NEW YORK, USA – Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, shared her inspiring life journey at the Nigerian Women’s Day event during the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Speaking candidly about her early struggles and achievements on Saturday, March 22, 2025, Bianca highlighted the challenges she faced before becoming the accomplished woman she is today.
Bianca, the wife of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the revered Igbo leader, reflected on her upbringing and the importance of perseverance.
Despite hailing from a privileged background, Bianca stressed that she never allowed her circumstances to deter her from pursuing her ambitions.
A central theme in her speech was the transformative power of education, a value she holds dear.
She shared her personal experience of facing temptations when she started earning money as a beauty queen.
“One of the hardest things is when you start earning money quite early, the biggest temptation would be to leave school,” she said, describing the internal conflict she faced as a young student.
At the time, Bianca was a law student at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, living in a hostel without basic amenities.
Recalling her early interest in beauty pageants, Bianca confessed that she initially joined the industry for the opportunity to see the world.
“I started off really as a young girl wanting to see the world,” she explained.
Her journey began with entering a pageant and winning, but she was forced to forgo a modelling contract in Tokyo, as her parents did not approve of her pageant pursuits.
However, her determination persisted, and she later took part in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria competition, despite facing harsh opposition from her father.
“My father was livid with rage,” she admitted, but her eventual successes in pageants such as Miss Africa and Miss Intercontinental helped her father reconcile with her career choice.
Bianca described the challenge of balancing the independence of earning money with her commitment to her education.
Despite financial independence at a young age, she persevered and completed her law studies.
“By the time I was earning my own money, I was a law student living in the hostel with about six other students with no water, nothing. And then, going back to school to finish my education as a lawyer was quite challenging. But that was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life,” she reflected, urging young women to recognise the power of education in shaping their futures.
