By: Natasha Archary

Chidimma Adetshina broke down into tears during a BBC News Pidgin interview as she recounted her emotional journey to winning the Miss Universe Nigeria crown.
The 23-year-old law student faced backlash over her South African citizenship, due to her father being Nigerian.
Chidimma withdrew from the Miss SA 2024 pageant following an investigation by Home Affairs, which found prima facie evidence that her mother may have committed fraud and identity theft.
According to Home Affairs, the South African ID that Chidimma’s mother used to register her at birth was stolen from an unsuspecting citizen.
Following the public interest in the controversy of Chidimma’s nationality, Miss Universe Nigeria extended an invitation to her and she accepted.
Chidimma was then crowned on Saturday, 31 August and she sat down with the BBC in Nigeria, also called, BBC News Pidgin, to share how hard this ordeal has been.
“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 me and affect me and I will have to deal with it and not suppress it.
What has happened wasn’t a minor thing, it was really major thing but I will be okay.”
When asked for a response to her mother being the subject of a Home Affairs investigation, Chidimma said she could not answer as it was a legal matter that’s still pending.
Meanwhile, ActionSA has written an urgent letter to the Department of Home Affairs demanding answers regarding how Chidimma Adetshina’s mother travelled to Nigeria.



