Meet Mr Institutions of Nigeria Culture and Tourism for 2023, Praise Oluwatimileyin

By Emiola Oluwaseun 

Praise Ogede Oluwatimileyin, a part 2 student of Fine and Applied Art, Faculty of EDM, has recently emerged as the Mr Institutions of Nigeria Culture and Tourism for the year 2023, In this interview with OAU Kilonshele, Praise shared how the journey began. 

Can you introduce yourself?

My name is King Praise Ogede Oluwatimileyin 

The current Mr. Institutions of Nigeria Culture and Tourism 2023

Is this your first time contesting in a Pagentry competition or you have been doing such before?

I went for my faculty Pageant which happened to be my first.

EDEMSA Freshers party and I happened to win

How do you come across the Pageantry?

Queen Samuella the current Miss Culture for MBG oau posted it on her status, same with Coweb and Viko. So I decided I should go for it.

At first, I was not interested but then I was like let me give it a try after seeing the post again.

Do you have a sponsor?

I sponsored most of my stuff but I got support from Coweb, Viko, and Samuella. Apart from the online voting which my friends and people at large helped me with, I simply sponsored the rest myself.

What is the secret of your success, What do you think makes you qualify as the winner?

I have this faith in me, every time I do something like politics or pageantry, I have this confidence I will win.

What is your experience, before the competition, during, and after the competition?

I had little experience with Pageants before going but for the 2 months of Grooming we had online and 5fays camping, I learned a lot from the Agency. They taught us a lot, including social media engagement, how to walk, the importance of a pageant, how to grow your name and title, etc

After the Pageant, I got to meet people of influence and I was like wow, this is what you can achieve from becoming Mr. Institutions of Nigeria Culture and Tourism

What are the challenges you face as a contestant and how do overcome it?

Firstly it started with the Instagram voting, I didn’t get a good number of turn-ups from people, because it was during the holiday period but I managed to get to a number. Then I got to the monetary voting. I got a lot of my friends and people from my contacts and off my contacts to vote for me so I was not evicted. Though I was getting frustrated and scared of eviction God came through. 

 At first, I couldn’t pay for my camp fee, I was so broke at that moment. I was giving up. I had a call from one of the People in the Agency telling me not to give up and I should look for all possible best to find the money.   So I reached out to Coweb, Viko, Queen Samuella, and some other people. Most of them just ignored my request. But Coweb, Viko, and Queen Samuella came to my rescue and helped me with some amount. I found the rest and I paid my camp fee.

Getting to camp, I faced a lot of difficulties such as rehearsals until 4 am, and early morning devotion. I adjusted quickly though.

We had exams also and we defended our pet project which was so intimidating.

How does it feel to emerge as the Institution of Nigeria Culture and Tourism?

 I was so happy, because, to be sincere in the end, I lost hope and I felt sober.  But, I summoned courage and said I would still contest happily even if I may lose. I went to the stage happily and not thinking of anything just blank.

So when I was called. I was so happy I couldn’t stop smiling.

What is the impact you are planning to make with this exposure and privilege you have now?

So I want to dedicate my plans to skill acquisition and competitions amongst secondary school students and Institutions in Nigeria.

What career path are you planning to follow?

I have the intention of continuing to be a model. But, basically, all of it still leads to my Art life, I want to be an artist.

Do you know this comes with popularity?

Yes, I do.

Are you ready to pay the price of being a known person? (You can go anywhere you like,do anyhow)

I am ready. I can’t go anywhere I like. I can’t do anyhow I like, because I am a reserved person, there are places where you are not meant to be found as a popular person because it details you and spoils your image and the title attached to you. 

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

In the next five years. I see myself as one of the most popularly known artists in Nigeria and around the world.

Thank you so much for your time, King Praise