Julius OkorieNigeria’s Chidimma Vanessa Onwe Adetshina raised the bar on Sunday November 17, 2024, when she emerged first runner up at the 73rd edition of the Miss Universe Pageant held at Arena CDMX in Mexico City.
Contesting among 125 beautiful and classy ladies from across the globe, the 23-year-old South Africa born Nigerian showed the stuff she is made off, held her own and showcased not only her beauty but also confidence and charisma that stood her out.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelShe did not only make the last 30 out of 125 contestants that first flagged off the race later reduced to 122 due to one disqualification and two withdrawals, she also made it to the last five and finally ended up as the first runner up behind eventual winner Victoria Kjær Theilvig of Denmark.
María Fernanda Beltrán of Mexico,Suchata Chuangsri of Thailand and Ileana Márquez of Venezuela ended up as second , third and fourth runners up respectively.
For finishing second, Chidimma became Miss Universe Africa and Oceania, meaning most beautiful woman in Africa and Oceania and second most beautiful woman in the world!
Forging Ahead Amidst Draw Backs:
To opine that Chidimma’s achievement is no mean feat is to put it mildly considering the hurdles she had to overcome en-route this indelible mark on the sand of history.
This was like the case of a rejected stone that has become the head of the corner. From withdrawal from Miss South Africa following unwarranted and provocative attacks that bothered more on her mother’s nationality than hers, transferred aggression and perhaps jealousy almost threatened to force her to abandon a dream that was destined to flourish.
But she remained resolute, crossing over to her fatherland Nigeria that welcomed her with open hands and gave her the Miss Universe Nigeria Platform to pursue her dream.
She grabbed with both hands putting behind all the hate speeches emerging from the former Apartheid enclave to remain focused, emerged winner in the Miss Universe Nigeria and then the finished as number two in the entire world.
For ease of understanding what does this mean? It means out of estimated 8.2 billion people on earth, the two most beautiful woman in the universe are, Victoria from Denmark and Chidimma from Nigeria.
An Achievement that did not only announce her at global stage but by implication wrote the name of Nigeria in Gold as the number two country in a contest involving 125 countries, what an honour to the country and indeed the continent of Africa.
Success Story Buries The Hatchet
Her emergence put a smile on the faces of well-meaning Nigerians and South Africans alike the initial show of disdain in some quarters notwithstanding. Success attracts goodwill.
One of her qualities is that of having a big heart and spirit of accommodation which came to the fore after the event, she took to her Instagram not only to reflect on her journey but also show appreciation to all whether you did support her mission or not, and more importantly declared her resolve to see the achievement as stepping stone to greater things to come.
You could feel the thickness of fibre and resilience for which Nigerians are known in her.
“To Nigeria: THANK YOU is not enough for all the support you’ve shown. You picked me up when I was at my lowest. I’ve never opened up much but I was ready to give up on my life but you became my strength. On days I never wanted to fight you gave me the strength to fight. I’m so grateful for each and everyone for walking this journey with me.”
Addressing the African continent, she continued, “To Africa: thank you for showing your love and support. As much as I represent Nigeria, Africa fought for me. My voice, my story touched many and brought us together. This journey has taught me the power of Unity. I want us to live in a society where we can all accept and celebrate one another.” she wrote.
What Is There For This Elegant Daughter of Nigeria and Africa?
For emerging first runner up of Miss Universe 2024, Primebusiness.africa understands that Chidimma will receive Prize Package that includes $100,000 (about N170m) in cash, a luxury apartment in New York City for the duration of their reign and travel expenses covered for all Miss Universe-related activities. In addition they receive a diamond encrusted crown valued at $5.5million and opportunity to participate in various charitable initiatives and public speaking engagements.
READ ALSO :Miss Universe 2024: Nigeria’s Chidimma Adetshina Set To Shine In Mexico
Well Deserved Accolades:
Those who know her quality, followed her travails and eventual triumph have not held back in expressing their joy over her achievement while urging all and sundry to take the positive lessons from her achievement despite initial draw back.
Chika @crco had this to say “Chidimma Adetshina is indeed a winner in every sense of the word . Her mouthwatering first runner up package and additional gifts has set her up for life let’s not forget the immense positive global visibility for her Brand. Then the connections, contacts and doors this platform has opened for her cannot be quantified. Honestly the only way is truly up from here. ❤️😍Lessons learnt from this is God is not from your village because you hate somebody doesn’t mean they will not succeed and excel. The harder you work to pull people down and destroy them and their livelihood the more God propels and elevates them to greatness!😌
Prof Thuli Madonsela #KindnessBuilds @ThuliMadonsela3 said: “Congratulations Chidimma Adetshina on achieving First Runner- up in #MissUniverse2024 and being crowned #MissUniverseAfrica and #Oceana. Your invincible hope, infragility and resilience should be inspiring to all young persons that find themselves caught up in adversity 🎊🌼👏🏾
Ben Murray-Bruce @benmurraybruce said “Congratulations to Chidimma Adetshina, our Miss Universe Nigeria, for emerging as the 1st Runner-Up at Miss Universe 2024. You have made us all proud. You’re a star! 👏🏾
It is fair to say the storm indeed is over, Chidimma has arrived the world stage and from her level of confidence, her readiness to take the bull by the horns, there are strong indications that her reign will impactful.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
