Ex-beauty queen,Damilola Otubanjo turns HIV benefactor
By WALE ADENUGA
This beautiful and easy going babe emerged as Sisi Oge Beauty Queen in 2007, when she was still a student of Ogun State University now known as Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State. Damilola Otubanjo read Physics/Electronics and reigned in 2007/2008 as the first Sisi Oge of Lagos. She worked on HIV during her reign. She later decided to set up an NGO called Pink Dove Initiative to alleviate the suffering of the victims and guide our youths against this deadly disease.
Who exactly is Damilola Otubanjo?
I am Damilola Otubanjo. The first child in the family of five. My parents are still very much alive and I also have younger ones. I am from Ijebu Water side of Ogun state.
What really attracted you to beauty pageant then?
Beauty pageant wasn’t something I ever considered until I saw the poster. One of the reasons I always considered before going for beauty pageant is that I consider myself to be on big side. So, when I saw the poster of Sisi Oge, it was culturally inclined. No bikini or anything like other pageants. It was simply because of its simplicity that encouraged me to have joined. If it were MBGN I wouldn’t have participated.
Did you have any premonition that you could win the pageant?
Yah. I believed I could win when I saw the poster and saw that it’s without bikini. Although, when I got there and saw other contestants I was somehow petrified, but then I believe in myself and I put in my best. By the grace of God today, I happened to be the first Sisi Oge of Lagos.
What’s the reaction of your parents when you informed them of your intention to contest in a beauty pageant?
My mum understood but my dad was a little bit uncomfortable considering the fact that I would expose my body on stage but I had to take time explaining to them that there won’t be anything of such, it was after this I got their blessing and encouragement to forge ahead.
Considering your educational background, especially your University (Olabisi Onabanjo University), people tend to have negative impression about the female students of that institution. When you were there how did you play your game?
Yes, there is the notion about female students of Olabisi Onabanjo University but I tried to live a contrary life. I want people to judge me by my attitude and character but not as a student of an institution. More so, I do not think every students of that school were so bad. So, you can’t judge by the attitude of the bad ones. We have many good ones in that school.
Did you impact positively on your fellow students based on your HIV project when you were in school?
As at the time I was still in school, I didn’t know much about Aids. I started paying attention to it during my reign in 2007 and it was then I developed the interest. In my little way, I tried to encourage some girls to use condom. I equally advise them to always stick to a partner or probably zipping up, but not everybody wants to listen to that. But it is always good for girls not to have more than one boy friend at any point in time.
After this your summit, are you sure there is going to be continuity?
Yes. This is just the beginning. We don’t want to announce our plans in advance so as to safeguard it but definitely, before the year runs out we will make them known to the public. We have plans to try and touch everybody both negative and positive to correct the opinion because some youths don’t even believe in HIV. There was a day I was talking with a guy and he said that he has been having a nice time with girls without using condom. Some people believe they can’t contact HIV. It is a wrong perception and that is why a seminar of this nature is very important to correct such believes. We need to orientate our people, we need to change their thinking and we are going to sustain whatever we have started God be on our side.
Is this what you are going to be doing after your school or is just going to be a hobby?
I am going for my Youth Corps Service this year, God willing they posted me to Lagos so that I can monitor my (NGO)
If otherwise?
I have to make sure is Lagos, I am working on it to make sure is Lagos. Then, I will probably do my master’s in as much as I have nothing doing again. This initiative is what I have passion for and I intend to pursue it by God’s grace.
How do you intend raising funds to back up this your noble idea?
There are some people that share your views and ideas. They like to encourage a young lady and as such they do it voluntarily without asking for anything. I appreciate such people. It could as well be family friends, family members or an individual I appreciate such people. There are also some unknown faces that believe in this course, we will appreciate them as well. I can as well make my money from other areas without this NGO. It is too tasking for me to put up all my energy and resources for the sake of making money. There are other things I can do without much stress like this and even make double of this, but it was because I believe in the course, I believe it is something God wants me to do.
Who is the man in Damilola’s life?
(general laughter) I am not going to talk about that right now when it is time everybody will knows.
What about if Mr. Right finally says he didn’t believe in this project or had an international appointment, which will take both of you outside the country?
When you are on a look out for somebody to marry, you pray that God gives you somebody that will love you whole heartedly with whatever you like. The man that will believe in your course, the man that will be ready to give you all the support needed to advance. This is the type of man one should be praying for.