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Mrs. Abimbola Fashola (M) presenting the prize of Five Hundred Thousand Naira cheque to Miss Serah Esther Festus (2nd L) during the Competition.


Mrs. Abimbola Fashola (L) and Chief (Mrs) Remi Tinubu (M) inspecting exhibited products during the Universal Basic (UB) Best Stylist of The Year.

Speeches

May 6, 2009 - Universal Basic (UB) Best Stylist Of The Year 2008/2009 Competition

I am delighted and honoured by this invitation from the management of Look and Like Limited to be part of this final stage of the Universal Basic Best Stylist of the Year 2008/2009 competition which commenced in the first quarter of 2008 at all the local government councils in the state.

I congratulate the six stylists that have emerged for this final stage out of 101 that participated in the primaries.

The organisers of this competition also deserve to be commended for initiating this noble idea which will lead to the discovery of new talents and skills in addition to the opportunities and benefits that awaits those who have demonstrated exceptional abilities and potentials.

The beauty industry has witnessed appreciable growth in the last few centuries and the reason is not far fetched. People are getting more conscious of their physical appearance which in turn has provided economic opportunities for research and investment in various beauty products and services.

It is interesting to note that the issue or the concept of beauty is not a modern phenomenon. It is a subject matter that has attracted the attention of great philosophers and thinkers of the ancient Greek. It suffices however to say that as simple as the concept of beauty seems, all of them had different perception of beauty. This indicates that the ideas of beauty varies from one society to another. What a particular group of people consider as criteria for determining beauty may actually not be seen as very relevant by another set of people with different tradition and cultural backgrounds. This is aptly expressed by the popular saying that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

A very important character or nature of beauty is that it is dynamic and not static. For instance, one of the features of a beautiful African woman is that she must be plumpy. This perception has however changed as slim built women are now considered more attractive and beautiful. Apart from the desire to look beautiful, the fact that people who do not control their weight are more susceptible to various life threatening diseases also explains why women are devising various methods of maintaining a healthy weight such as healthy eating, exercising to stay alive.

It needs however to be mentioned that beauty is not all about physical attributes alone. The totality of beauty comprises of the outer and inner beauty. While the outer beauty which includes physical factors such as youthfulness, complexion can be easily measured, inner beauty a concept used to describe the positive aspects of an individual; which is not physically seen includes intelligence, integrity, kindness, tenderness, creativity, compassionate, reliable etc.

You will however agree with me that in most cases, more premium is placed on a persons appearance or physical attractiveness over inner beauty. It is important to emphasise that while it is good to look beautiful because according to Aristotle “personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference”, we must also develop the inner beauty. Physical appearance may earn us the attention that we desire but what will sustain that attention and give it the strength to stand the test of time is the amount of the qualities of inner beauty that we show or exhibit as humans.

Once again, I commend the organisers of this competition and congratulate all the six stylists that are contesting at this final stage. I wish you all best of luck.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your kind attention.

God bless you all.

Her Excellency
Mrs. Abimbola Fashola
First Lady of Lagos State