Chidimma Adetshina who was placed first runner-up at Miss Universe says that she is closing the pageant chapter to focus on other areas of her life. Picture: Instagram
Miss Universe Africa and Oceania Chidimma Adetshina has revealed that this is the end of the road for her in the pageantry world in one of her media appearance tours in Nigeria.
There is growing speculation that the Miss Universe first runner-up has quit the pageantry world due to her unhappiness during the recent pageant, after a trending video online showed make-up artists neglecting the 23-year-old while they attended to other participants.
She is expected to serve as Miss Universe Africa and Oceania 2024 for a year, and has expressed a desire to study further and improve herself thereafter.
The controversial Soweto-born beauty queen, who was born to a Mozambican mother and Nigerian father in South Africa, is back in Nigeria for a celebration tour after being placed as first runner-up at the prestigious Miss Universe pageant in Mexico at the weekend. It is unclear whether she is expected to stay in Nigeria or if she will be relocating to New York for a year.
While Adetshina is doing press tours in her new home country of Nigeria, back in South Africa, her mother and her identity are still the subject of a criminal investigation by the Hawks and the Home Affairs.
Adetshina's Mozambican mother, Anabela Rungo, faces potential fraud and identity theft charges for alleged identity fraud committed during her birth registration.
In October, Home Affairs announced it was in the process of revoking Adetshina’s citizenship, along with her family’s ID and travel documents after they failed to respond to a deadline they were given to make a representations as to why they should keep their South African documents and identity.
After clinching the Miss Universe Africa title and Miss Universe Nigeria, the Soweto-born beauty queen revealed that at the end of her reign she would want to focus on her studies and herself.
“As much as I would like to explore more, but I think this is just the end of the road. And I am really proud of where I got to and feel that not only did I make myself proud but also made Nigeria proud and Africa proud.
“So this is the end of the road and I’m hoping that I get to further my studies and to better myself. And do good things in Nigeria and establish myself,” she said.
Adetshina had been studying law at the Varsity College in Cape Town when she entered for Miss South Africa earlier this year.
“This Is The End Of The Road For Me”
— CHUKS 🍥 (@ChuksEricE) November 19, 2024
-Chidinma Vanessa Adetshina Announces Her Decision To Leave The Pageant World Permanently For Personal Reasons And Relocate To Nigeria. pic.twitter.com/3nqCiIyOmq
While Adetshina has revealed that this is in fact the end of the road for her, there have been a lot of online speculations about the reason behind her deciding not to engage in anything that is pageant related.
She is expected to honour her crown, where she is set to reportedly bag $100,000 in cash and a one year lease in New York.
An Instagram user, @themasterofmisses shared a video where the Miss Universe contestants were seen getting make-up and hair touch ups while Adetshina was left out and no one was fixing her hair and makeup.
After a while, one of the crew that was touching up the contestants came to Adetshina and pretended to fix her lips, which he did not.
While assumptions should not be made because we do not know what happened before the video was taken or after, Instagram users flooded the comment section as this particular video stirred a controversy online about racism being quite evident in this particular video.
Instagram user @miyakemakeup commented, “What about Nigeria? No one's going to touch up a black Barbie!”
Instagram user @iharding83 commented, “The hair and makeup crew didn’t support Miss Nigeria.”
Instagram user @divineabanum02 wrote: “I believe one day racism will eventually be erased from the surface of the earth. However Miss Nigeria doesn’t need your attention, she is beautiful and okay.”
Instagram user, @mandipamasuku commented, “That’s blatant racism omg!! The only black girl on the stage doesn’t get hairspray, make, touch ups!!! The pageant works is gutting.”
In another press tour interview, Adetshina was asked if she is going to visit South Africa and how she feels about it now that she is Miss Universe Africa and Oceania 2024.
“I think after winning I really put that behind me. I am now a representation of not only Nigeria but Africa and that includes South Africa as well. So there is no bad blood.
“I’m still really grateful for this opportunity and I really hope that someday we’ll still come together and really get rid of all this hate and banter that we used to joke around.
“Because I think most of the time we tend not to know the difference, some people think it's just a joke, while some people really do take it personally… Me being crowned Miss Universe Africa was for a reason.”
“I am now a representation of not only Nigeria but Africa and that includes South Africa”
— CHUKS 🍥 (@ChuksEricE) November 19, 2024
-Chidimma Vanessa, Miss Universe First Runner Up and the current Miss Universe Africa & Oceania. pic.twitter.com/R4LJtiM3vm
IOL