{"id":5785,"date":"2026-01-05T20:36:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T20:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/5785\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T20:36:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T20:36:06","slug":"miss-universe-nigeria-opens-up-about-experience-during-the-miss-universe-pageant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/5785\/","title":{"rendered":"Miss Universe Nigeria opens up about experience during the Miss Universe pageant"},"content":{"rendered":"

Onyinyechi Basil, who recently competed in the scandal-ridden Miss Universe pageant<\/a> as Miss Nigeria, is opening up about her experience.<\/p>\n

In a recent sit-down with Nigerian media outlet QED<\/a>, the 25-year-old pageant queen reflected on her inspiration for entering the competition and the realities of life on the global stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can prepare mentally,\u201d she told the outlet, adding, \u201cbut it\u2019s another thing entirely to live it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Basil was crowned Miss Nigeria in August after competing against 22 contestants in Lagos, earning her the opportunity to represent the country among more than 120 delegates worldwide at Miss Universe. But from the moment the pageant kicked off, it was dogged by controversy. Headlines detailed allegations about the mistreatment of contestants, a frightening incident in which Miss Jamaica fell from the stage<\/a> and was hospitalized for several days, and criminal charges\u2014including financial-related offenses\u2014facing senior figures tied to the organization. The turmoil has culminated in Olivia Yac\u00e9 resigning as Miss Universe Africa & Oceania<\/a> and cutting ties with the organization altogether. The 27-year-old contestant from C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire had been considered a frontrunner before ultimately placing fifth.<\/p>\n

Speaking to QED, Basil described her whirlwind experience as being defined by long days, tight schedules, and pressure. While she did not directly address the controversies surrounding the 2025 pageant\u2014which ultimately crowned F\u00e1tima Bosch Fern\u00e1ndez, representing Mexico, as the winner\u2014she did reflect on transparency in international competitions. Basil noted that the Miss Universe pageant she grew up watching felt \u201cmore open,\u201d while still stressing her respect for every contestant who took part.<\/p>\n

Though she did not take home the crown, Basil said she was proud of the way she showcased Nigerian culture throughout the competition. She highlighted the opportunity to share stories from home, connect with fellow contestants, and represent the country\u2019s diversity on a global platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cI represented all of Nigeria\u2014from the buzz in Lagos to the calm in the North,\u201d she explained. \u201cI wanted the world to see that Nigerians are not just beautiful on the outside, but deeply kind within.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Basil described the experience as grueling\u2014but transformative.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized just how confident I am,\u201d she said. \u201cIt takes courage to represent not just your country, but yourself, on a global stage\u2014and to do so with authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Onyinyechi Basil, who recently competed in the scandal-ridden Miss Universe pageant as Miss Nigeria, is opening up about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5786,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[1600,4385,122],"class_list":{"0":"post-5785","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nigeria","8":"tag-lifestyle","9":"tag-miss-universe","10":"tag-nigeria"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}