Beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina’s second place in this year’s Miss Universe competition was not only an occasion for Nigerians to rejoice at their highest ever placing in the global pageant, but an opportunity to celebrate a victory over their continental rivals South Africa.
Adetshina came first runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjær Theilvig and was also crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania in Mexico on Saturday night.
She had originally entered Miss South Africa, but withdrew from the competition in August saying she needed to protect herself and her family, after her mother was alleged to have stolen the identity of a South African woman. The matter is being investigated by South African police.
The 23-year-old law student had faced weeks of abuse from South Africans who questioned her citizenship due to her Nigerian name and father. She was then invited to compete in and won Miss Universe Nigeria.
“To Nigeria: thank you is not enough for all the support you’ve shown. You picked me up when I was at my lowest,” Adetshina said in a statement posted to her Instagram Stories. “To Africa: thank you for showing your love and support. As much as I represent Nigeria, Africa fought for me.”
“You have made us all proud. You’re a star,” Ben Murray-Bruce, the founder of Silverbird Group, which owns the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant, posted on social media.
Some Nigerians also took the opportunity to rib South Africans on social media. Rinu Oduala, a human rights activist and social media personality, posted on X: “South Africans did not want to be represented by Chidimma Adetshina. But guess who’s now Miss Universe Africa representing the entire continent?”
South Africans and Nigerians often engage in standoffs over whose country is the “giant of Africa”. South Africans were triumphant when pop star Tyla won the inaugural Grammy for best African music performance for her breakout song Water in February, winning over the other nominees all from Nigeria.
Just three days later, Nigeria beat South Africa in a penalty shootout in the semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament, prompting Nigerians to flood social media with videos and memes claiming the South African music genre amapiano was now “ourpiano”.
The rivalry has sometimes turned violent, with South Africa’s government having to dispatch a special envoy to Nigeria to apologise, after xenophobic attacks in 2019 in Johannesburg that targeted Nigerian-owned businesses.
Meanwhile, it is unclear if Adetshina will be able to return to South Africa, where she was born and thought she had dual citizenship with Nigeria. Last month, the South African home affairs department’s director general reportedly told parliament that Adetshina and her mother’s identity documents had been cancelled.
