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Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu

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Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu
Born
Bianca Odinakachukwu Onoh

(1968-08-05) 5 August 1968 (age 56)
Ngwo, Biafra
(now Ngwo, Nigeria)
EducationUniversity of Buckingham
University of Nigeria
Nigerian Law School
Alfonso X El Sabio University
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1994; died 2011)​
Beauty pageant titleholder
TitleMBGN 1988
Miss Africa 1988
Miss Intercontinental 1989
Major
competition(s)		MBGN 1988
Miss Africa 1988
Miss Intercontinental 1989

Bianca Odinakachukwu Olivia Odumegwu-Ojukwu (née Onoh; born 5 August 1968)[1] is a Nigerian politician, diplomat, lawyer, businesswoman and beauty pageant titleholder. The widow of former Biafra president Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, [2][3] she is a multiple international pageant titleholder, having won Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, Miss Africa, and Miss Intercontinental. Formerly a presidential advisor,[4][3] she was the country's ambassador to Ghana and became Nigeria's Ambassador to Spain in 2012.[5] She is the incumbent Minister of State Foreign Affairs, after being sworn-in on 4 November 2024.[6]

Biography

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Early life and education

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The sixth child of former Anambra State Governor Christian Onoh and his wife Carol, a college principal, Bianca Onoh spent most of her childhood in rural Ngwo with her siblings Lilian, Josephine, Nuzo, Gabriel, Stella, Christian and Josef. She attended Ackworth School, Pontefract, St Andrews College, Cambridge, and Cambridge Tutorial College where she obtained her A-levels. She soon began a combined honours degree in Politics, Economics and Law at the University of Buckingham, but transferred to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka after her father, a lawyer by profession, insisted she concentrated solely on Law and join the family business. Following graduation, Odumegwu-Ojukwu attended the Nigerian Law School which eventually led to her call to the bar.[7]

Early career

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After Law School, Bianca, briefly practised the profession before quitting to divide her time between her home, her cosmetics business Bianca Blend and her interior decorating outfit Mirabella.[8] Despite her reservations regarding modelling, Bianca Onoh fronted print commercials for her brand. She also established the non-government organisation Hope House Trust, centred towards rehabilitating juvenile offenders in Enugu.[8][9]

Pageantry

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In December 1988, Bianca, who had previously emerged winner at Miss Martini, was crowned Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, but reigned through most of 1989. She also won the Miss Africa 1989 pageant held in Gambia before representing her country at both Miss World in Hong Kong and Miss Universe in Mexico. She achieved greater success when she became the first African to win Miss Intercontinental that same year,[10] and was named Miss Congeniality at the now defunct Miss Charm International in Russia where she was also a semi-finalist.[11]

Diplomacy

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In 2011, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs by President Goodluck Jonathan;[4] in 2012 she became Nigeria's Ambassador to Ghana[5] and later Ambassador to the Kingdom Of Spain.[12][13] In 2016, Odumegwu-Ojukwu received a master's degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from Alfonso X el Sabio University in Spain.[14] She is now Nigeria's permanent representative to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. On 23 October 2024 President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reshuffled his cabinet and appointed Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.[15][16][17] Her sister, Lilian Onoh was Nigeria's Ambassador to the Republic of Namibia.

Controversy

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In 1989, halfway through her reign as MBGN, Bianca began a relationship with the former Biafran Head Of State Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a political associate of her father's, over thirty years her senior.[18] Their controversial romance was a national talking point in the early 1990s.[19][20] The immense pressure of being under the public eye became increasingly unbearable, causing her to resign as Miss Intercontinental as her main concern was completing her education as a law student. In 1994,[21] having finally obtained her degree, she married the former Biafran president in a lavish wedding ceremony held in Abuja, the federal capital territory of Nigeria.

In 2012, following the death of her husband, his will, which left most of his assets to her, generated a great deal of controversy and disaffection among several family members. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu appealed to her critics to allow Ikemba Odumegwu-Ojukwu to "rest in peace", describing him as a man of honour and integrity whose legacy should not be obscured by rancour over inheritance issues and stating that the will was drafted in 2005, registered and placed in the custody of the State Probate Registry with the legal witnesses and executors, who were present at the time it was prepared, still living.[22] In 2023, she won her legal battle over the Ojukwu Estate.

