The newly crowned Miss Nigeria 2021, Shatu Garko, has said that the advent of novel coronavirus in 2020 halted her admission into the university and forced her to embrace modelling.
She, however, revealed that there were challenges she faced on the task because of wearing a hijab.
The 18-year-old emerged 44th Miss Nigeria at a beauty pageant held amid glamour and glitz on December 9, in Lagos State.
In an interview with Channels Television, she explained how she started modelling in 2020 and had to convince her father to support her.
“I graduated last year from secondary school. Due to COVID-19 there was no admission and I wasn’t going to school. So, I decided to start modelling. When I started, it wasn’t so good for me because of my hijab.
“It wasn’t too easy to convince my dad, but my mom was supportive. I had to explain everything to him before he finally approved.
“I was worried they won’t pick me because of my hijab. Most pageants wear swimsuits and bikinis and I just applied to Miss Nigeria to try my luck,” she said.
The Kano-born was the youngest contestant in the pageantry this year and she represented the North-West region of Nigeria in the beauty contest.
She explained how she felt when her name was announced as the winner of the contest.
“I felt overwhelmed, I was shocked, I never expected it, I felt nervous at first, but Alhamdulillah,” she said praising God in Arabic.
Shatu’s emergence got many excited but also generated disapproval from some including Islamic scholars.
Hisbah, an Islamic group based in Kano, was reported to have summoned the model and her parents for some ‘questioning.’
However, the group said it was only inviting Shatu and her parents to warn them that what she did was not part of Islam.
Shatu is however excited about the hope her actions have given to young girls in the country.
“I’ll like to use the Miss Nigeria platform to reach out to women, especially those in the rural areas,” she assured.
