Determined to help young models pursue their dreams without the fear of sex trafficking in the pageant industry dominated by the male folks when she started her beauty pageant; actress, film maker, sex therapist and founder of Miss Bikini Pageant, Seyi Hunter is irresolute at the moment.
In this exclusive chat with Eelive.ng, Seyi Hunter reveals the disturbing challenges she has encountered since the inception of Miss Bikini Pageant and relays her temptation to sell the franchise.
You have been organising the Miss Bikini pageant for five years now and each year you spend a lot, what are the benefits?
The benefit is that I’m giving girls exposure; taking them abroad and helping them pursue their dreams. My first winner is an international top model at the moment and she got her breakthrough through Miss Bikini Nigeria International. She is making so much money now. But personally, I have not seen any financial benefit, that’s the truth. In Nigeria it’s hard to get sponsors; you must have done your show for like seven or ten years. If you don’t know anybody one on one in any organisation in Nigeria, you’re not getting sponsors. We have been able to get the sponsors we’ve had so far because I know people in some organisations or I know someone that knows someone at the top in those places.
There’s a drink company that used to sponsor Miss Bikini Pageant but they stopped when the person I know left the company. When I took the letter there, they rejected it.
Apart from Sponsorship, what are the other challenges of putting this pageant together?
It’s just money really, when there is money every other thing falls in place perfectly.
Were there times you decided to call it quits?
Yes, there have been times that I have been tempted to call it quits severally but I kept pushing. It’s not easy; it’s like throwing money inside the ocean. I was tempted to sell my franchise last year but I didn’t get a good deal. The only thing that has kept me going is because I like the limelight, it’s a turn on.
What’s your reaction to people who complain that pageants set a bad example for the youths?
They are mad.
What are some of the changes you would like to see in the pageant industry in Nigeria?
If it was before I would have said let the pageant be fair but I wouldn’t say that now. Right now I’m more enlightened. One of the reasons I started Miss Bikini pageant was because we are in a male dominated industry and before you can get anything…100 percent of the modeling agencies in Nigeria are owned by men so before you do anything, they’ll want to sleep with you. I experienced a lot of it growing up. That was why I went into pageantry.
So it’s my pageant, I’m the lady at the top, girls can have free access to pursue their dreams without giving sex in return. But I have now come to realise that there are some girls in the modeling industry who throw themselves at these men even when they don’t demand for sex. I advise my girls not to be gullible. For instance, one of my contractors told my models that I am a figure head, that he owns Miss Bikin Pageant. Some idiots fell for his lies. I tell my models not to let anybody deceive them.
But there are so many decent girls out there pursuing their dreams. I also want corporate organizations, individuals and the entertainment industry in Nigeria to support the pageant industry. They should sponsor as well, without funds we can’t do anything. I know so many of my colleagues who cannot afford to send their winners abroad because of lack of funds. After the Nigerian pageant, some winners travel abroad for international competitions. I have a male colleague who has been running his pageant for 10 years. He is into debt because he couldn’t get sponsors, how can his winner go for international competition? He ended up losing the slot.
We pay for international competitions sometimes it runs into over a million naira, it depends on the country and if the model cannot afford it, the company will end up losing that slot. It’s not only my pageant; a lot of pageant winners lose out on international competitions. Once they lose it, it’s an opportunity they are losing, trust me once this girls go for international competitions, it actually opens door for them. For most of them it’s the beginning of greatness.
Would you describe yourself as a feminist ?
My own feminist get face cap, I am but if I go out with a man he must pay my bills. I fight for the right of women, I don’t like women being trampled on. A man’s money is our money that’s my own feminism.
Where do you see Miss Bikini Pageant in the next five years?
Truthfully, I can wake up tomorrow and decide to sell this franchise. When I started, I wanted Miss Bikini to be a legacy, something I’ll leave for my child. There was a time an influential person wanted to buy my franchise when I started. A lot of people discouraged me but now I wish I had sold it. He wanted mine because of the name “Miss Bikini Pageant,” it’s unique. I gave him other options like Miss swimsuit but he refused. With the way it’s going if we don’t get sponsors…this few years, people have been saying the economy is getting worse coupled with the economic recession.
The government is not like the former government so sponsors are withdrawing. So if we don’t get sponsors really let’s be honest I cannot use my money to continue pushing the pageant, so I don’t know where I see Miss Bikini in the next five years.
Miss Bikini pageant needs sponsors. I might wake up and sell the pageant. We send our top five winners abroad for international competitions and tours as their winning price. In the next five years, Miss Bikini can be a pageant that sends the top ten winners abroad. It all depends on sponsorship.
What will distinguish this year’s edition of the pageant from the others?
It is going to be more glamorous and hopefully we will get more sponsors this year.