By Mark Ogagan
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country.
Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and came runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjær Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South African woman. The matter is being investigated by South African police.
“I have already decided that I want to relocate to Nigeria,” Adetshina said, adding that she did not know whether she could go back to South Africa and that she would work with a lawyer in the hope of getting the situation resolved by the end of the year.
“I haven’t seen my family yet,” said Adetshina, when asked if she was able to see her child and if they would move with her to Nigeria. “I’m really looking forward to that and I guess when we do meet we’ll be able to make this decision, because it is a hasty one.”
As Adetshina progressed through the Miss South Africa competition, she faced relentless abuse from South Africans who questioned her citizenship because of her Nigerian name and father. She was then invited to compete in Miss Universe Nigeria in August, and won.
Last month, the South African home affairs department’s director general reportedly told parliament that Adetshina and her mother’s identity documents had been cancelled after the two had not given reasons why they were eligible to keep them.
“I was in Nigeria, so I was not using my South African number,” said Adetshina. “So all of this hadn’t gotten to me until I later noticed. But everything is being handled [through] legal [channels].” She added that she still hopes to finish her law degree.
“I don’t have any animosity towards South Africa,” said Adetshina, who was born in Soweto and had previously said her mother was South African with Mozambican roots. “Because at the end of the day it is still a place that I call home, no matter how painful it is to say it.”
Placing in the top two of Miss Universe exceeded Adetshina’s expectations for herself, but was traumatic: “I feel like I sidelined my emotions so I could pursue this dream. So I think now is the best time to actually start considering my health as well.”
For the next year, though, Adetshina will be travelling the world with the Miss Universe organisation.
She also hopes to bring her continent and the two countries she holds dear together: “I will have this opportunity to unite not only Nigeria and South Africa, but also the whole of Africa,” she said.
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