Newly crowned Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Vannesa Adetshina, has tearfully opened up about her recent ordeal in South Africa.
Recall that Adetshina withdrew from the Miss South Africa pageant following controversy surrounding her nationality and allegations of identity theft leveled against her mum by the South Africa Home Affairs.
Speaking in an interview, she said: “South Africans felt like I was not South African enough because of my name, and it was really hard to see.
It was a very horrible experience, and I would not wish it on anybody because I have lived there for 23 years. It is heartbreaking to see that I was not welcomed and accepted.
A decision needed to be made, and it really hit social media as well. There were some statements that came out from Home Affairs with regard to my mom’s ID as well, and that is still a legal matter so I won’t comment on it.
What I do know is that I was born in South Africa, and I am still South African, and I am still proudly Nigerian.
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.”
Adetshina will represent Nigeria in the Miss Universe 2024 pageant in Mexico in November, 2024.
