Getty ImagesMiss Nigeria, Chidima Aditeshina expressed her pride at being named Miss Africa and Oceania in addition to coming second in the Miss Universe pageant.
“I’m very proud of myself and I’ve just made history,” she said shortly after losing to Miss Denmark, Victoria Kjer Thelug.
Adetshina originally competed in the Miss South Africa pageant, as she was born and raised in the country, but was subjected to trolling and xenophobic abuse because her father is Nigerian.
Last month, South African authorities said they would remove his identity papers, following allegations that his mother, who has Mozambican roots, committed identity fraud to obtain South African citizenship.
Neither Adsheena nor her mother have commented on the allegations. South African authorities pointed out that Adeshina could not have participated in any alleged fraud because she was an infant at the time.
After an uproar in South Africa and doubts about her nationality, she competed in the Miss Nigeria pageant, which she won and qualified for the Miss Universe pageant held in Mexico City.
Mia Le Roux, the eventual winner of Miss South Africa, withdrew from Miss Universe last week, citing an undisclosed medical condition. She was the first deaf woman to become Miss South Africa.
In September, Edithina, a law student, She told the BBC that she still sees herself as “proudly South African” and “proudly Nigerian”..
But after Miss Universe South Africa Tweeted With the flags of both South Africa and Nigeria to congratulate her on her second place finish, some South Africans responded by saying she did not represent them.
In this BBC interviewAdetshina said she would seek therapy to help her deal with the post-traumatic stress of the abuse.
She is the highest-placed black African woman at Miss Universe since South Africa’s Zozibeni Tanzi won the pageant in 2019.
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