Dual citizenship to xenophobia: Chidimma Adetshina's controversy-flanked journey to Miss Universe Nigeria victory

Being crowned as the official contender among a sea of promising women for the hallowed Miss Universe title, must of course make for an exhilarating moment. This however, comes after an incredibly trying few months for Miss Universe Nigeria victoria, Chidimma Adetshina who seemingly had the odds perpetually stacked against her. For those not clued into the seething controversy taking the South African beauty pageant network by storm, there is a lot to decode when it comes to the odd barrage of reactions which had been targeted at the Miss Universe hopeful. Chidimma ended up winning the chance she took, a victory that represents modern Africa's willingness to move past the deeply-rooted xenophobia which robbed the beauty queen of her chance to be crowned Miss South Africa. While this does award the 23-year-old South African citizenship, as is the case for anyone born to a South African parent or permanent resident post-1995, anti-foreigner sentiments is what drove Chidimma to exit from the Miss South Africa pageant owing to her Nigerian heritage.