The beauty queen who disturbed the judges and captivated the public after parading with a flag stained in “blood”

Victoria Chamiaka Udeh is a 23-year-old model and activist, as well as a medical student in Stavropol, a city in southwest Russia. This year, she decided to compete in the Miss Africa Russia contest, where she took advantage of the moment of exposure on the podium to demonstrate on the socio-political issues of her country of birth: he carried a Nigerian flag stained with blood.

The The intention was to represent the young people who lost their lives during the protests #EndSARS (#End SARS), against police brutality in Nigeria: they demanded that the dreaded Special Anti-Theft Squad (SARS), famous for its past of abuse, be deactivated.

The model used the Miss Africa Russia fashion show platform to make visible the protest against the security forces that clamped down on the October 2020 protests, which tragically ended in the deaths of protesters following gunfire from the police.

“I didn’t care what the judges thought (…) it was to use the platform that Miss Africa Russia had given me to send a message”

When interviewed by Infobae, Victoria said that when she walked down the podium, she thought “In the state of the country (insecurity, violations, high prices of goods and services) and how the ordinary man is supposed to live.”

“I felt like I didn’t care what the judges thought about what I was doing. What mattered to me was to use the platform that Miss Africa Russia had given me to send a message “Victoria said.

Asked about criticism in her own country for her attitude in an international competition, Victoria explained: “I have been judged by many people, insulted, but also praised for doing what I did. A lot of people don’t understand why I did it, while a large majority do ”.

“I went to the competition to win… I wanted to win. But when I got to Moscow … winning didn’t matter to me anymore. I just wanted to portray and raise awareness about what happened on October 20, 2020, and the recent insecurity situation in Nigeria “, He said.

When asked why he decided to participate in the competition, he explains that he did so for break stereotypes of beauty: “At that time, I wasn’t comfortable with my skin because I had a lot of acne all over my face. So I wanted to prove to myself and to people like me that I can break beauty standards and that my skin imperfections are what make me perfect ”.

The competition takes place every year in Russia to promote African culture and empower African women living in the territory. Anyway, Victoria did not win the competition but the love of the people did: she came out first chosen by the public.

He said the decision to be there and march with the painted flag was for one of the competition categories, which required participants to show up in a dress that represents Nigerian culture.

“People are losing their lives every day in Nigeria”

“I didn’t have access to traditional attire, so I felt that since I had access to green and white… I decided to wear green and white,” she said.

One of the complaints they made pointed out that their conduct had tarnished the image of the country, to which they replied: “I felt that people were losing their lives every day in Nigeria… so it made me feel. disturbs. I thought of the families who had to mourn the death of their loved ones ”.

In addition to his demonstration on the podium, he established relationships with relatives of those killed during the protests against SARS. Udeh believes that although she did not experience this drama firsthand, her actions “They let families who have lost loved ones know that they did not die for nothing and that they were not forgotten.”

Insecurity and active terrorism

Insecurity in Nigeria has increased in all parts of the country. Dozens of security agents have been killed by armed robbers and thousands of police stations have been razed and looted in parts of the country. Likewise, kidnappings for ransom have increased in northern Nigeria, where thousands of primary school students have been kidnapped since December.

Meanwhile, “armed marauders” known as armed marauders, known locally as bandits, continue to terrorize the country while the terrorist network Boko Haram hoists flags in the areas it dominates.

This week, NATO launched a coalition in which it is proposed to stop the advance of terrorism in the sub-Saharan regions of Africa, almost at the same time as various armed groups have declared their allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS).

Proud of her convictions, Victoria took advantage of her social networks to continue her message: “I did it for a good cause. We need to be safe in our country and not lose lives every day. It was just a call to the Nigerian government to tackle the country’s security concerns. “

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