Except for a spirited performance from sensational music group VIP and a fairly unknown Nigerian act Banky W, the Miss Malaika Ghana 2010 finale could have been better than what patrons were treated to. After twelve weeks of thrills, drills, splendor and evictions, ten ladies converged at the Dome of the International Conference Centre as they attempt to upstage each other for the Malaika crown last Saturday night.
Characteristic of GH shows, the event delayed over an hour after advertised time with audience held captive and having to sit through songs that blasted out of the giant speaker boxes back to back. The show however took off nicely with the ladies arriving in horse-ridden carts, a move reckoned as imaginative on the part of the organizers. Dressed like Indian movie actresses, they came on stage to perform a splendid choreography.
As expected, Chris Attoh showed up on stage to welcome the audience before introducing his co host for the night. Naa Ashorkor Doku Mensah appeared elegant in her outfit but was overshadowed by the more experienced Chris. She simply lacked the antics that got Chris and Jessica to gel perfectly and effortlessly in previous seasons of the pageant. Considering the event as her first major, it’s unfair to describe her as a pale shadow of herself.
Videos capturing the ten finalists and their activities preceding the final event rolled on the giant monitors the hanged at both extremes of the auditorium. Judges for the night were introduced via video presentation. One wonders the criteria for selecting John Dumelo and Jackie Appiah as judges with a section of the audience having a lot to complian about the few times the two directed questions to delegates.
The first task of the night was a presentation focusing on socio-economic issues by all ten ladies. It was a necessary task supposed to test the eloquence and intellect of the delegates. And yes, it was a total humiliation as the ladies shamefully exposed their ignorance and lower mental acumen when asked questions connected to their presentation.
The auditorium was partially filled and the audience booed at any delegate who slipped during her presentation. Could that have contributed to the brainless answers from the ladies? The talent hunt segment gave audience a break from continuous poor showing all night though it wasn’t a faultless segment. Berla, Perpetual, Stephanie, Belinda had emerged as front runners for the crown after this session.
The best musical act of the night was the Nima based group, VIP. They were phenomenal and managed to get the entire crowd on its feet. They had a great stage presence as they rocked the crowd to their new hits. Bank W aka Mr. Capable was relatively unknown to the crowd but had the zeal and power to leave a mark. He got love from the ladies and that worked the magic for him.
GH rap artist Trigmatic was on the bill and confirmed Hip Hop doesn’t sell in GH but for fame and recognition only. He looked simple and smooth getting on stage yet very immature in his outfit. Stage fright could be very devastating but I wonder if the stage was bigger than the emcee with the vocals. He simply failed to impress just like fellow artist D Black who came on with seductive and provocative dressed dance girls. The broom boys, Praye gave a good account of themselves.
It was during the last session that the final five delegates threw the Dome into a state of total shock when they repeatedly fumbled with the Make or Break question. “Who is an African and what makes you an African, country of birth or color?” was the question that separated each of them and the crown. The standards had extremely fallen and it was just too obvious to avoid..
Ama Nettey who by sheer luck had made it into the perfect five wasn’t entirely right with her answer but relatively better than her other four colleagues. She was eventually crowned the winner, driving home the KIA Cerato saloon car and a whooping annual salary of GH 4,800.
The much fancied Berla Addardey emerged as second runner up and received GH 1,500 for her prize.
Pretty faced Stephanie Mensah who looked more of the queen was the first runner up and walked away with prize money of GH 2,000. The first three winners received other prize packages from sponsors including ABC wax prints and cosmetics.
