each category, and I won in the Mrs. Category, which is why I flew the country’s flag on the world stage. So it’s purely about charity, and this is the maiden edition in Nigeria, under this pageant name and system. It is sponsored and totally organized by Miss Precious Chinwendu, she won the competition last year (world, not national title), flying the country’s flag at the international stage. Having won the title abroad last year, she won the franchise to bring the competition in Nigeria. Because it’s a franchise, you have to replicate what exists abroad in Nigeria, and bring all the categories to Nigeria. The event took at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja.
We know beauty competitions to have Swimsuit segment, but this pageant does not, why? And how does that work?
That information is very correct, in this pageant segment, there is no swimsuit segment. What we have is interview outfit, national costume (at the grand finale), the fashion outfit (think Haute Couture), sportswear (a pair of shorts and t-shirt provided by the organisers), and the evening gown segment (for the coronation).
Looking through all these, you will find that there is no swimsuit segment, so you can save all that for yourself, your husband, or whatever. This particular pageant has nothing like that, which is what endeared me to the competition. So I checked the website and confirmed that there was no swimsuit segment, and went for it.
Competitions come with prize money, is that the same with this pageant?
At the international level, No, but at the national level the organizers gave something; cash amount, and other gift items (because human beings mostly need some form of incentive). Although, the purpose of the pageant is not money.
That is not my driving force, for me, it is a platform to truly and sincerely reach out to people. At the international level, it’s a bigger platform, network, and support to network with more people, empowering you beyond the national level, reaching out to more people, both in your country and abroad, which is what I really wanted to do. In going into it, I got some cash amount, other incentives, and the opportunity to represent Nigeria at international events.
Since there is no prize money, how do you fund things like ticket fare, hotel bills, and the like to represent the organisation?
I hope this analogy answers your question, if your employers ask you to represent them at an event, two things can happen; either you attend and be reimbursed, or you be funded at the get go. And that is exactly how it works in this case. For the international pageant system, it is funded by the sponsors here in Nigeria, and I thank them for that.
Does that mean that although you are a queen, you still go about your day to day activities, like go to work etc?
What has happened is that I now have a new addition to my plate. For instance, I go to work, be a mom, help with the kids’ homework when I return, attend to oga himself, do my church activities. All these activities mean that I have had to improve my time management skills.
It is a new (and welcome) addition to my plate. It is a beautiful cause, and a bigger platform to reach out to people, the only thing that has changed is that my plate is still the same size, but the space in it has reduced. God willing, I can’t do it myself, but with the support of my husband, and even my children it will work. As it is, I have more on my plate, so I have had to improve my time management skills. God willing.
You are a mom, wife, and professional, how do you manage that?
As it is, I have more on my plate. I have had to improve my time management skills, especially as regards differentiating between what is urgent, as against what is important. And be able to understand what they need at every point in time.
For instance, if I need to help my kids with their homework, it is important, but on Friday night it is not urgent so I can decide to rest, however, if by Sunday evening it remains undone, then it will be urgent, and important, and might lead to crisis. There is need for me to know when to strike a balance, discerning when an activity moves from being urgent to important, and so on. God willing, with the help of my husband, and even the kids, I’m sure that we will be just fine.
You mentioned charity, what kind of charity is the organisation involved in here in Nigeria?
The choice of charity work is not streamlined, or straight-jacketed. So the pageant system gives the queen the liberty to choose in your own personal capacity what charity to get involved in, whether visiting an orphanage, (which I will be doing this weekend), I don’t necessarily need to invite everyone to attend, but now I will be going not just in a personal capacity, but as Mrs. Nigeria.
At some point, however the pageant organizers will be involved in the work. My target is the education sector, and making studying more pleasurable to students. It could be something as minute as painting a classroom could boost a child’s confidence in his school; Uniforms, books. It does not necessarily have to be something overly elaborate. I am also thinking of doing something like an information resource center where you can access educational content/materials without being connected to the internet, using computers. With God on my side, we should be able to reach as many people as possible.
What are you views on same sex marriage?
(She laughs), for me. Although I am married, I do not believe that I have the right to condemn anybody, so for those who choose that path… But since you have asked my view, I would say that every individual has the right to make his own decisions. So if someone decides to live his life in a certain way, my opinion would be that it is his/her life. I would not infringe on their right to choose. But as an individual, because of my religion, I would not do it. But for those who choose to do so, I would not condemn them.
You mentioned that your husband supports your position, so how do you manage the home when you need to travel?
We manage as we have managed in the past. A lot of things work for us. He is supportive, which means that when I need to travel, he suggests ideas as to how we can manage the home front, and work things out. So if for instance, I have to travel, we can travel as a family, or we can have a family member come in to help with the children while I am away. With proper planning, and my support system, things work.
The pageants website stipulated certain regulations guiding the character of contestants; like not having their pictures used in porn, not having a conviction, not previously having engaged in prostitution, so how possible is it to verify the character of contestants?
Just as employers verify the character of people they intend to hire, so do the organisers do background checks on contestants. I might not be able to specify how it is done, but they do have their means of doing so.
A major issue in our environment is the warped value system; many singles want to settle down but are unable to do so, what is your take on this?
I believe that one thing that should ring in the heads of youngsters, especially girls is that the choices you make today will to a large extent determine what your tomorrow is likely to be. A large part of the responsibility for passing this on lies with mothers. You don’t have to wait till the child is 13, or 18 to start inculcating these values, but start from when they are really young and tender, as early as when they are toddlers. They know, so it could be something as simple as teaching them not to allow people to touch their private parts, no matter the sex. When the values are imbibed early on, then the youths will turn out better. In all this, we must not try to do it on our own, but remember that there is a God.
How do you think that your background as a trainer will influence your activities?
It starts with the qualities of a trainer, so although the list is not all conclusive, but one thing is that a trainer is a mentor to people, one whom others look up to. You are a role model because someone is modeling his life after yours. I want mothers to look at me and say, ‘I want my daughter to turn out like that.’
What did you study?
I hold two degrees, a B. Sc. in Microbiology from the Abia state University Uturu, and an MBA from the University of Lagos.
What are your passions?
The list endless, but to simplify it I would say I enjoy talking, not just for the fun of it but to pass a message across. I am at my fullest when I am talking to people, either by direct impartation, or talking about something inspirational.
Did you grow up in Lagos?
I grew up in the East, Abia state to be precise. I had my primary, and university education there, and went to Federal Government College, Ikot Ekpene, after which I did my masters at the University of Lagos, and moved to Lagos in 2004.
This is the generation where professionals are raising hooligans? As a mother, and trainer, what is your take on that?
My advice to parents is to go all into it, give your children quality time, it is not necessarily about the number of hours you spend with them, but the quality of time you spend with them. There is no point chasing money to the detriment of your relationship with them, and their upbringing.
