The 44th Miss Nigeria Shatu Garko has revealed that some social media users send her direct messages (DMs), accusing her of being naked at the pageant.
On December 17, Garko became the first hijab-wearing model to be crowned Miss Nigeria. The 18-year-old’s emergence has generated controversy like never before.
Kano State Hisbah Board aka Sharia Police had said they would invite Garko’s parents for questioning over her participation in the beauty pageant.
“We will invite the parents to talk to them about the actions of their daughter and the fact that what she did is illegal in Islam in case they don’t know so that she would not continue in that path and also stop other girls from copying her,” Hisbah boss Sheik Ibn Sina had said.
Although the Sharia police later denied planning to question Garko’s parents.
The beauty queen, however, told BBC Pidgin in an interview published on Friday that although no one has called her, she has been getting trolling comments on social media.
“No one has called me but I’ve gotten so many comments and DMs that ‘I was naked’, ‘I’m doing the wrong thing,’” she said.
“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.”
Garko said she had always dreamt of becoming a queen from her childhood.
The teenager added that she would use her one-year tenure to end menstrual poverty in Nigeria.
