Chidimma Adetshina, a 23-year-old model with South African roots and a Nigerian father, is set to compete in Miss Universe Nigeria following her withdrawal from Miss South Africa due to safety concerns for her family amid rising anti-foreigner sentiments.

The organizers of the Nigerian pageant promptly extended an invitation to her for the finals on August 31, emphasizing the opportunity to “represent your father’s homeland on a global platform.”

“Thank you so much for this opportunity, and I look forward to participating in Africa’s most prestigious beauty pageant, Miss Universe Nigeria,” Adetshina replied in a video on Instagram.

The public uproar on social media centred around her father’s nationality, even though South Africa confers citizenship by birth to individuals born in the country after 1995 to a South African parent or a permanent resident.

As the controversy attracted the attention of government officials and various public figures, the home ministry initiated an inquiry that questioned the nationality of Adetshina’s mother, who was reported to be a South African of Mozambican heritage.

The ministry reported that there were “prima facie indications” suggesting that her mother may have appropriated the identity of a South African woman, and it is currently seeking legal counsel regarding the potential consequences for her citizenship.

This situation has highlighted the prevailing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, a country that has experienced violent and sometimes fatal assaults on immigrants, leading to allegations of “Afrophobia” directed at individuals from other African nations.

Additionally, it has intensified competition among the online communities of Africa’s two leading economies.

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