In this week's village beauty segment, Zik Press reached out to the Assistant General Secretary of the department of Special Education who also happens to be the current Miss NUESA, Miss Olukotun Goodness. In an exclusive chat with Zik Press correspondent Oloyede David Oyewale, she talks about herself , her academics as well as her perception of Zik hall.
Zik Press : Good afternoon. Please, can we meet you?
Miss Olukotun: My name is Olukotun Goodness. I'm the current Miss NUESA for the faculty of education and the AGS for the department of special education.
Zik Press: So, Miss Olukotun, what are your hobbies?
Miss Olukotun: I'm a singer. I sing. I love to read novels. And I love watching movies.
Zik Press: So you said you're a singer, you watch movies, and things like that. So how have you been able to balance those hobbies with your academics?
Miss Olukotun: Well, basically, my hobbies are not the type that will actually disturb me from balancing my academics. I'm a singer. I can sing whenever I want to; I read novels during my free time. And when I know that I'm not doing anything, I also watch movies during my free time. When I know that I need to relax my brain and stuff like that, especially from school stress and everything.
Zik Press: Alright. Thank you very much. So how was your journey towards being Miss NUESA? How were you able to go about it?
Miss Olukotun: It was hectic. It was different. I faced a lot of challenges. Number one problem was in terms of academics. I had to make a lot of sacrifices because I had to go for rehearsal, and sometimes my rehearsals would clash with my classes. And I had to go because my mark was there.
And not only that, there was also the stress in trying to get costumes. It was also so emotionally stressful because I was writing my exam at that time. So balancing everything was really not easy at all. There are times that I will sit down and be thinking that, okay, where can I go from here to there? It was really very stressful, but I'm just happy that the efforts paid off later.
Zik Press : Alright. So my next question is, what is that thing that inspired you to contest for Miss NUESA? And apart from that, you faced a lot of challenges. What was that thing that kept you going?
Miss Olukotun: I didn't want to go for Miss NUESA, but you know, there's this kind of thing whereby people will tell you that you have the charisma for something and you're just inspired. In fact, it was the former Miss NUESA who came to me and was like, You have a charisma for it, so why don't you go for it? And I was like, I'm not so sure. In fact, I was telling everybody that told me to do it that I did not want to participate. I was the kind of person who didn't like pageantry at all. I just didn't want to participate in anything like pageantry or so.
But later, I was invited to the pageant's first rehearsals. I didn't even take anything with me at all. I just went like that, so the committee head then, who just graduated recently, also encouraged me. He said that if it had been someone else who didn't have interest in the pageant, he would have agreed, but because I am the one and because he believes that I can do it, he wants me to join the contest. I also got inspiration from people who kept on telling me that they believe in me and that they believe that I could do it.
Beside these, I have some people who told me not to do it because they believed I wouldn't be able to do it with my academics; besides, they believed since I am the AGS of my department, how will I be able to do both jobs of Miss NUESA and departmental AGS together? But throughout all these, I myself was having second thoughts on if I should contest or not. But later, I just decided that, you know what, let me just give it a try. I also have friends that were ready to support me in terms of borrowing their stuff because I didn't have most of the stuff that I needed. They were also there to support me with kind words; I can remember one of them jokingly telling me that “ if you like, don't win.”
I am also grateful to my manager. Her name is Eriife, and I would surely recommend her to anybody who needs someone for a management job. She is a manager both in terms of helping you to manage your money wisely. She was also there to calm me down when I was tense and anxious. It even got to a stage that I said I am not doing it again, but she kept encouraging me to keep going on and not give up, and that really kept me going.
Zik Press: Alright. Thank you very much. So away from that, what is your opinion about Zik Hall and Zikites generally?
Miss Olukotun: (Laughs) Okay. So when I first came to UI, the first place I entered was Zik; in fact, that day was the funniest of my life because they did it all. When they were doing this thing they call ARO, it was actually scary at first because, you know, we were just freshers, and I was with girls again, not with guys. It was actually so scary, and I made up my mind that day that that will be the last time I will enter Zik, but there's just this thing about ZÃkites that even when you say you don't want to have anything to do with Zikites, you still get to find yourself among them. ZÃkites are happy people. That's what I can say. They enjoy having fun.
They believe in this brotherhood that yes, we are from the Baluba Kingdom. So that's one thing I've noticed about them. I've noticed that you guys have this brotherhood spirit; if one person is going for a political post or something, you guys go all out to help that person achieve his aspiration, which is actually very nice.
I remember when they were doing their hall week last session; the way they all dressed during the rally was really nice. I am a queenite. So I saw them when they came to Queens Hall. All of them, they wore different things, brought horses and everything. I just loved it. I just loved the Zikism thing.
So basically that is all I can say about Zikites.
Zik Press: So what advice do you have for ZÃkites?
Miss Olukotun: Well, my advice will be that they should please help reduce their Aro. Apart from that, my advice is that as a ZÃkite that you claim to be, know where you are from and know who you really are; continue to maintain that brotherhood and unity among yourselves.
Zik Press: Thank you very much. What is your take on feminism and gender equality?
Miss Olukotun: hmmm Feminism and gender equality. To be honest, I'm not a feminist. I just don't believe in the feminist thing.
And in terms of gender equality, I believe that there are some things that a man has access to that a woman should also have access to. I've heard that a woman cannot hold a particular post, especially in UI, for example. They always say, It's always a guy that holds the post, so there's a guy that holds the post. I think it should not be like that; I believe women too should be given the chance to go for those posts, and I believe it will work out if that is done.
Women should be given the chance to push the limit. If we notice some African countries, we will notice that we are already having female leaders in them. I also believe that time has changed, and so should how we view things, especially in the area of feminism and gender equality.
Zik Press: What advice do you have for the person aspiring to be the next Miss Nuesa?
Miss Olukotun: For whoever wants to go for Miss Nuesa, I will just advise you should know that you can do it. And also, this is a platform for you to be able to express yourself . There are those that I know while contesting, were not outspoken, but at the end of it, they were able to speak out for themselves. Going for Miss NUESA will also help you build connections with people, so it is not about the pageant alone. It is also an avenue to be an inspiration to others.
So if you are out there and you intend to be the next Miss NUESA, know that it is the best opportunity you can get to show the world who you are.
Zik Press: Okay, Miss Olukotun, thank you for having us.
Miss Olukotun: You're welcome.
