At the competition, Udeh Chiamaka went on stage with a blood stained Nigerian flag, which threw Nigerians back to what happened after Nigeria's heroes were shot dead by the military men and their blood covered the Nigerian flag. Since then, such flag has stood as remembrance of the fallen heroes killed during the End SARS protests on October 20, 2020.
Chiamaka went up on stage with a blood stained Nigerian flag at the competition and was cheered by the audience for her heroic act. After the video went viral, she began to receive serious backlashes, especially from the Arewa Community in Nigeria.
While speaking on BBC Igbo, she says she didn't fly the Nigerian blood stained flag for sympathy or for her to win, but she flew the flag as a respect to the fallen heroes on that day and the current happenings in Nigeria.
Chiamaka also revealed that she received a lot of insults, but she's okay with it. Did she win afterwards? - No, she didn't win the competition or took the crown home, but her bravery was appreciated by many people, which is the greatest of all crowns.
She says:
"What I did was actually from my heart. I did it myself; no one told me to. It was a competition, a platform that was given to me. I used that platform to create an awareness of what is happening in Nigeria.
“I did it due to what happened on October 20, 2020. also did it because of the recent happenings now in Nigeria. It was basically to tell the world that we’ve not forgotten our fallen heroes, the Lekki protesters who died.
“I did it to also portray recent happenings because there are still killings, insecurity, rape, and all of those things. The flag signifies everything. That category was the ‘Tradition Cultural or National Costume’.
“I felt that I should dress as a nationalist to portray what is happening. I never thought it was going to go viral at all. I don’t know who shared it with bloggers. Right now that it has gone viral, I have received a lot of threats.
“I have received a lot of insults but it’s okay. People who got the message got it. For those who didn’t, it’s not on me. It was never my intention to tarnish the image of Nigeria. It was me creating an awareness that we need help.”
Videos below:
Miss Africa in Russia from Nigeria udeh chiamaka. Steps out with blood stained Nigeria flag. At the recently concluded beauty pageant on Sunday 13 June in Moscow. Igbo Queen.
— jekwu (@jecks4sucess) June 15, 2021
We will never forget. It's still fresh in our hearts ❤️
Adamu garba | mumu | kano | crowwe pic.twitter.com/iaDDcJIBJk
Interview with BBCNEWSIGBO
— Chiamaka (@__ChiAmaKa___) June 19, 2021
IG: @bbcnewsigbo
Click on the link below to watch the full interview ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️https://t.co/yyJ6mQuEKm pic.twitter.com/yRLzDRTuaB
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