EDITORIAL | Embrace our diversity and let Chidinma Adetshina flourish

What are we to make of the brouhaha over Chidinma Vanessa Onwe Adetshina, a contestant in this year's Miss South Africa pageant? 

South African-born, the 23-year-old is facing a xenophobic backlash over whether the origin of her parents suitably qualifies her, should she win the contest and be an ambassador for the country. 

Why? “My dad is a proud Nigerian and my mother was born and raised in South Africa, but has roots from Mozambique. My mom’s family still lives in Soweto,” she told the Sowetan.

Adetshina was born at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Johannesburg and raised in South Africa. 

There have been howls of hostility on social media rejecting her eligibility for the crown, countered by vocal support for the model, netball player and law student at Varsity College.

As we've reported in the past, citing the late Wits University's education specialist Ian McKay, who said all humans are 99% or more alike. 'The 'differences' between races do not really exist; they are just things in our head,' he said

Critics argued that representing South Africa on a global platform required a candidate with deeper historical roots — “more than just being born here”. Pageant rules require entrants to hold South African citizenship, have an ID or passport, and Adetshina meets that criteria.

So why the fuss? Are some of us being hypocrites, perhaps?

Granted, it's a complex and emotional issue that can't be dismissed easily — the way sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie told us to brush off apartheid and “move on”.

But here's the thing. Did having a father from Kenya disqualify Barack Obama from becoming the US president? Or former president Nelson Mandela from leading the nation despite his maternal lineage being traced to the San people and paternal line to the Great Lakes area of East Africa? No.

As we've reported in the past, citing the late Wits University's education specialist Ian McKay, who said all humans are 99% or more alike. “The 'differences' between races do not really exist; they are just things in our head,” he said.

McKay was speaking at the Wits Origins Centre during a DNA ancestry-testing workshop.

Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Leon Schuster and comedian Marc Lottering were some of the famous South Africans who tested their ancestry and made their results public.

Back to whether we're being hypocrites.

How often do we “claim” victory, perhaps, when a South African abroad makes headlines in the field of sports or business? The award-winning movie contenders featuring “our” actress Charlize Theron? A new feat in space by “our” Elon Musk?

What about the hypothetical scenario of a “Dawie” from Pretoria who conceives a child with “Nosiviwe” in a neighbouring country? The child is born in South Africa.

Will we tell that child in years to come they are not really “South African”?

It's time to celebrate and embrace our diversity.