Getty ImagesMiss Nigeria, Chidimma Adetshina, has spoken of her pride in coming second in the Miss Universe competition and being named Miss Africa and Oceania.
“I’m so proud of myself and I just made history,” she said, shortly after losing to Miss Denmark, Victoria Kjær Theilvig.
Adetshina originally competed in the Miss South Africa pageant because she was born and raised in the country, but she was subjected to trolling and xenophobic abuse because her father is Nigerian.
Last month, South African authorities said they would strip her of her identity papers following allegations that her mother, who has Mozambican roots, committed identity fraud to obtain South African citizenship.
Neither Adetshina nor her mother have commented on the allegations. South African authorities pointed out that Adeshina could not have participated in any alleged fraud as she was still a baby at the time.
After the fuss in South Africa and doubts about her nationality, she entered the Miss Nigeria competition, which she won to qualify for the Miss Universe competition in Mexico City.
The eventual winner of Miss South Africa, Mia le Roux, withdrew from Miss Universe last week due to an undisclosed medical condition. She was the first deaf woman to become Miss South Africa.
In September, Adeshina, a law student, told the BBC that she still saw herself as “proudly South African” and “proudly Nigerian.”.
But after Miss Universe South Africa tweeted Congratulating her on her second place, along with both the South African and Nigerian flags, some South Africans responded by saying she did not represent them.
In her BBC interviewAdetshina said she would seek therapy to help her cope with the trauma following the abuse she was subjected to.
She is the highest-placed black African woman in Miss Universe since South Africa’s Zozibini Tunzi won the competition in 2019.
You may also be interested in:
Getty Images/BBC
