We know that the world of pageantry has always been a vibrant mix of glitz, glamour, and purpose, but at Adekunle Ajasin University Community, it’s not sometime valued as much as it should but the narrative is about to change as Sammy Thoja of South West Gold Entertainment is about to unfold something remarkable, The Most Beautiful Girl and Mr. Elegant AAUA which is not just another pageant but a movement designed to redefine beauty, inspire change, and celebrate individuality.
In this exclusive interview, Sammy Thoja; the creative mind and passionate pageant director at SWG Event shares his journey, the inspiration behind organizing the first-ever SWG-hosted pageantry, and his vision for empowering contestants to leave a lasting impact both on and beyond the stage. From the challenges he’s faced to the bold theme of this year’s show, Beauty Beyond Boundaries, he takes us behind the scenes of what promises to be a transformative event for the AAUA community.
I’m Fikayo Ajayi and I Welcome you to The Showbiz Industry, Sammy Thoja
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role in SWG Event?
Hello, I’m Samuel Owighoteme but I’m popularly known as Sammythoja. I’m final year student of English and literary studies in Adekunle Ajasin university. I’m a catwalk instructor, pageant coach/consultant and a fashion stylist. I’m currently the campus brand manager of South West Gold entertainment.
Campus Brand Manager, for which of the campus?
Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Campus.
Alright. Good to know. And you love what you do right?
I absolutely love what I do.☺
Back to SWG, Has the brand hosted any Pageantry in the past?
The brand has never hosted a pageantry event before now, this is their first time.
Okay. You initiated this pageant show right?
Yes I did.
That's nice. It has been the talk of the town and I commend you personally for that!
What inspired you to organize the event, The Most Beautiful Girl and Mr. Elegant AAUA?
Oh My God, that would lead to a very long conversation but I will try to be brief. I’ve been the pageant director for the SUG events since my 100 level days and I believe that the essence of pageantry is not being felt in the school because the pageantry aspect is treated as one of their artiste that they could ask not to perform due to some reasons as we have seen them canceling a segment of the pageant often in the course of the event.
There’s no continuance existing in AAUA campus pageants, after crowning winners and that’s all; making most people to believe they’ve reached their apex after winning the Mr and Miss Fresher or FOA and I want to change that mindset and bring in continuance. Again, the true essence of pageantry is humanity which has never been done here, I also want to inculcate the humanitarian aspect in the community and as far as the state.
Lastly, it saddens my heart that every year, we have a lot of students with good potentials that could go as far to the international stage come and leave the school without these potentials being harnessed. So, I want to use this platform to get individuals with these potentials and that are willing to pursue these dreams, I would manage them and guide them in achieving their goals.
Thank you
mmmm, this is deep. Does SWG have a pageant unit now?
I must agree, It’s really deep. No, SWG doesn’t have a pageant unit.
And commendable. And you trying to make a change in this community, you should come up with projects
Definitely, I would love to bring in community projects
Currently, I just want to be able to impact people in AAUA campus. Maybe someday, I would get my own agency.
I'm sure people including me are looking forward to that
I believe so too ☺
What makes The Most Beautiful Girl and Mr. Elegant AAUA unique compared to other pageantry shows?
We've had many pageant shows in the past and some always coming up every year
The Most Beautiful Girl and Mr Elegant AAUA pageant is not centered on profit maximization unlike other pageantry events rather we’re all about developing and grooming our delegates to be better and go as far as supporting them in embarking on community services and advocate for courses that they’re passionate about and go as far as sending them to reputable national pageants.
And Yeah, this is going to be an annual event Fikayo.
Alright. Will it always be in AAUA or you will have it in different campuses in the future?
I’ve no intentions to have it anywhere else than AAUA for now
Can you walk us through the vision and theme of this year’s show?
Our vision is to become a global platform that transforms the definition of beauty, celebrating diversity, individuality, and inner strength. We aim to inspire a future where every participant is empowered to lead, advocate for positive change, and use their voice to uplift others. By fostering confidence, compassion, and social impact, we envision a world where beauty is recognized not just in appearance but in action, character, and contribution to society.
This vision points towards a future of inclusivity, empowerment, and societal impact through the pageant.
This year’s theme is Beauty Beyond Boundaries and this theme is to advocate for the fact that beauty has no boundaries and societal standard for beauty is irrelevant but most importantly enlighten people that beauty is beyond the physical.
