Winner of the Most Beautiful Campus Queen 2023, Edo State-born Felicity Osemudiamhen Akuewanbhor, who has gone to represent Nigeria at the Miss Teen Globe International Pageant in Paraguay, has broken the internet with her Benin-made national costume titled “Imose”.
The costume “Imose”, which means “The Beautiful One”, styled by Dennis Odion, portrays the beauty and authority of the great Benin Kingdom, the home of brave warriors in the history of leadership. It pays homage to some Nigerian traditional heroines, including Nana Asma’u, Queen Idia, Emotan, Queen Amina of Zazzau, King Ahebi Ugbabe, and so on.
Queen Idia was the first woman who went to and fought in a war. She used her magical powers and knowledge of medicine to help her son overcome his enemies. She was one of the best known female soldiers ever from the Benin Kingdom.
Queen Idia ivory became popular when it was decided that her face should be used in a sculpture as a symbol of the African and Black Festival of Arts and Culture held in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1977 ( FESTAC ’77). That was how the face of the Queen Mother came into art till the present day.
Nana Asma’u, daughter of the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, Usman dan Fodio, was a great African warrior. A Fulani princess, poet, teacher, and writer, she is said to be a precursor to modern feminism.
Queen Iden was a heroine whose sacrifice helped shape Benin Kingdom. She was the queen during the reign of Oba Ewuare in about 1700 AD. She was reported to have volunteered herself as a sacrificial lamb for the welfare of her husband and that of the entire kingdom.
Emotan was a market woman who traded in foodstuff around the Oba Market in the ancient Benin Kingdom during the reign of Oba Uwaifiokun and Prince Ogun, who later took the name Oba Ewuare the Great after becoming the Oba of Benin.
Queen Amina was a Hausa Muslim, a historical figure in the city-state of Zazzau (present-day Zaria in Kaduna State) in what is now the North-West region of Nigeria. Queen Amina of Zaria was the first woman to become the Sarauniya (Queen) in a male-dominated society.
King Ahebi Ugbabe was a king and warrant chief of Enugu-Ezike, present-day Enugu State, South-East Nigeria. She was the only female king in colonial Nigeria. Her life’s impact is described by Nwando Achebe.
Moremi Ajasoro was a legendary Yoruba queen and folk heroine in Yorubaland, present-day South-West Nigeria. She assisted in the liberation of the Yoruba Kingdom of Ife from the neighbouring Ugbo Kingdom.
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Photo credit: @aso jackson pictures. Directed by @addictivedivny & @joshdagenius
