Ghanaian comes second at Miss Kanekalon 2016
Ghanaian student, Miss Mahalia Bamford, 22, of Cape Coast University, Ghana, emerged first runner-up in the Miss Kanekalon 2016 beauty pageant held in Nigeria recently. For her prize, the Level 400 student received 1.5 Million Naira as well as a Samsung flat screen TV.
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Miss Benahili Ojeme Faith, a 19 year-old undergraduate student from Edo State, studying Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Lagos emerged the ultimate winner. In addition to wearing the coveted Miss Kanekalon 2016 crown, she took home the grand prize of a brand-new Nissan Altima car, a slot in a television commercial (TVC), Kanekalon products for a year and a mouth- watering two million Naira. For coming third, Opaluwa Ojotule Tamarai got 1 Million Naira and a Samsung Flat screen TV.
Another Ghanaian, Ms. Ohemaa Achiaa Agyekum, from the Catholic University, Sunyani was adjudged Ms. Congeniality (Most behaved / friendly contestant).
This was the first time that Ghana was participating in the annual pageant held in Nigeria and organised by the Kaneka Corporation Japan, manufacturer of Kanekalon synthetic hair fibers.
With the theme “Crowning the African Beauty”, the pageant has been held annually since 2010- initially dubbed “ A Night of 1000 Braids.
The grand finals of this year’s contest came off successfully at Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, Nigeria.
Twenty finalists were selected from screenings in Nigeria and Ghana for the contest. Each applicant teamed up with her own hairstylist to showcase their hair and display their talents.
As part of the contest they answered some general knowledge questions.
The pageant’s special focus is on braided hair attachments and celebrates the outstanding beauty of the young African woman. It has been broadened, redefining beauty to include confidence and pursuit of dreams.
The Kanekalon brand complements today are modern fashionable lifestyle.
The event featured captivating performances by popular artistes Patoranking and Falz the Bad Guy.
This year saw five Ghanaian ladies- namely Mahalia Bamford, Ohemaa Achiaa Agyekum, Vera Vanessa Pearsah, Phyllis Abla Sika Amakye and Edinam Coffie joining their Nigerian counterparts in the pageant for the very first time.
The selection process started with three campus recruitments at the University of Cape Coast, Accra polytechnic and the University of Education- Winneba. Other applicants applied via social media, particularly facebook and instagram.
From the above exercise a total of eighty seven ladies were selected to qualify for the final audition stage in Accra from which 5 finalists were shortlisted to join 15 Nigerian finalists for the grand finale..
On the way to the finals each contestant was individually assessed by a panel of judges on their overall performance and suitability for the competition. The areas of interest included charity fundraising, publicity and personality.
Kanekalon hair products used in Ghana include: Obaasima, Xpression, Outre, African Queen, Bulky Kinky and Nina.