Fatima Usman is the face of the delicious mouth watering Magnum “I AM” commercial as seen on TV. She was born in Abuja Nigeria at a time when her father a diplomat was posted there as the Administrative Officer for the Abuja Territory development program for the new capital. Shortly after she was a year old, the family was on the move again and she grew up in New Delhi , London , Paris , New York and Rabat in Morocco where she received her high school diploma. The young Fatima enjoyed a very full and colourful childhood travelling around the world with her parents with whom she has a great relationship and learned a great deal about the world and being in the public eye. She moved back to Paris on her own to pursue higher education and graduated this summer in international Business Administration from the American University of Paris .

Fatima inherited her father's height and fortunately his metabolism too but she resisted succumbing to the many attempts by scouts to get her into modelling until about 2 years ago when she finally gave in. She is currently with Urban Talent & Models based in Paris .

I met Fatima earlier this year at the ThisDay fashion show in Lagos . I had heard so much about her elegance, beauty and professionalism beforehand and could not wait to meet her in person. Since then we have worked together in New York and Cannes and become good friends too.

Adebayo: What advice do you have for aspiring models?

Fatima : I have certainly developed more respect for models along the way because it is not as easy as one would think and a thick skin is certainly required to survive the inevitable disappointments. I have been fortunate in developing an amicable relationship with most of the people I've met in this glamorous business of exquisite clothes and flawless make-up and hair. My advice is to remain strong yet kind to all those around you, and to take the best you can from every experience. I love getting my hair and make-up done and working with genius designers.

Adebayo: What was it like working with top photographer Mark Baptiste?

Fatima: Mark is very different from the editorial fashion photographers I've encountered in Europe . His work involves a lot of action and motion shots which bring another kind of life to the pictures. He is very high spirited and tries to create a fun atmosphere for us with food, music and time-outs. His end results are magnificent!

Adebayo: How about the Magnum commercial, what was that like?

Fatima : The Magnum commercial was very high budget, the set was very large, high swings, huge fans, etc and the director, Mehdi Norowzian, was great to work with, he was very inspiring and encouraging. The make-up was fabulous; I even had peacock feathers attached to my eye lashes! Green is a wonderful patriotic colour for me, and I think I wear well. It was shot in London and the sound was done later in Paris where I was connected directly to the sound studio in Milan , the whole thing was very well managed. It took a few days to shoot and I was exhausted when we were done.

Adebayo: What has been the highlight of your career to date?

Fatima: The highlight of my modelling career, hard to say with so many memorable moments, the magnum commercial has received a lot of exposure all over Europe, including TV and print, so that's exciting, but I would have to say that it was my first catwalk in Milan, after working  with a coach. It was very thrilling to be under the spot light, live, with no room for error, bringing life to maximize the clothes. It was my first real exposure to the technical and strategic side to modelling; walking with the high knees and swift ankle turns is a lot of fun and makes you feel great to know you have IT. My walk has been described as very predatory and arrogant by close friends, I tell them it's the straight back and high chin combined with the Nigerian in me. I love it.

Adebayo: What are your plans for the future?

Fatima : I plan to continue modelling and simultaneously pursue a career in World affairs, more specifically health care for women and children in developing countries. I'm hoping that given my family background in politics, a degree in business, and a developing career in fashion, I will at some point be able to attract attention to these causes that are dear to my heart.