Chidimma opened up about her challenging journey, including being forced to withdraw from the Miss South African pageant due to citizenship issues.
Beauty queen, Chidimma Adetshina has opened up on her sad experience in South Africa.
She spoke after winning Miss Universe Nigeria.
She had represented Taraba State and will now represent Nigeria at the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico.
In a BBC News Pidgin interview, Chidimma opened up about her challenging journey, including being forced to withdraw from the Miss South African pageant due to citizenship issues.
She admitted that discussing it is emotional for her, having cried earlier during the conversation. Chidimma expressed sadness and heartbreak over feeling rejected by South Africans, despite living there for 23 years, simply because of her name.
The beauty queen acknowledged the experience was difficult but affirmed her resilience.
Chidimma said:
“It has been a hectic one, I think I’ve been avoiding it because it’s so emotional for me. I just cried earlier because I think I need to get used to talking about it.
It’s not a nice feeling at all and I think I’ve been avoiding it a lot, but it’s now starting to cloud and affect me, and I will have to deal with it and not suppress it.
What happened wasn’t a minor thing; it was a really major thing, but I will be okay.
South Africans felt I wasn’t South African enough because of my name. I lived there for 23 years. It’s heartbreaking to see I wasn’t welcome and accepted”.
Check out video below
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“South Africans felt I wasn’t South African enough because of my name…. I had lived there for 23 years. It’s heartbreaking to see I wasn’t welcome and accepted”
The moment Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Vanessa Onwe Adetshina broke down during an interview. pic.twitter.com/y934hLuc5b
— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) September 3, 2024