Nigerians in South Africa have said the controversial parental history of Chidimma Adetshina who withdrew from a beauty contest should be thoroughly investigated.
Adetshina, 23, pulled out from Miss South Africa Beauty Pageant 2024 on Thursday following criticisms from South Africans that she was not eligible to participate in the pageantry.
Her withdrawal stemmed from the information published on the organisation’s website that she was born in South Africa to a Nigerian father and a Mozambique mother.
The organisers also affirmed that she was a naturalised South African.
However, the Department of Home Affairs for South Africa, in a statement on Wednesday, claimed that Adetshina’s mother might have engaged in a fraud.
“The Department of Home Affairs can indicate that prima facie reasons exist to believe that fraud and identity theft may have been committed by the person recorded in Home Affairs records as Chidimma Adetshina’s mother,” the statement read.
This forced Adetshina to withdraw from the contest billed for Saturday at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria.
She wrote on Instagram, “I have made the difficult decision to withdraw myself from the competition for the safety and wellbeing of my family and I.”
The President of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, Mrs Doris Ikeri-Solarin, told Saturday Punch that it was an “unfortunate” incident borne out of “discrimination.”
“It is very unfortunate that this young, beautiful, and intelligent lady is made to face this level of discrimination. The investigation is yet to be concluded; I’m not sure she should be made to suffer the consequences. Let’s wait for the outcome,” Ikeri-Solarin said.
“The Immigration lawyer who was interviewed explained the different ways of acquiring citizenship in South Africa, which is not limited to one. This needs to be thoroughly reviewed. Under what circumstance did Chidinma (Adetshina) acquire hers? Is her father legit and papers in order? If so, let’s look at options.”
Similarly, a Nigerian lawyer in Johannesburg, Austin Okeke, said Adetshina should not be condemned for her parents’ alleged errors.
He said, “The illegality of her mother has no bearing whatsoever on her citizenship status. That she has now withdrawn from the Miss South Africa beauty pageant was a direct consequence on the growing hostility towards her.
“I am sure she must have been very traumatised and petrified by the level of hostility, which must have invariably affected her confidence and composure to continue with the competition.
“The pageant is nothing but a competition that should not have attracted this level of hatred and abuse of her dignity as a fellow human.”
Asked about the 23-year-old’s safety in South Africa, Ikeri-Solarin said, “I do not think she’s at risk of experiencing xenophobic attacks even though her story and personality stirred up the social media space globally.
“Her talents need to be nurtured and guided to open new doors for the future.”
