On Saturday, Chidimma Adetshina was announced as the 1st runner-up for the 2024 Miss Universe, Miss Universe Africa and Miss Oceania to the amazement of many.
She was not the Miss Universe 2024, but her win was a win for Nigeria, Africa and every young lady who has faced adversity.
So how did this young law student get to become this beacon of hope?
Here is a look at her inspiring journey…
The Miss South Africa Controversy
It all started after Chidimma Adetshina made it as one of finalists at the 2024 Miss South Africa pageant.
What was supposed to be a big win for the 23-year-old unleashed a huge backlash and rejection from South Africans.
The backlash started from her Nigerian name and so many South Africans were of the opinion that she was definitely not one of them and should be sent back home.
To be clear, Chidimma was born in South Africa. Her father is of Nigerian origin and her mother is from Mozambique. The beauty queen at the time was recognized as a naturalised South African.
It did not take long before social media campaigns were started against Chidimma. There were also petitions that went up asking for her to be disqualified.
It did not help when allegations of identity theft by her mother started making rounds.
This started another social media vitriol against Chidimma to the extent she had to withdraw from the competition citing safety concerns.
“Being part of the Miss South Africa 2024 competition has been an amazing journey. However, after much careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the competition for the safety and well-being of my family and me,” she said when she withdrew from the competition.
The South African beauty pageant was later won by Mia Le Roux.
Chidimma Enters The Miss Universe Nigeria Competition
Barely days after her withdrawal from the competition, the organizers of Miss Universe Nigeria formally invited the 23-year-old to compete in the pageant.
“As a Nigerian by heritage, we would like to formally invite you to participate in the Miss Universe Nigeria 2024 pageant. This is an opportunity to represent your father’s native land on an international stage, and we believe you would be an outstanding contender,” the statement signed by the National Director of Miss Universe Nigeria, Guy Murray-Bruce, said.
Chidimma would accept the invite and make her way to Nigeria where she would excel and emerge Miss Universe Nigeria 2024.
Adversity Continues Even In Mexico
With her victory at the Miss Universe Nigeria competition, Chidimma Adetshina took off to Mexico to join over 100 other beauty queens to compete for the title of Miss Universe 2024.
But it seemed South Africans were not done with the beauty queen.
Barely after she arrived Mexico, a petition was launched by a South African group asking the organizers of Miss Universe to disqualify her.
The group known as Progressive Forces asked the organizers to cancel her entry noting that, “we would hate to see the pageant losing its good image due to a contestant whose mother has been found guilty of stealing the identity of an innocent citizen.
“Not only did this contestant bring her own country into disrepute, but her participating in this iconic pageant would also bring Africa into disrepute,” the petition added.
Then there was the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa that announced that Adetshina and her mother’s South African identity and travel documents would be revoked
According to several reports, the Home Affairs took this decision after they failed to justify the validity of their documents.
As expected, all of these took its toll on Chidimma Adetshina.
After she won the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant, she noted that she had been “suppressing her emotions” throughout and would be seeing a therapist soon while speaking in a BBC interview.
“It’s just not a nice feeling, I think I’ve been avoiding it a lot and only now it’s started to cloud me.
“It’s something I will work on and see a therapist, because I feel like I have been suppressing my emotions… because what has happened… it wasn’t a minor thing, it was actually really major,” she told BBC in tears.
In addition to this, hours before the Miss Universe 2024 finale, the 23-year-old also recounted how emotionally and mentally challenging the journey has been and how tired her mind is.
She however emphasized that whether she wins or not, she will be proud of her journey.
Chidimma Adetshina’s Triumph At Miss Universe 2024 Finale
At the 73rd Miss Universe Competition, Chidimma Adetshina finished as the first runner-up at the pageant to the delight of many, especially Nigerians.
The competition, described as one of the most thrilling in recent years, was won by Miss Denmark, Victoria Kjaer Theilvig, but more spotlight was on Chidimma.
This came as no surprise as Chidinma wasn’t just a finalist; she was the only African contestant to make it to the top 12.
In addition to being the 1st runner-up, Chidimma Adetshina was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania.
“I’m so proud of myself and I just made history,” she said, shortly after her triumph at the pageant.
Indeed she has made history as she has once again put Nigeria in the limelight for a good reason. Her journey is also an inspiration to lots of people who have faced adversity especially since hers was on an international level.
