Heroine of the 2021 Miss Nigeria, Shatu Garko, has reacted to the criticism greeting her participation in the pageant because she is a Muslim.
According to her, some have even said she was naked – despite the fact that she wore a hijab during the show.
Among her loudest critics have been the Kano Hisbah and Professor Ishaq Akintola of the Muslim Rights Concern.
In an interview with the BBC Pidgin, however, she says she is not bothered by their comments.
Shatu notes: “I’ve got 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,” she told BBC Pidgin.
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“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.”
Shatu hails from Kano State and was the youngest contestant in the competition this year.
As ‘Channels Television’ also notes, she loves riding horses and is passionate about proving that religion and culture are not barriers to following one’s dreams and achieving whatever a person sets out to achieve.
She represented the North West region of Nigeria in the beauty contest.
The young queen beat 17 others to clinch the crown.
She succeeded Etsanyi Tukura, a native of Taraba State, winner of the 43rd miss Nigeria beauty pageant in 2019.
Garko was awarded the cash prize of N10million, a luxury apartment, a car and ambassadorship.
Recently she celebrated becoming the first hijab model to land a modelling job in Nigeria.