This year's theme is BBB. Has a nice ring to it
Omg, I never thought of it as triple B ☺ Wow
Just gave you something. Hahaha
You’re right hahaha. Thank you.
We noticed the concept of this competition is different, contestants representing their states.
What criteria do you use to select contestants?
Alright, I would start by saying that the contestants are not necessarily representing their states however, some of them are representing their states. The states were randomly assigned to help the delegates understand and learn about other states and some of their cultures.
There were no special criteria used, just be a student of AAUA and be above 17.
Oooh. I thought each contestant are representing their states. So it will all play out well during the event when contestants are showcasing different cultures
Exactly
Moving on, how do you ensure fairness in your selection?
We’ve series of tasks and activities before the finale, this competition started the first day they sent in their portraits and we’ve began grooming since 8th of January, marks are already being awarded since then so it’s a matter of the work you put in.
However, we look at some other qualities and mannerisms.
That's great! What’s the date of the event?
The event is on the 26th of January, 2025
What can attendees expect from the event?
Attendees are to expect a night of glitz, glamour and maximum entertainment but asides these, it’s a night of the intellectuals as they will be graced with our amazing delegates who’ve got beauty and brains.
In Total, how many contestants are participating this year, and what qualities do you look for in a winner?
We have 13 delegates participating
It was not 13 initially right? From the beginning, were some disqualified or removed
Initially, we had over 20 delegates, some of them had to be withdrawn. We had some series of tasks and engagements some cou;n’t meet up with so we are left with 13
So this 13 will be presented on stage during the event
Yes, the 13 of them will have to show that they are worthy of the title on stage come on the 26th of January
How does this pageant empower contestants beyond the competition?
Very well, thank you very much.
Very well, thank you so much, now pageantry is very big platform and the reason why I would say it is very big platform because it is one that empowers - and also one that people like promote, because they are passionate about it, for example on 26th one of them would become the girl in AAUA in a hall that that has over a thousand people present, you know I will sincerely tell you that this is popularity. That is going to increase the number of persons that would want to listen to you or be interested in in something that you have to say to the public so you already have so much audience.
What challenges have you faced while organizing this event, and how have you overcome them?
Beyond the competition, these individuals are literally equipped with essential life skills, or we call them keys or life necessities. For example, we have individuals with very low self esteem who along the line has to build their self esteem.
And about the competition I believe you have seen the prices, have you seen the prices?
Just a sneak view. You can just share with us
Uh, okay. So the delegates, the winners are getting a 100k cash prize each, which is equivalent to the school fee for a session
100k each for the male winner and female winner
yes, that's right.
Okay so aside that, we have other other gift items from our brand partners that they would also get but like I mentioned earlier, our major focus here is continuance and humanitarian aspect of pageantry
When I say continuous, these individuals are going to be trained for a period of one year because they'll be working with the organization, so they will be trained and equipped for bigger pageants, and who knows if they are able to come top in any of the national pageants, they could go as far as international representing Nigeria.
okay. That could really happen yeah?
Yeah, so that's one of the things, that is the intent for continuance and when we talk about humanitarian services, they'll be working with organizations and involving in community services doing reach out, visiting orphanage homes and all of that. So it's all about impacting lives, humanity, these are like some essentials things we want to inculcate in our winners and these are things that would definitely build them as an individual.
Speaking of Partners and Sponsors who are gifting the winners, how many do you have currently?
Uh yeah, we've got brand partners and brand sponsors so both are correct
The brand partners who are probably giving gifts to the winners, we have over seven of them.
What are the challenges you've faced so far?
Yeah, challenge, okay, sincerely speaking, one thing is to have good ideas, is to have vision, and another thing is to have the finance, to bring these ideas to reality. So finance part has been a challenge to an extent because I totally believe that it takes a village to raise a child so it's actually a lot trying to put up a thing like this and finance has been a challenge here. I think aside that, another challenge that we've been experiencing is the fact that the people in this milieu, they are not used to such events so they…..
The people, you mean the audience?
I mean people in our environment here, they are not used to events like this, so most of them or a few of them are showing apathy to the event, so they're like, ah, is it not a model thing, a model show, what I going there to do?, you know, we are currently trying to beat that, and that has been one of the challenges.
