How Chidimma Adetshina Got into the Miss Universe Nigeria Pageant

It is no longer news that Chidimma Adetshina, the Nigerian model who withdrew from competing in this year’s Miss South Africa Beauty Pageant at the top finalists’ stage, was invited to contest in the Miss Universe Nigeria Pageant. What may not be common knowledge is how and why the President of the Silverbird Group and National Director of the Miss Universe Nigeria Pageant, Guy Murray-Bruce, invited her to participate.

Murray Bruce disclosed in an interview with Saturday Beats of the Punch Newspaper that the invitation was motivated by a sense of patriotism and the desire to help Chidimma keep her dream alive.

“When I saw the news of Adetshina’s withdrawal, I thought to myself—why is this happening to a Nigerian? Then it got worse. I thought about what we Nigerians could do; after all, this girl is half Nigerian and half South African. It was a way of making her participate and not kill her dreams,” he said.

Murray-Bruce dismissed misgivings that she might have been accorded some preferential treatment:

“When I reached out to her, I made it clear that she would need to go through the same process as the other 24 contestants. However, we made an exception for her initial participation via Zoom. Fortunately, the other contestants were already reaching out for her to come into our pageant. We have a wonderful spirit in Nigeria, and it is amazing.”

 

Adetshina officially withdrew from the Miss South Africa 2024 pageant after reaching the final stage of the competition in response to concerns raised by some South Africans regarding her nationality.

Prior to the withdrawal, she spoke to Sowetan Live about her frustration:

“At first I ignored it, but as I progressed in the competition, the criticism started growing. I thought to myself, I am representing a country, but I don’t feel the love from the people I’m representing. I even asked myself, is it worth it?”

Nigerian Roots

Speaking on the model’s Nigerian roots, Murray-Bruce stated that Adetshina claimed to hail from Enugu State and could not represent Enugu because there was already a contestant from the state. He pointed out that there were more contestants from the eastern part of the country than anywhere else.

Chidimma was born in 2001 in Soweto, South Africa to a Nigerian father and a Mozambican mother with South African citizenship.

The final show is slated for August 31 at the Eko Hotel & Suites Lagos, where two of the 25 contestants will be crowned Miss Universe Nigeria and Miss Supranational Nigeria. Miss Universe Nigeria will represent Nigeria at the Miss Universe Pageant in Mexico City on November 16, 2024.

Watch her pageant promo HERE.

NP/Punch