"Chidimma's father is from Enugu; she will represent Taraba State. This is how the organisation assigns states to contestants. It has always been our approach to maintaining fairness and tribalism."
Guy Murray-Bruce, president of Silverbird Group and organiser of Miss Universe Nigeria, says Chidimma Adetshina received no special treatment and underwent the same rigorous screening process as all other contestants.
Earlier, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Ms Adetshina accepted an invitation to participate in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant this August after withdrawing from the Miss South Africa pageant amid several controversies.
While the Miss Universe Nigeria's invitation is commendable, there have been growing concerns around fairness due to the 23-year-old's new-found fame vis-à-vis the fate of the already qualified contestants.
Despite the public sympathy and Ms Adetshina's intimidating fanbase, the organisers insist she will be treated like any other contestant.
Zero preferential treatment
Speaking exclusively with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, Mr Murray-Bruce said Ms Adetshina underwent the same audition process as all the contestants, adding that she applied formally and was rigorously auditioned by a panel of screeners and judges last weekend.
"The only difference was that she participated remotely. She'll share a room with the other girls, rehearse with everyone, and face the same rules. No special privileges. If she doesn't rehearse, she'll be kicked out. Any delegate who doesn't follow the rules will be disqualified.
"It's an equal opportunity for all of them. No one's going to be singled out; she's going to rehearse like everybody else. Because if she doesn't rehearse, she'll be kicked out. Any girl, any delegate that doesn't follow the rules and regulations of the organisation, will be kicked out of the contest; everything will be uniform. Nigerians will see for themselves," he said.
Emphasising that there will be no favouritism, Mr Murray-Bruce said strict rules in camp bind all 25 delegates.
"It's like joining the military. If you don't behave yourself, you fall out. There will be no favouritism. But the moment you have favouritism, it becomes a huge problem. We don't want that to happen. We've been organising pageants for 38 years; I know what's right and wrong. We treat each one like they're all queens," he explained.
The backstory
Providing insight into the invitation to Ms Adetshina, Mr Murray-Bruce shared the backstory, saying that as a dual citizen, Ms Adetshina was eligible to compete in Miss Universe Nigeria.
"She (Ms Adetshina) was promoting Nigeria and South Africa in camp (Miss SA 2024). She has a Nigerian father. Despite representing South Africa, she was being threatened. It had nothing to do with the organisation of Miss South Africa; it was the ministers. The organisation was 100 per cent behind her, but the government was anti-her".
"I contacted the Miss South Africa National Director and asked, 'Chidimma has a Nigerian father and a South African mother. Can she come to Nigeria to participate in our national pageant? Because she is a Nigerian as well.' In response, the Miss SA Director said, 'No, she's South African.' I reminded her, 'She also has a Nigerian father. Once you have a Nigerian parent, you're more than likely a dual citizen.' The Miss SA Director couldn't give a definite answer and had to reach Chidimma. We still issued a press release inviting her and 'gave her an olive branch."'
"We said, 'Look, we know you've been through a lot. Come to your motherland and participate in our national pageant.' And she reached out to me that same Friday and tentatively agreed in principle to participate in the pageant. But she had to be clear with the authorities, lawyers, parents, and everybody."
Mr Murray-Bruce said that even though 24 delegates had already been chosen, Ms Adetshina's situation was unique. The organisers felt supporting women in the diaspora was necessary, which led to her invitation.
"We had already selected 24 delegates for the show; I agree. But for this, it was an exceptional case. We didn't want to leave any ladies in the diaspora stranded. We had to help her out. That's why we invited her in. Nigeria has been known for many things in the past. Can we do something positive once in a lifetime? That should be the narrative. This is a humanitarian story, and you can't run away from it."
Fair play
Since its inception in 1983, Miss Universe Nigeria has never extended a special invitation to any contestant, making Ms Adetshina's inclusion historic.
The decision to invite Ms Adetshina sets a significant precedent and could influence how future pageants handle similar situations.
When this newspaper asked if her popularity might affect the outcome of the competition, Mr Murray-Bruce said, "I can't predict what will happen. But there are a lot of girls out there among the 24, so she's just going to be one of them anyway. In any competition, there are always favourites among supporters and viewers at home. They have their favourites. They'll always speculate on those. But it's left to the judges at the end of the day."
"If you go to a football match, you have star players. In the pageants, it's the same thing. We have a few of them already in place. Out of the 24, they're already being rooted for. It's all equal play. If she comes and they root for her, fine. You can't stop anyone from rooting for anybody. The organisation is based on what she goes through in camp. We judge people by what is seen on stage and what happens in camp--how you relate to one another. Those parts are taken down--if you're snobbish, rude, or misbehave. So everything counts in camp and also on stage."
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Addressing concerns about whether the 23-year-old law student's late inclusion could affect the pageant competition and its contestants, the organisers' president said, "They ought to come with a competitive spirit because you don't know what to expect. Fight with their best for what they want. And any of the delegates can get that."
"There will be a level playing field. If there were no fair play, by now, we would not be organising these pageants because our international affiliates see what is going on; they audit us. Off the record, the girls (Miss Universe Nigeria contestants) were discussing among themselves that they wanted her (Chidimma) to come. They wanted her to be inclusive with the 24 delegates. They were deliberating, and it was just timely with our memo to invite Ms Adetshina."
Miss Universe Nigeria
According to Mr Murray-Bruce, the Miss Nigeria Universe camp begins on 23 August and runs for one week, with the grand finale on 31 August.
The Silverbird president, who revealed Ms Adetshina's state of origin in Nigeria, added that her inclusion would not affect the Miss Nigeria Universe schedule and pre-planned itinerary.
He said, "Adetshina's father is from Enugu; she will represent Taraba State. This is how the organisation assigns states to contestants. It has always been our approach to maintaining fairness and tribalism."
The competition offers the winner the opportunity to represent Nigeria at the 73rd Miss Universe in Mexico on 16 November.