Can you talk more about how audience generally perceived this type of event, in your perception
To me, we’ve had events like these in the past which all turned out well, for example, the annual Mr and Miss Fresher, down from departmental level to faculty level and the main campus event and we also have FOA right from the office of the Social director, people are always anticipating these events, the hypes, the competition and all the fun
I absolutely understand what you are saying and I know all these have been in existence. I have been the artistic and creative director of these other pageants on campus since when I was in 100 level. Now, the reason why most of these guys turn up for this event is the fact that, number one, it is the SUG event, so they feel like it is a student union thing so as students, they feel like, they have to support the social director or one or two persons, you know, because they elected these social directors. That is one. Then when you talk about FOA, people are more interested in the awards, and the showing up aspect because they know that, okay, a lot of these boys will be coming out for the award, and it's more like a competition for them.
What I’m trying to say is an individual have not come up with a Pageant on campus while still on campus
How has the reception been from the AAUA community and beyond?
Okay, for an event which is the first edition, one of the things that we must focus on is a good PR. And which we which I strongly believe that we have invested so much on trying to like push some relatable content that could promote this event, however, the reception has been quite good but they are not having the expected perception of this PR. Like I mentioned earlier, some person have been seeing models doing the old PR, so some people already secluding it to be a model thing
Speaking on editions. What’s your vision for SWG Event and this pageantry show in the coming years?
Okay, very well then over the years, SWG has stood the test of time and they’ve really created a niche and they've been known for excellent events. So, obviously, this is a brand that, I would want to be stick to closely and would still want to be part of their subsequent events. Then when it comes to pageantry, it's something I'm very much passionate about, I'm a pageant enthusiast, so I believe it's a very great platform for individuals to grow, those who are interested in all of these things, so I believe that there's a lot in store for person, so this is something I want to continue with.
Do you have any plans in your mind for the future, things that you want to see get done, maybe with SWG or personal level
I'm not an individual who limits himself. So whatever thing that I notice that I'm passionate about I go all out for it, because anything I do today is been driven by passion , so it's passion first for me, so whatever I'm passionate about something, I do it effortlessly and enjoy what I’m doing, so this is something I would want to continue to do, I could tell you today that I have worked with quite a number of brands Mister and Miss Tourism Africa, Face of Zikel and celebrities, I've also worked with international pageant brands in Africa, so it's something I really want to grow with.
If you could do give one piece off advice to the contestants, what will it be?
If I if I'm to give advice to them, it will be that we never stop learning and do not settle for less, people should be driven by their career, they should never let go of their drive, okay, that is to say, that whatever thing that happens now should not be a reason why they do not pursue what they are passionate about or their goals, yes, that is an advice that I want to leave for them, it can only get better from here, so they should keep doing what they do
How do you unwind?. what do you do after hosting major events like this one that is about to happen?
To be honest, this is my first major event I'm posting, and I am really grateful to the SWG brand because they've been a great support in achieving things. So aside the whole event thing, basically, I really don't have time, I usually have time during my holidays because, of course, I'm a student, so always trying to balance my school and everything, so during my holidays, I probably just hang out with friends, go to the beach, and all of that, so that is just what I do to unwind. (giggled)
Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience about the event or all your journey?
It has been a roller coaster of experience, that is one thing I'm going to say, you know, I've always I've always had this dream in me and surprisingly do you know that I started this but didn't do it officially because when I was still in my 100 level, I had a girl in school, she goes by the name Zion Debby, I had to train her, groom her, and I had to send her to Mr. Ideal International, so she is an individual who I groomed, and I encouraged her, due to the fact that she could not get really good support, she got evicted along the way, and I consoled her that for you to have come this far, it definitely mean one thing, and that is to say, you have have a chance in this pageant, After a year, I asked her if she would like to contest for another pageant, and she said she would love to, so I also worked with her guiding her and doing the necessary thing, and she went to contest in Lagos, and she finished second runner off, and she was one of their queens, so what I'm trying to say in essence is that this is something great, this was the major reason why I said I have to do this event before I leave because I believe the shortcoming she had was because there is no a pageant community in AAUA, so I'm trying to ensure that before I leave the school, a pageant community is here, so when we have a chance at a national pageant or any other place, the person has a community back home to support him or her.
Exactly, that is very commendable
Thank You
Okay, thank you so much, that that would be the end of the interview for now
Oh, okay, very well then, thank you so much. It's such a relief that I'm off your hot seat, bye-bye, thank you.
[Laughs]
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