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| Helen Prest and daughter, Tomisin |
It
was a gathering of age-long friends and close family members today, September
18, 2016 at the Sky Lounge Eko Hotel when Miss Nigeria 1979, Helen Prest Ajayi
celebrated her 56th year birthday.
The
dinner was organised by her daughter Tomisin. Dressed in a print dress, Helen
Prest-Ajayi was in high spirits as her friends took turns to celebrate her and posed
for photographs with her.
Crowned Miss Nigeria at 19 years, its worthy to
note that she is still as beautiful as ever despite being a mother of grown up
daughters.
Wondering what has been her staying power? She
revealed in an interview in SUNDAY PUNCH two years ago that, “Good looks, these
days, are all about positive energy, healthy living and prayer. I’ve always
maintained that beauty comes first, from the inside. What is inside you always
radiates out at the end of the day.”
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| with friend, Elishama Ideh |
Ask again what needs to be done to experience
graceful ageing and she responded, “To remain ageless, you have to be able to
engage with people of all ages and backgrounds. You also have to embrace change
and keep tabs on the new trends in technology. How well you adapt is always
reflected in your body and mind.”
She is not a beauty alone, she is highly cerebral. A
graduate of law, Prest-Ajayi preaches beauty with brawns.
“I agree that looks help but without an active use of
your brain, you can never make it. If you are beautiful, you must not be dumb!
As a contestant in 1979, I was a law undergraduate and I did not take a year
out. I combined my duties as Miss Nigeria with my academics and graduated along
with my peers. I also graduated from law school, went on to do my National
Youth core service, then went on to obtain a masters degree in Law (LLM) from
the prestigious Kings College University London,” she said.
Rewind to 1979 when she emerged a queen. What pushed her into the pageant? Describing it as a ‘spur of the moment thing,’ a young lady then, she counted it as a relief to have won because her parents didn’t know she went for the contest! As expected, a Miss Nigeria crown should open doors. Or didn’t it?
Quite philosophical in her responses, she said, “Only you can open your doors. Remember the reign is only for a year. The rest of what you do is for a lifetime. However, I have to admit that winning the Miss Nigeria crown then launched me onto the national stage and made me an instant celebrity at a time when there were no celebrities. Miss Nigeria had iconic stature. People always wanted to know what I was doing at every point in time and I was constantly being interviewed and photographed. It was like the first reality show and I was the star of it.”
Happy birthday Helen Prest-Ajayi
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