Shatu Garko, the 44th Miss Nigeria has reacted to critcisms meted out on her after she defied Islam’s tradition to participate in the beauty pageant.
The 18-year-old queen, who became the first Muslim to win the pageantry since its inception broke silence on Friday, noting that she won’t reply critics because the crown is already on her head.
Her statement comes a few days after the Commander General of the Kano Hisbah Board, Harun Ibn-Sina, said that the Sharia Police would invite her parents for allowing her to participate in the pageant.
Speaking in an interview on Friday, Garko said, “No one has called me but I’ve gotten so many comments and DMs that ‘I was naked’, ‘I’m doing the wrong thing.
“Honestly, Nigerians like judging people. Many people said the president paid for me to get the crown; others said my state governor paid to get crowned. Some people said my parents paid Miss Nigeria for me to get crowned but that’s not true.
“Some people who are not even Muslims said that I’m spoiling the Miss Nigeria culture. Honestly, I don’t reply them, I don’t say anything, I just move on. The crown is already on my head so there is nothing I can do.”