Shuga Star wins Mr Nigeria 2014

Shuga star Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ikubese, who plays Femi in Shuga series 2 and 3, and who was last week named Mr Nigeria 2014, tells us what winning has meant to him.  “It hasn’t hit me yet. It’s a good feeling, but there’s a lot of pressure on me to perform well in Mr World, because Nigerians no like to carry last.”

Along with representing Nigeria at the Mr World competition, as the winner, Emmanuel also received a car, a modelling contract and a N1million ($6,000) cash prize, which he says he will use towards a film project he has been working on, which focuses on the issue of domestic violence and abuse.

Emmanuel was inspired to join the competition because of a childhood friend, “the first winner of Mr Nigeria was someone I grew up with. I saw the platform it gave him, but I couldn’t do it because I was still in school. When I came back to Nigeria I decided to do it… I’ve always wanted to represent Nigeria on a world stage. I want to use this platform to make a positive change and to inspire youths, especially after I’ve seen what Shuga has done.”

To prepare for the competition, Emmanuel went under intense physical and mental training, although it was nothing compared to what he was to face at the Mr Nigeria camp. “We did things I had never done before, including kickboxing, fishing, and climbing a coconut tree. I am not flexible, the splits were hard, the kicks were hard; but I tried to stay in the top 3.”

When asked if he would enter pageants again sometime in the future, he says not if he wins Mr World; but he might just enter a Mr Planet, only if the competition is held on Mars or Venus.

To check out Emmanuel in Shuga series 3 click here.

*photo credit Online Fashion TV