Nigerian-born beauty queen, Victoria Chiamaka Udeh, has emerged the Best Graduating Student at Stavropol University of Medical Sciences in Russia, graduating with First Class Honors in Medicine, reports Political Economist NG.
Political Economist NG reports that Miss Udeh has combined schooling with modelling, and she was a star performer at the 2021 Miss Africa Russia beauty pageant where she strut the stage with blood-stained Nigeria flag to commemorate the killing of #EndSARS protesters in Lekki toll gate, Lagos the previous year.
In a tweet, the overtly elated beauty queen wrote: “I graduated with a First Class Honors in Medicine. God did it. I wouldn’t have done it without the support of my family, friends and most definitely God.
It wasn’t an easy journey but here I’m. First class honors bagged.
It’s now Dr. Udeh Chiamaka Victoria MD
Political Economist NG recalls that in 2021, Victoria Chiamaka Udeh strutted confidently down the runway during a beauty pageant in Russia, brandishing her country’s red-stained flag, she thought only of one thing – the young people who lost their lives during the #EndSars protests in Nigeria in October 2020.
“I felt like ‘right now I don’t care about what the judges think about what I’m doing.’ What mattered to me was using the platform that Miss Africa Russia had given me to pass a message,” Udeh, 23, told CNN from Stavropol, southwest Russia, where she is studying medicine.
Nigerian authorities say they fired into the air, but CNN obtained a video, geolocated at Lekki toll gate at 6.47pm, which appears to show the army shooting toward the crowd.
‘They pointed their guns at us and started shooting’
In a video from the June 13 event that went viral on social media, Udeh is seen on stage dressed in Nigeria’s green and white colors and holding the red-splashed flag. She said the banner symbolized the blood of young protesters who lost their lives last year.
“I went into the competition to win … I wanted to win. But getting to Moscow … winning didn’t matter to me anymore. I just wanted to portray and create awareness on what happened on the 20th of October 2020, and the recent insecurity situation in Nigeria,” she said.
Taking part in the Miss Africa Russia pageant was first driven by her desire to “break beauty stereotypes,” Udeh said.
“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 people like me that I can break beauty stereotypes and that the flaws on my skin are part of what makes me perfect,” she told CNN.
Miss Africa Russia is a beauty pageant held every year in the Russian Federation to promote African culture and empower African women living in the country.
Udeh did not win the competition, but she was rated top in the “people’s choice” category by the organizers.
