Appreciation message from Mbah Cynthia Uchechi.

I have always sought for ways to use my God-given beauty, intelligence and skills for a good cause. That was my motivation behind applying for the Miss Universe Nigeria 2025 pageant.

I had not been in any pageant apart from the Miss NYSC in-camp pageant. And so, I was very elated when I got shortlisted for the first virtual screening and then the second interview, which was physically held at the Silverbird Galleria in Lagos.

Out of 26 contestants who came for the physical interview, 22 were shortlisted for the camp stage of the contest. Each of us was assigned a state to represent. I represented the great ‘Center of Commerce’, Kano.

The Miss Universe Nigeria 2025 camp ran from the 22nd to the 30th of August 2025. Each day was filled with educational and fun activities but no day was complete without rigorous morning and night rehearsals. The camp activities with the fondest memories for me were: the movie date courtesy of Silverbird Galleria, having the best Chinese food at Kabaci restaurant, the talent night where I got to perform my very own ballet choreography and then the fashion night.

Camp was very fulfilling and transformative. I got to interact with some of the most promising, beautiful and intelligent young women from across Nigeria and that was such a profound experience for me.

The grand finale was on the 30th of August. On the national stage, I applied all the lessons on confidence, carriage and strength I had learnt from the camp. I knew it was a competition, but I decided to enjoy every moment of living out my dream. I decided to smile and just have fun.

Two queens emerged on the night of the grand finale. Anambra’s beautiful Basil Onyinyechi was crowned Miss Universe Nigeria 2025. She will be representing Nigeria at Miss Universe in Thailand come November. The second queen, Miss Supranational Nigeria, was AkwaIbom’s Gift NdahEno. She is to represent Nigeria at Miss Supranational in Poland next year.

Miss Lagos, DamilolaBolarinde was the first runner-up. She is to fill the Miss Universe Nigeria role in the event that the current queen can’t fulfill her obligations for any reason. Miss Baylesa, Fortune Kurobo, was second runner-up while Ogun’s Irene Ikediashi who came out as third runner-up.

Special awards were also given that night. Miss Imo won the Miss Waw title. She is to be the face of Waw Brand. Miss Oyo, FunmikeOlagoke, won Miss Photogenic and is to be the face of Extract Soaps and Lotions. Miss Baylesa was Miss Amity. She won the title for her great warmth and friendliness. Miss Osun, Abike Williams, won best traditional attire. The queen, Basil Onyinyechi also won a special award for best evening gown that night. And then, I won the award for the Best Talent at Miss Universe Nigeria 2025. It was such an honour; I can’t state how happy I was that night to have my hard work and creativity recognized on such a profound platform.

I didn’t win the crown but I walked away from Miss Universe Nigeria 2025 with my head held high knowing that I was brave enough to follow my dreams. I have grown mentally and socially from the whole experience and I’m excited about the new version of myself that’s unfolding.

I want to thank everyone that supported me on this journey of transformation. I’m so grateful for the words of advice, the encouragement, the votes, and the publicity. The engagement on my posts and most of all, the faith in my abilities.

Thank you to my incredible family- my mum and dad, my siblings, my aunts, my cousin and my uncles. I also wish to specially thank the Oguinye family at this point for the vital role they have played in my life since I began my service year at Jos. They have been my second family and were very supportive in my Miss Universe journey.

I thank all my friends and colleagues at work, who came through for me especially during the voting phase, especially the EMDEX Team.

I want to sincerely thank the great and warm-hearted people of Umuaka, my very own people. You all accepted me as your own daughter and took up my case specially. The massive support, love and publicity I got from you were overwhelming. I’m truly blessed and proud to be from Umuaka.

I thank everyone that played a vital role in my publicity- my personal campaign team, Barr. Caleb Udu, Mr. Darlington OjyOnwukwe of Umuaka Times, Hippo Nwachukwu and Mr. Gabriel Orgazi. Thank you for taking my name, my story and my face to places I couldn’t go by myself.

Going forward, I will continue to focus on building my pharmacy career. I equally look forward to commencing a Master’s program in public health next year. I consider Miss Universe Nigeria 2025 the birth of a career in modeling for me. I’ll definitely be using the Best Talent award to promote my visibility and showcase my unique personality to the world. I look forward to modeling for brands, participating in runway and perhaps even compete in next year’s edition!

I really want to model for good and continue to inspire people everywhere to realize that they can start from where they are and be anything they want to be as long as they have courage and determination. Thank you.