A former Miss South Africa contestant dogged by a nationality row was crowned Miss Universe Nigeria on Saturday local time, ending a difficult few weeks for the beauty queen.
Born to a Nigerian father in South Africa, Chidimma Adetshina pulled out of the country’s pageant “for the safety and well-being of my family and I” following a backlash that exposed anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa.
“This journey has been a difficult one for me and I’m very proud of myself and I’m really grateful for the love and support,” the 23-year-old told AFP minutes after being crowned in Nigeria. the capital of Lagos.
“This is something I’ve always wanted and I’m very happy to have a second chance to achieve it.”
Her Nigerian heritage drew fierce xenophobic attacks and sparked controversy when she was announced as a Miss South Africa finalist in July, prompting the government to reveal it was investigating an allegation that her mother may have stolen the identity of an African woman – southern.
“There are prima facie reasons to believe that fraud and identity theft may have been committed by the person registered in the home affairs files as Chidimma Adetshin’s mother,” the African Union Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement at the time. South. .
“An innocent South African mother whose identity may have been stolen as part of the alleged fraud perpetrated by Adetshina’s mother suffered as a result because she was unable to register her child.”
The ministry added that Ms Adetshina herself was not involved in the scandal as she was a baby at the time, in 2001.
Despite not being in the country for 20 years, organizers of the Nigerian competition invited him to join their final, saying it was a chance for him to “represent the country of your father’s birth on an international stage”.
“There is enough racism in the world,” Miss Universe Nigeria founder Guy Murray-Bruce told AFP last month.
“We should not fight each other. I want Africa, the black continent, to be united.”
Miss Universe Nigeria first runner-up, Paula Ezendu, echoed the sentiment.
“We all need to stop xenophobia – tribalism. We are all one family. We are all human beings, she told AFP.
Despite the nationality controversy, Ms Adetshina insisted she loved South Africa and was grateful for the country’s support.
She will represent Nigeria at the international Miss Universe pageant in November.
“I know we will win,” she told reporters.
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Image Source : nypost.com