- Title: Miss Universe Africa winner wants to unite continent after identity row
- Date: 21st November 2024
- Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (NOVEMBER 19, 2024) (REUTERS) PHOTOGRAPH OF CHIDIMMA ADETSHINA, FIRST RUNNER-UP AT MISS UNIVERSE 2024 PAGEANT IN MEXICO, ON BANNER
- Embargoed: 5th December 2024 06:56
- Keywords: chidimma adetshina miss universe nigeria pageantry south africa xenophobic
- Location: LAGOS, NIGERIA
- City: LAGOS, NIGERIA
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Africa,Celebrities,Arts/Culture/Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA001095019112024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Chidimma Adetshina, the newly crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania, almost missed her chance at the global pageant after a failed bid to represent South Africa sparked controversy over her foreign ancestry.
Nigeria offered her a lifeline, leading to her victory in the country's national contest and a spot at the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City on November 16. Adetshina secured second place among 125 contestants, a moment that brought her father to tears for the first time.
"I literally saw my dad cry for the first time, and it was really emotional," Adetshina told Reuters in Lagos. "To see my family smile through this whole chaos was really a beautiful moment."
The 23-year-old beauty queen, born in South Africa to a Nigerian father and Mozambican mother, found herself at the center of a xenophobic row between the two nations when it was revealed she foreign-born parents. She would ultimately exit the competition.
Adetshina withdrew from the Miss South Africa pageant earlier in August, but later joined the Miss Universe competition representing Nigeria.
"I really had to come to terms that maybe I had to be part of this process and I had to forgive everyone," she said, reflecting on the challenges she faced.
Now, as the reigning Miss Universe Africa and Oceania, Adetshina aims to promote unity across the continent.
"We need to start celebrating one another and not allow certain barriers to get in between us," she said. "Just because we use these barriers to identify a person does not mean we need to use these barriers to break us apart and divide us."
Adetshina sees her journey as a testament to perseverance and hopes her story can inspire others.
"I think it was even a push for me to still want to achieve my dreams," she said. "I wouldn't have changed anything."
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