Bianca Odinakachukwu Olivia Odumegwu-Ojukwu (; born 5 August 1968) is a Nigerian politician, diplomat, lawyer, businesswoman and beauty pageant titleholder. She currently serves as the Federal Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. The
widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...
of Biafra President
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu,
she is a multiple international pageant titleholder, having won
Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, Miss Africa, and Miss Intercontinental. Formerly a presidential advisor,
[Beauty Queen Bianca Ojukwu Appointed Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs](_blank)
she was the country's ambassador to Ghana and became Nigeria's Ambassador to
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in 2012.
She is also Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations World Tourism Organization ( UNWTO) and the incumbent Minister of State Foreign Affairs, after being sworn-in on 4 November 2024.
Early life and education
The sixth child of former
Anambra State
Anambra () is a States of Nigeria, state in Nigeria. It is located in the South East (Nigeria), South-eastern region of the country. The state was created on 27 August 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State and Ri ...
Governor
Christian Onoh and his wife Carol, a college principal, Bianca Onoh spent most of her childhood in rural
Ngwo with her siblings Lilian, Josephine, Nuzo, Gabriel, Stella, Christian and Josef. She attended
Ackworth School,
Pontefract
Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...
,
St Andrews College, Cambridge, and Cambridge Tutorial College where she obtained her A-levels. She soon began a combined honours degree in Politics, Economics and Law at the
University of Buckingham
The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...
, but transferred to the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
after her father, a lawyer by profession, insisted she concentrated solely on Law and join the family business. Following graduation, Odumegwu-Ojukwu attended the
Nigerian Law School
The Nigerian Law School is an educational institution set up to provide professional certification to graduates of law. The school was established in Lagos under the Legal Education Act 1962, now Legal Education (Consolidation Etc) Act Cap. L1 ...
which eventually led to her
call to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call t ...
.
[My Life With Ojukwu](_blank)
Early career
After Law School, Bianca, briefly practised the profession before quitting to divide her time between her home, her cosmetics business ''Bianca Blend'' and her
interior decorating
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a creative flair, an interior ...
outfit ''Mirabella''.
Despite her reservations regarding modelling, Bianca Onoh fronted print commercials for her brand. She also established the non-government organisation Hope House Trust, centered towards rehabilitating juvenile offenders in Enugu.
Bianca is a Diplomat, Lawyer, Business woman, Beauty Pageant Titleholder and an International pageant holder. She is also Chairman of the Mayrock Memorial Foundation.
Pageantry
In December 1988, Bianca, who had previously emerged winner at
Miss Martini, in her teens in England, contested in, and was crowned
Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, but reigned through most of 1989. She also won the Miss Africa 1989 pageant held in
Gambia
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...
before representing her country at both
Miss World
Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...
in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...
in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. She achieved greater success when she became the first African to win Miss Intercontinental that same year, and was named Miss Congeniality at Miss Charm in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
where she was also a semi-finalist. She Won the global Miss Intercontinental pageant . Bianca represented Nigeria at the Miss World in Hong Kong and Miss Universe in Mexico.
Diplomacy
In 2011, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs by President
Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...
;
in 2012 she became Nigeria's Ambassador to Ghana
and later Ambassador to the Kingdom Of Spain. In 2016, Odumegwu-Ojukwu received a master's degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from
Alfonso X el Sabio University in Spain. She also holds a Diploma in Human Rights and International Relations from the Berg Institute as well as a Diploma in Dynamics of Conflict and Cooperation from the University for Peace, Costa Rica. She is Nigeria's permanent representative to the
United Nations World Tourism Organization
The United Nations World Tourism Organization or UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. Othe ...
. On 23 October 2024 President
Bola Ahmed Tinubu reshuffled his cabinet and appointed Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. Her sister, Lilian Onoh was Nigeria's Ambassador to the Republic of Namibia.
