Nigeria’s Chidimma Adetshina’s Controversial Path to Miss Universe 1st Runner-Up
NIGERIA – Miss Nigeria’s pre-Miss Universe controversy sparked widespread attention, but Chidimma Adetshina overcame the challenges to claim an impressive 1st runner-up finish in the pageant.
Nigeria’s candidate, Chidimma Adetshina, 23, almost won the recently concluded Miss Universe 2024 pageant. Chidimma achieved great success, especially considering the controversy surrounding her title as Miss Universe Nigeria 2024.
She was crowned first runner-up, while Denmark’s Victoria Theilvig claimed the Miss Universe 2024 title. From the start of the competition, Chidimma was among the strong contenders.
The law student earned applause during the Top 5 question-and-answer segment for her excellent responses.
By far, her first runner-up finish is the highest placement Nigeria has achieved in the history of the Miss Universe pageant.
MISS NIGERIA INVOLVED IN CONTROVERSY
Before traveling to Mexico for the prestigious international pageant, Chidimma was involved in a controversy regarding her nationality.
Chidimma Adetshina initially joined the Miss South Africa 2024 pageant but was forced to withdraw after her nationality was questioned.
Although born in Cape Town, South Africa, Chidimma is the daughter of a Nigerian father and a Mozambican mother.
She became the target of xenophobic comments due to her dual citizenship—South African and Mozambican.
When the Miss South Africa organizers discovered details about her family background, they launched an investigation to ensure her eligibility for the competition.
The investigation revealed that her mother was allegedly involved in “identity theft” to obtain South African citizenship, as reported by the BBC.
Reports claimed her mother had stolen the identity of a South African woman to gain citizenship.
However, the reports also clarified that Chidimma had no involvement in the accusations against her mother, as she was only an infant at the time.
Due to the controversy, Chidimma withdrew from the South African national pageant to protect herself and her family.
Her story made international headlines.
Following these developments, the Miss Universe Nigeria organization invited Chidimma to participate in their national pageant.
Chidimma won in September 2024, automatically becoming Nigeria’s representative for Miss Universe 2024.
Upon her victory, Chidimma declared: “This crown is not just for beauty; it’s a call for unity.”
However, the African beauty queen’s controversies did not end there, as South Africa issued a warning to both her and her mother.
South Africa Warns of Action Against Chidimma
In late October 2024, the South African government issued a warning that it would revoke the identification documents of Chidimma Adetshina.
Chidimma and her mother were given until November 5, 2024, to provide an explanation as to why their South African identification documents should not be canceled, according to a report by Deutsche Welle.
However, the mother and daughter did not respond to the demand for justification. Instead, Chidimma traveled to Mexico to compete in the Miss Universe 2024 pageant.
“We have not received any response, and therefore the department will be proceeding with the withdrawal of those documents in line with the Identification Act,” stated South Africa’s Home Affairs Director General Tommy Makhode.
Coincidentally, before the preliminary competition of Miss Universe 2024, Miss Universe South Africa Mia Le Roux withdrew from the competition, citing “health concerns” as the reason for her decision.
The public is now waiting for updates on Chidimma’s case following her remarkable achievement as the first runner-up in the Miss Universe 2024 pageant.
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