Guy Murray-Bruce, chairman of Silverbird Group and organiser of Miss Universe Nigeria, says Chidimma Adetshina was not given any special treatment and underwent the same rigorous selection process as all other contestants.
Earlier, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Ms Adetshina accepted an invitation to participate in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant in August after withdrawing from the Miss South Africa pageant amid several controversies.
While Miss Universe Nigeria's invitation is commendable, there have been growing concerns about impartiality due to the 23-year-old's newfound fame compared to the fate of already qualified contestants.
Despite the public's sympathy and Adetshina's intimidating fan base, organizers insist she will be treated like any other contestant.
Zero preferential treatment
Speaking exclusively to PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, Mr Murray-Bruce said Ms Adetshina went through the same audition process as all the contestants, adding that she formally applied and was rigorously auditioned by a panel of evaluators and judges last weekend.
''The only difference is that she is participating remotely. She will share a room with the other girls, rehearse with everyone and face the same rules. She will not have any special privileges. If she does not rehearse, she will be expelled. Any delegate who does not follow the rules will be disqualified.
“It is an equal opportunity for everyone. No one will be singled out; she will rehearse like everyone else. Because if she does not rehearse, she will be expelled. Any girl, any delegate who does not follow the rules and regulations of the organization, will be expelled from the contest; everything will be uniform. Nigerians will see for themselves,” she said.
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Stressing there would be no favouritism, Mr Murray-Bruce said strict rules at the camp were binding on all 25 delegates.
''It's like joining the army. If you don't behave well, you get discouraged. There will be no favouritism, but the moment there is, it becomes a big problem. We don't want that to happen. We've been organising beauty pageants for 38 years, I know what's right and what's wrong. We treat everyone like a queen,'' she explained.
The background story
Giving insight into the invitation to Ms Adetshina, Mr Murray-Bruce shared the story and said that as a dual citizen, Ms Adetshina was eligible to compete at Miss Universe Nigeria.
“She (Ms Adetshina) was promoting Nigeria and South Africa at the (Miss South Africa 2024) camp. Her father is Nigerian. Despite representing South Africa, she was being threatened. It had nothing to do with the Miss South Africa organisation; it was the ministers. The organisation was supporting her 100 per cent, but the government was against her.”
“I contacted the national director of Miss South Africa and asked, ‘Chidimma has a Nigerian father and a South African mother. Can she come to Nigeria to participate in our national pageant? Because she is also Nigerian.’ In response, the director of Miss South Africa said, ‘No, she is South African.’ I reminded her, ‘She also has a Nigerian father. Once you have a Nigerian father, you are more than likely to have dual citizenship.’ The director of Miss South Africa could not give a definitive answer and had to contact Chidimma. Still, we issued a press release inviting her and ‘offered her an olive branch.’”
“We told her, ‘Look, we know you’ve been through a lot. Come to your homeland and participate in our national pageant. ’ And she contacted me that same Friday and agreed in principle to participate in the pageant. But she had to be clear with the authorities, the lawyers, the parents and everyone.”
Mr Murray-Bruce said that while 24 delegates had already been chosen, Ms Adetshina's situation was unique. The organisers felt there was a need to support women in the diaspora, which was the reason for her invitation.
“We had already selected 24 delegates for the event, I agree. But in this case it was an exceptional case. We did not want to leave any woman in the diaspora helpless. We had to help her. That is why we invited her to participate. Nigeria has been known for many things in the past. Can we do something positive once in a lifetime? That should be the narrative. This is a humanitarian story and it cannot be avoided.”
Fair play
Since its inception in 1983, Miss Universe Nigeria has never extended a special invitation to any contestant, making Ms Adetshina’s inclusion historic.
The decision to invite Ms Adetshina sets an important precedent and could influence how future pageants handle similar situations.
Asked by this newspaper if her popularity could affect the outcome of the competition, Murray-Bruce said: “I can’t predict what will happen. But there are a lot of girls in the 24, so she will be one of them anyway. In any competition, there are always favourites among the fans and the viewers at home. They have their favourites. They will always speculate about them. But in the end, that is up to the judges.”
“If you go to a football match, you have the star players. In competitions, it’s the same. We already have some of them on the team. Out of the 24, they are already being supported. It’s an equal game. If she comes and people support her, good. You can’t stop anyone from supporting anyone. The organisation is based on what she experiences at the camp. We judge people by what you see on stage and what happens at the camp, by how they relate to each other. Those aspects are eliminated – if you are snobbish, rude or misbehaving. So everything counts at the camp and also on stage.”
Responding to concerns about whether the late inclusion of the 23-year-old law student could affect the pageant and its contestants, the chairman of the organisers said: “They must come with a competitive spirit because you don’t know what to expect. Fight with your best for what you want. And any of the delegates can achieve it.”
“There will be a level playing field. If there was no level playing field, we would not be organising these pageants by now because our international affiliates see what is going on; they audit us. Unofficially, the girls (Miss Universe Nigeria contestants) were discussing amongst themselves that they wanted her (Chidimma) to come. They wanted it to be inclusive of all 24 delegates. They were deliberating and it was just at the right time with our memo to invite Ms Adetshina.”
READ ALSO: 'Chidimma did not deserve the hate she was subjected to' – Miss South Africa winner Mia Le Rux
Miss Universe Nigeria
According to Murray-Bruce, the Miss Nigeria Universe camp starts on August 23 and lasts for a week, with the grand finale taking place on August 31.
The Silverbird president, who revealed Ms Adetshina's state of origin in Nigeria, added that her inclusion would not affect the Miss Nigeria Universe schedule or the previously planned itinerary.
He said: “Adetshina’s father is from Enugu; she will represent Taraba State. This is how the organisation allocates states to contestants. It has always been our approach to maintain equity and tribalism.”
The pageant offers the winner the opportunity to represent Nigeria at the 73rd Miss Universe pageant in Mexico on November 16.