After being hounded over her nationality and forced to drop out of the Miss South Africa contest, Chidimma Adetshina has been crowned beauty queen of a totally different country.
Ms Adetshina cried tears of joy as she was named Miss Universe Nigeria on Saturday.
“This crown is not just for beauty; it’s a call for unity,” the 23-year-old law student stated after weeks at the centre of an intense media storm.
She was invited to participate in Miss Universe Nigeria after her position as a finalist in the Miss South Africa contest sparked a wave of criticism.
Some people in South Africa had questioned her eligibility to compete in the beauty pageant because despite being a South African citizen, Ms Adetshina’s father is Nigerian and her mother has Mozambican roots.
In interviews Ms Adetshina said she was born in Soweto – the South African township next to Johannesburg – and grew up in Cape Town.
The row over her nationality sparked an investigation with the organisers of Miss South Africa asking the nation’s home affairs department to look into her eligibility.
After an initial probe, the department announced that Miss Adetshina’s mother may have committed “identity theft” to become a South African national.
However, the statement added that Ms Adetshina “could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother as she was an infant at the time”.
A day after the announcement, Ms Adetshina dropped out of the contest, saying she took the decision for her and her family’s safety and wellbeing.
By now, her ordeal had made headlines around the world.
After hearing of Ms Adetshina’s story, the organisers of Miss Universe Nigeria invited her to participate in their contest.
They said she would be able to “represent her father’s native land on the international stage”.
After winning the contest on Saturday, Ms Adetshina will represent Nigeria at November’s Miss Universe competition.
Her rivals will include Mia le Roux, who won this year’s Miss South Africa competition after Ms Adetshina dropped out.
Ms le Roux became the first deaf woman in history to win the crown.
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