Naa Oyoe Is Miss Malaika 2013

Patrons at last Saturday�s Miss Malaika finals at the National Theatre may have been disappointed at the two-hour late start but the overall performances of the 10 delegates plus those of Efya, Raquel, Eazzy and Becca made up for the three and a half-hour show. At the end of the show, it was 19-year-old former student of Wesley Girls� High School, Naa Oyoe Quartey who won the coveted crown in addition to a brand new Kia Rio and GHC 6,000 cash prize. Nana Adwoa Twumwaa Baafi, 22, a student of the University Of Ghana took the first runner-up position with Aisha Kaleem, a Senior High School graduate of Ghana International School grabbing the second runner-up place. Though doors were to be opened at 7.00pm for the show to start at exactly 8.00pm, patrons who had been waiting outside the National Theatre because the doors were closed were allowed into the foyer around 8.00pm. As if that was not enough, they had to wait for about 20 minutes in the foyer before being allowed into the auditorium. In there, they had to watch the stage being mopped among others till the show eventually started around 10.00pm. Sultry singer Efya, however, came on stage and lifted the dampened spirits of patrons with her �magic wand.� She was at her best as she got the admiring audience to sing along to some of her popular songs like Little Things and Best In Me. She cleverly wove the introduction of the delegates into her Best in Me song for the 10 ladies to step out in their white dresses. The delegates came back in pairs for what emcee Naa Ashorkor described a �crossfire� where they posed their own questions to each other to test intelligence and ability to think on their feet. Right after that, the delegates were called back and Lois, Priscilla, Abigail, Lordina and Selma were evicted per the public votes. The remaining five of Aisha, Yoda, Twumwaa, Naa Oyoe and Betty made presentations on various topics that tested their eloquence and public speaking abilities. The show, however, recorded some memorable acts which included Naa Oyoe�s talent hunt display. She depicted a television presenter in a comical manner which won her lots of admirers. She got the audience to laugh throughout her five -minute presentation with her catchy phrase �tonight the weather will be cold so you need to get a �jolli�. The female artistes who handled the music segment on the night�Efya, Raquel, Eazzy and Becca lived up to the hype. The host of Who Wants To Be Rich, Kafui Dey, actor Van Vicker, designer Bee Arthur and Theresa Ayoade, Executive Director of Charterhouse and Maria, one of Namibian�s representatives at this year�s Big Brother The Chase were the judges. The Malaika God-sisters, Joselyn Dumas, Hammamat Montia and Sandra Ankobiah were also in attendance to support their girls. Joselyn Dumas was particularly happy as two of her girls, Naa Oyoe and Twumwaa came first and second respectively. Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Madam Dzifa Gomashie, was at the show. She is not a stranger to the Miss Malaika pageant as she has played the role of Godmother on three occasions during the culture nights. Apart from the late start of the show which initially dampened the high expectations of the audience, the overall organisation was good.