Chidimma Adetshina, who was forced to leave the Miss South Africa contest over the nationality controversy, became the beauty queen of Nigeria.
According to BBC, Adetshina was named Miss Universe Nigeria on Saturday, August 31 in the commercial capital Lagos.
Earlier, when she became the finalist in the Miss South Africa pageant, she faced extreme criticism and racial comments because of her Nigerian roots. Despite being a South African citizen, her eligibility was questioned because her father is Nigerian and her mother is Mozambican.
Later, the South African government claimed that it was found in the investigation that he had committed ‘identity theft’ to become a South African citizen.
It was decided that Adetshina ‘could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother as she was an infant at the time.’
After all this drama, Miss Universe Nigeria organisers invited her to participate in their beauty contest.
Moreover, minutes after being crowned, Adetshina told AFP, “This journey has been a tough journey for me, and I am so proud of myself, and I’m really grateful for the love and the support.”
She further added, “This is something that I’ve always wanted, and I’m really glad that I have a second shot as well at achieving it.”
Meanwhile, the first runner-up Paula Ezendu said, “We all need to stop with the xenophobia... with the tribalism. We’re all one family. We’re all human beings. I know we are going to win.”
