"It was heartbreaking to see that I wasn't welcomed and accepted, even though I've lived there for 23 years, but a decision had to be made."
Chidimma Adetshina, the winner of the just-concluded Miss Universe Nigeria, has explained why South Africans were against her participation in the Miss SA pageant despite being a citizen.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Ms Adetshina withdrew from the Miss South Africa pageant following the backlash concerning her Nigerian heritage.
Following this, the Miss Universe Nigeria organisers invited her to represent Taraba State in their 2024 pageant.
In the highly contested and historic event, Ms Adetshina beat 24 contestants to win N10 million on Saturday.
According to Guy Muray-Bruce, the pageant national director and Silverbird Group president, the 23-year-old will now represent Nigeria at the Miss Universe 2024 pageant in Mexico this November.
The beauty queen spoke about her travails in an emotional interview with Silverbird Television on Monday.
Painful rejection
The 300-level law student recounted the emotional strain she endured during the controversial 2024 Miss South Africa. "I was just this little girl who has always wanted to achieve this dream of becoming the next Miss Universe. I've watched Miss Universe since 2017 and tried out for Miss South Africa in 2022, but I didn't make the list. I decided to try again. I was proud to make the top 30. But when I advanced to the top 16, the backlash began.
"It all started because of my name. People were unhappy that my name was Chidimma and that I was representing South Africa. They felt I wasn't South African enough because of my name. It was heartbreaking to see that I wasn't welcomed and accepted, even though I've lived there for 23 years."
The Soweto-born revealed that the situation worsened when certain events behind the scenes forced her to quit the competition. "There were certain things that happened that made me withdraw. It was heartbreaking, but a decision had to be made. Statements about my mom's identity surfaced, and although it's still a legal matter, I won't comment on it. But I know I was born in South Africa. I'm proud to be both South African and Nigerian."
"I was excited to receive an invitation from Silverbird ... The love I've received has been exceptional, not just from the organisation and the girls but from Nigeria and all over," she shared happily.
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Despite what she described as memorable moments at the camp, Ms Adetshina said she also experienced difficult times, saying, "I felt like my emotions started to cloud me. I was suppressing them a lot. This was close to the crowning time; I started feeling the pressure, and all those emotions started kicking in."
Miss Universe Nigeria
Embracing her new role as Miss Universe Nigeria while balancing academic and athletic commitments, Ms Adetshina said she is adapting to the lifestyle.
The pageant queen said, "I've been handling things well. I play netball, and I'm a law student--I study online. I don't play netball every day. I am with a specific team, we have specific days we play and days we train as well. So I've been handling that well, but now, becoming the new Miss Universe Nigeria, I'm still finding ways to adapt to that as well. I would stay in Nigeria most of the time to serve the country. I'm preparing for Mexico, so I need all my preparations done."
"Regarding Miss Universe, I'm getting makeup sessions to learn mine. I am practising my walk and preparing the outfit designs for the show. I want to make Nigeria proud and leave a huge mark on that stage. I do have some things planned out so far. We're still working on them. I don't want to be a queen focusing on one dimension. I want to go wide and everywhere and make sure that I contribute and impact not only in Nigeria but everywhere. I want to make sure that I use this platform that is given to me wisely. As long as I know I'm impacting one person, I know I've already done my job."
The 23-year-old student urged aspiring pageant queens to stay focused on their dreams, acknowledging that the journey will be tough but stressing the importance of persevering.
