Wedaeli Chibelushi – BBC News
After being hounded over her nationality and forced to drop out of the Miss South Africa contest, Chidimma Adetshina has been crowned beauty queen of a totally different country.
Ms Adetshina cried tears of joy as she was named Miss Universe Nigeria on Saturday.
“This crown is not just for beauty; it’s a call for unity,” the 23-year-old law student stated after weeks at the centre of an intense media storm.
She was invited to participate in Miss Universe Nigeria after her position as a finalist in the Miss South Africa contest sparked a wave of xenophobic criticism.
Some people in South Africa had questioned her eligibility to compete in the beauty pageant because despite being a South African citizen, Ms Adetshina’s father is Nigerian and her mother has Mozambican roots.
In interviews Ms Adetshina said she was born in Soweto – the South African township next to Johannesburg – and grew up in Cape Town.
The row over her nationality sparked an investigation with the organisers of Miss South Africa asking the nation’s home affairs department to look into her eligibility.
After an initial probe, the department announced that Miss Adetshina’s mother may have committed “identity theft” to become a South African national.
However, the statement added that Ms Adetshina “could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother as she was an infant at the time”.
A day after the announcement, Ms Adetshina dropped out of the contest, saying she took the decision for her and her family’s safety and wellbeing.
By now, her ordeal had made headlines around the world.
After hearing of Ms Adetshina’s story, the organisers of Miss Universe Nigeria invited her to participate in their contest.
They said she would be able to “represent her father’s native land on the international stage”.
After winning the contest on Saturday, Ms Adetshina will represent Nigeria at November’s Miss Universe competition.
Her success has been celebrated on social media.
“Your story is inspirational – you are stronger than you think and we love you our African sister,” one South African woman wrote on Instagram.
Another supporter said: “Trust me guys we Nigerians are proud of her… she’s our very own sister, a very smart, intelligent girl, our Nigerian blood runs through her veins.”
However, others alleged the contest was “rigged” in Ms Adetshina’s favour – an accusation the Miss Nigeria organisers have not responded to.
“She’s undeserving,” one Instagram user said.
“She has never lived in Nigeria and was merely invited to compete after the final delegates had been chosen… she arrived in Nigeria for the first time after 20 years last week, only to be given our crown. This organisation reeks of sheer bias.”
Another wrote: “In all honesty you won out of pity… feeling very sorry for the other contestants who were there long before you came.”
At the Miss Universe contest in November, the law student’s rivals will include Mia le Roux, who won this year’s Miss South Africa competition after Ms Adetshina dropped out.
Ms le Roux became the first deaf woman in history to win the crown.
