Omowunmi Akinnifesi, a former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (2005), has shared her personal journey of self-discovery, faith, and the challenges of staying true to her values in a world that often misunderstands them.
In a video titled “The Walk In Purity” shared on her YouTube channel, Akinnifesi discussed her decision to remain a virgin and the shame she previously felt about it.
She revealed that these experiences inspired her to start her initiative, Sacred Vessels, aimed at helping women rediscover their worth and uphold moral values in society.
“I am starting this initiative because things are very different now. The way women carry themselves makes it seem as if we no longer understand our value or our morals,” she said. “I made a covenant with God when I was 18 years old to keep myself. People refer to it as ‘celibacy,’ but I have never engaged in that. I felt alone in my journey. I spent my twenties making mistakes, adjusting, and doing the best I could with what I knew. Because I chose to remain chaste, I carried a burden of shame for a long time. I was genuinely ashamed. There were friends I felt I couldn’t talk to about it, and when I finally did, they laughed at me.”
She also spoke about how rumors motivated her to stay committed to her choice. “Imagine being okay with negative stories about yourself, all while masking what you thought would be an embarrassment. In today’s world, I don’t know how I would have survived. It was very hard for me, but I got through it by the grace of God,” she shared.