Mr. Nigeria 2010 - Kenneth Okoli speaks with Samod Biobaku

Mr. Nigeria 2010 reveals worst moment of his life

By SAMOD BIOBAKU

Sixthsense34@yahoo.com

Built like the mythical Spartan warrior, a soldier who would single-handedly dispatch a hundred strong men to the grave with nothing more than a scratch or mild cut, Kenneth Obinna Okoli has a physique, personality, charisma and poise that would effortlessly set the tongues of more than a few women rolling.

Before his emergence as Mr. Nigeria 2010, Okoli was just another determined young man hoping to make a difference in different spheres of his life.

However, following his emergence as Mr. Nigeria, so much has changed and the fact that he also emerged Second Runner Up at the Mr. World 2010 further illuminates the picture. “Yeah! There has been a major difference. Last year, I was just a student and look at me right now. I’m a working class and perhaps, a superstar. You know how it is when you’re a graduate. You’re out of school and looking for a job but now, the Mr. Nigeria and Mr. World episodes have opened doors for me and it has become much easier for me to access people. So, it’s been wonderful,” he said.

However, somewhere beneath the crowd, the fans, the lights, the cameras, the fame, the limelight and media attention lays a man who often ponders over the fact that he could have been a happier man. The apparent vacuum in his thoughts springs from a loss he suffered when his grandma passed away.

In a chat with National LIFE, Okoli reveals that the fact that she passed on at a time when he was just beginning to get fond of her marks her exit as one of the darkest moments in his life. “One of the worst moments in my life was when I lost my grandma. I had the feeling of waking of from a dream into reality. I was in Ghana around that time and when I came back, I started asking questions. My family didn’t want to tell me probably because of how close she was to me but at the end of the day, I was told. One thing that really hurt me was the fact that I was just beginning to get very fond of her. I grew up with her but you know how it is with kids and grandmas. I was very shy back then so we weren’t too close. However, as a grown up, I was showering her with care and love and then it happened like that and it was really painful.”

On the flip side, Okoli equally shared his happiest moment. “My greatest moment was when I was announced the winner of Mr. World 2010. When my name was mentioned as the winner, I found myself looking left and right to see if the name was mine.”

As a kid, he was really adventurous perhaps because he lived in an expansive compound where he got loads of healthy competition from other kids. “When I went to secondary school and had to stay in the boarding house, it was a bit difficult especially when you consider the fact that I was always beaten up by seniors. Then, I was pretty much a very shy kid. My whole confidence kind of built of when I got to the university and started modeling. My first job was a bill board for Valentine’s Day. I was a first timer and that was like 2006. After that, I slammed the runway and did loads of TV commercials.

He mentioned being shy while growing up but when asked if his shy nature ever affected his relationship with the opposite sex, he laughed and said, “No comment. Seriously, there’s nothing I can say to that. No comment (still laughing).”

Speaking on the Mr. Nigeria event, Okoli noted that his previous experiences gave him an edge. “To start with, you know I had been in competitions before where I represented Nigeria. It was the ‘Black Model Awards’ and it was a West African thing. It went down in 2007 in Cote’d voire. I represented Nigeria then and the contestants I saw at the Mr. Nigeria event were very much like those I met in Cote’d voire. I put one and two together and got to know their strengths and weaknesses. I was confident all through and I did my best. In most of the competitions, I hardly came first but I came second in almost all categories and that gave me an edge because while others did superbly in some categories, they did woefully in others but I came second in virtually all so at the end, I emerged tops.”

He also opened a window into his experience with international models in South Korea. “The event was in South Korea. The weather there was very different and I had to acclimatize because it was really cold but I still pulled my weight. I must admit; it was very tasking, very challenging and very difficult. Everything about it was very different. The weather wasn’t favourable at all. The instructor was like an ex-militant who took us to the military camp for the drills about three to four times and it was very tough but I still had to endure and tried coming out the best. I was in South Korea for 2 weeks. We had different teams and everybody in my team was like my family.”

What’s next for the Mr. Nigeria you might ask, “There’s a whole lot because ideas keep coming. Within the next one month, I have a fund-raising coming up for the less privileged kids and motherless babies. After that, I’m going to be having a fashion show in December but it’s still in the works.”

When asked if he was married or in a relationship, he replied, “No comments. I’m single.” We probed further and asked him if he was searching and his response wasn’t far from the first as he said, “No comment.” We asked him why he kept fencing the questions and he said, “Because when it comes to women and you begin to ask questions, I just go, ‘No comment.’”

Despite evading questions bordering on intimacy, he responded better to some of his favourite items. His favourite colours are brown and blue and he also reveled in his love for fast cars.

Okoli is from a family of four. His primary education was at Learning Field while his secondary education was at St. Jude Secondary School in Festac town. From there, he attended Valley View University in Ghana where he graduated studying marketing.