Seth Santiago Roberts: Raising Leaders Through Investment in Lifestyle

This year marks the twentieth year anniversary of Seth Santiago Roberts’ entrance into the world of media, lifestyle and tourism in Nigeria. From humble beginnings as a journalist, Roberts has grown into a force to be reckoned in the space founding some of the most talked about pageantry events and pioneering the Men’s Fashion Week Nigeria. By creating these platforms, Roberts has turned the spotlight on Africa, demonstrating that platforms can empower more people to become leaders in their areas of influence. Esther Oluku writes.

For someone from humble beginnings, not many would have envisaged that he harboured such big dreams in his heart. Fresh out of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, one would have thought that the next port of call was finding a stable job and settling at it. But no. Robert went on to invest his life’s work into an industry, creating opportunities for African voices, fashion and culture to find expression on the global stage.

Starting his career post college as a news producer with the Nigerian Television Authority, from where he later joined Linda Ikeji, one thing stood clear: Roberts was on a mission to give more people access to the world

Today, he is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Qhue Concepts, the organisation behind some of Africa’s most recognised pageantry, tourism and fashion platforms. These include; Miss Tourism Africa International, Mister Tourism Africa International, Miss Tourism Nigeria, Mister Universe Nigeria and Men’s Fashion Week Nigeria.

His ideas are rooted in core principles which go beyond the lights of the runway- to strengthen advocacy across areas which enhance human lived experiences and nurture credible leadership across global cultures.

Developing a whole human through mentorship

While Robert has enjoyed strong partnerships with notable brands in significant monetary investments which go into producing shows, beyond the glamour of the runway lies an often unseen investment- mentorship. Roberts notes that while this struggle to own one’s self and one’s journey, popularly known as the impostor syndrome, is real for many contestants and indeed professionals, much of the trainings his organisation has prioritised over the years is personal development before, during and after the event.

Sadly, he explains that post pageantry events, contestants hardly want to continue on that journey of self discovery which they started while in the programme.

“Nobody wants the group chat after camp. The photos look beautiful. The videos look glamorous. The winner is smiling. But somewhere in that same camp, somebody is questioning their self-worth, calculating debt, nursing heartbreak, or wondering why the dream didn’t feel the way it looked on Instagram.

“Pageantry can be magical. But let’s stop pretending it doesn’t leave bruises too. Sometimes the crown comes home.
Sometimes the trauma does. As we say in Nigeria, na who wear the shoe know where e dey pinch. The audience sees the spotlight. The contestant lives the story,” he said.

As such, he explains that while the event amplifies contestants visibility, each one would need to develop a personal sense of self to lead themselves and their communities after the light and cameras fade.

Why leadership matters

After every event, Roberts acknowledges that the visibility garnered set contestants up to become leaders in their individual spheres of influence. However, when core leadership strengths are lacking, influence dimishes, investment is lost and the long-term vision is not achieved.

“A crown can amplify visibility. It cannot manufacture depth. Some queens know how to pose. Some know how to trend.
Some know how to go viral. But leadership reveals itself differently.

“Leadership is how you treat people when cameras disappear. Leadership is consistency without applause. Leadership is carrying responsibility beyond the runway. Leadership is having substance when beauty is no longer the loudest thing about you,” he said.

According to Roberts, building strategic leadership is where the real work begins. His firm belief is that the fashion and lifestyle industry must move beyond creating content to driving social transformation.

This, he said, can be achieved through advocacy and carefully curated deliverables which strengthens social impact, builds individual leadership capacity and sustains real value.

“This is where the industry must begin asking harder questions. Are we producing ambassadors…or just producing content? Because influence is not the same as impact and visibility is not the same as value.

“Some queens are genuinely transformational. They walk into rooms and create change. They understand advocacy. They understand responsibility. They understand people.
Others simply mastered branding in a social media generation that mistakes attention for substance.”

Celebrating two decades of purposeful impact

Seth Santiago Roberts’ twenty-year career reflects a commitment to purpose that transcends the glitz and glamour of pageantry. While many queens and kings have emerged under his platforms, the enduring message has been the same: invest in people, build leaders, and let culture and advocacy define success.