On 17 March 2022, during the inaugural ceremony of governor Chukwuma Soludo, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu delivered what has now been widely dubbed a 'valedictory slap' to a visibly inebriated Ebelechukwu Obiano, the outgoing first lady of Anambra State, who had physically attacked her at the state function.[23]

Personal life

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Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was married to Ikemba Odumegwu-Ojukwu until his death in 2011; the couple had three children together. Of her marriage, she admits that while she was happy to have found her husband, she would not encourage her daughter to make a similar choice of marital engagement.[24] Odumegwu-Ojukwu holds many traditional titles in her native land as well as the highest chieftaincy title conferred on women in her region.

Awards

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Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was honoured with the Certificate of Merit by El Mundo Diplomatico for her efforts towards providing effective platforms for constructive engagement between Nigeria and Spain, and was voted Africa's Outstanding Ambassador by Dutch magazine The Voice in 2014. She was also honored with the "Ambassador of Excellence" Award by the Government of Anambra State, Nigeria at its Silver Jubilee commemoration in 2016. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, the Political Party that was founded by her late husband Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu and which has maintained political power in Anambra State for over a decade. Her bid to represent her senatorial district in 2018 was stalled as a result of irregularities which occurred during her party's primary elections.[25] She is presently the secretary of the Truth, Justice and Peace Commission set up in 2022 to investigate the root causes of violence, insecurity and separatist agitations in South-Eastern Nigeria.

References

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  1. ^ "Revealed: Ojukwu's controversial Will - Vanguard News". Vanguard News. 23 December 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  2. ^ "It was Bianca Ojukwu who slapped Obiano's wife, video reveals". 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Drama for Soludo inauguration as Obiano wife and Bianca Ojukwu clash". BBC News Pidgin. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b Beauty Queen Bianca Ojukwu Appointed Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs Archived 6 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b "Bianca Ojukwu appointed Nigeria's new ambassador to Ghana". onlinenigeria. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  6. ^ Oamen, Samuel (4 November 2024). "BREAKING: Tinubu swears in seven new Ministers". The Nation. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  7. ^ My Life With Ojukwu Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ a b "Modern Ghana - Breaking News, Ghana, Africa, Entertainment". www.modernghana.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  9. ^ Bianca Interview[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ My Life With Ojukwu
  11. ^ "Miss Charm". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ "Bianca Ojukwu Appointed Nigeria's Ambassador to Spain". Linda Ikeji's Blog. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  13. ^ Godwin, Ameh Comrade (12 July 2015). "Buhari sacks Bianca Ojukwu, Maduekwe, other Ambassadors". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  14. ^ Korkus, Stella Dimoko. "Bianca Ojukwu Bags Masters Degree In International Relations". Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Tinubu appoints Bianca Ojukwu, other new ministers". Brief Naija News. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Loading..." thenetng.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  17. ^ "My father was upset I didn't study law –Ambassador Lilian Onoh, Nigeria's High Commissioner to the Republic of Namibia". The Sun Nigeria. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  18. ^ CC Onoh and Bianca Archived 9 September 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Ojukwu and Bianca:The Power of Love Archived 3 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Bianca and Ojukwu – Nigeria's Own Fairy Tale Archived 7 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ "I feel your love from heaven, Bianca Ojukwu remembers late husband on 27th marriage anniversary". Punch Newspapers. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  22. ^ Ubani, Mike (3 December 2012). "Nigeria: Ojukwu' s Will - Bianca Replies Critics". Leadership (Abuja). Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  23. ^ Obianeri, Ikenna (17 March 2022). "UPDATED: Obiano's wife fights Ojukwu's widow at Soludo's inauguration". The Punch. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  24. ^ I won't allow my daughter do what I did with Ojukwu Archived 21 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ John Owen, Nwachukwu (4 October 2018). "2019: Ojukwu's wife, Bianca loses senate bid". © Daily Post - Nigeria News. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
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