She was appointed as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on Wednesday October 23, 2024 by President Tinubu. She is formerly a Presidential Advisor. She is a principal member of the Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA). The Political Party was founded by her late husband. It has maintained Political Power in Anambra State for over almost 20 years.
Controversies
In 1989, halfway through her reign as MBGN, Bianca began a relationship with Biafra President
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a political associate of her father's, over thirty years her senior.
[CC Onoh and Bianca](_blank)
Their controversial romance was a national talking point in the early 1990s. The immense pressure of being under the public eye became increasingly unbearable, causing her to resign as Miss Intercontinental as her main concern was completing her education as a law student. In 1994, having finally obtained her degree, she married the former Biafra President, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in a lavish wedding ceremony held in
Abuja
Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
, the federal capital territory of Nigeria.
In 2012, following the death of her husband, his will, which left most of his assets to her, generated a great deal of controversy and disaffection among several family members. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu appealed to her critics to allow Odumegwu-Ojukwu to "rest in peace", describing him as a man of honour and integrity whose legacy should not be obscured by rancour over inheritance issues and stating that the will was drafted in 2005, registered and placed in the custody of the State Probate Registry with the legal witnesses and executors, who were present at the time it was prepared, still living.
In 2023, she won her legal battle over the Ojukwu Estate.
On 17 March 2022, during the inaugural ceremony of governor
Chukwuma Soludo, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu delivered what has now been widely dubbed a 'valedictory slap' to a visibly inebriated Ebelechukwu Obiano, the outgoing first lady of Anambra State, who had physically attacked her at the state function.
Personal life
She was in a relationship with her husband from 1989 and they married on November 12, 1994 in a lavish wedding ceremony in Abuja. Bianca was 27 while Chukwuemeka was in his 50s.
After almost 17 years of marriage, her husband Ikemba died in the United Kingdom after a brief illness at 78 in 2011. The couple had three children together: Chineme, Afamefuna, and Nwachukwu. Of her marriage, she admits that while she was happy to have found her husband, she would not encourage her daughter to make a similar choice of marital engagement. Odumegwu-Ojukwu holds many traditional titles in her native land as well as the highest chieftaincy title conferred on women in her region.
Awards
Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was honoured with the Certificate of Merit by El Mundo Diplomatico for her efforts towards providing effective platforms for constructive engagement between Nigeria and Spain, and was voted Africa's Outstanding Ambassador by
Dutch magazine ''The Voice'' in 2014. She was also honored with the "Ambassador of Excellence" Award by the Government of Anambra State, Nigeria at its Silver Jubilee commemoration in 2016. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the
All Progressives Grand Alliance
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is a Nigerian political party formed in June 2002 and has governed the South eastern state of Anambra since 2003.
Electoral history
At the Nigerian parliamentary election, 2003, legislative elections ...
, the Political Party that was founded by her late husband Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu and which has maintained political power in Anambra State for over a decade. Her bid to represent her senatorial district in 2018 was stalled as a result of irregularities which occurred during her party's primary elections.
She is presently the secretary of the Truth, Justice and Peace Commission set up in 2022 to investigate the root causes of violence, insecurity and separatist agitations in South-Eastern Nigeria as well as a member of the Governing Council of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University( COOU), named after her husband, and also a member of the Governing Board of Christian Chukwuma Onoh College of Education ( CCOCE), founded in honor of her father.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Bianca
1968 births
Living people
People from Enugu State
Ambassadors of Nigeria to Spain
High commissioners of Nigeria to Ghana
High commissioners of Nigeria to Namibia
Permanent representatives Nigeria to the World Tourism Organization
Nigerian women ambassadors
Nigerian women diplomats
Igbo beauty pageant contestants
Nigerian beauty pageant winners
Miss Universe 1989 contestants
Miss World 1989 delegates
Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria winners
Nigerian women lawyers
University of Nigeria alumni
Alfonso X El Sabio University alumni
Nigerian diplomats
Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria contestants
Beauty queen-politicians