Eighteen-year-old Shatu Garko has been crowned the 2021 miss Nigeria beauty pageant on Friday night.
Garko who was crowned the 44th queen of the competition is the first Hijab wearing pageant winner in Nigeria.
The Kano State born 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.
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During the event, Garko represented the North West region of Nigeria.
The pageant which was held on Friday took place at Landmark Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos amid glamour and glitz.
The young queen beat 17 others to become the first hijab-wearing model to wear the Miss Nigeria crown.
The new Miss Nigeria succeeded Etsanyi Tukura, a native of Taraba State, winner of the 43rd miss Nigeria beauty pageant in 2019.
Nicole Ikot emerged as the first runner up and Kasarachi Okoro was the second runner up in the contest.
Expressing her joy before the coronation, Garko said, “Winning this competition means a lot to me.
“My whole life I have always wanted to be a Miss Nigeria. I’d like to thank Miss Nigeria and its sponsors. I would also like to thank my mum for supporting and loving me.”
Garko was awarded the cash prize of N10m, a luxury apartment, a car and ambassadorship.
You don’t need to expose your body to show your beauty. Shatu you are truly beautiful, I appreciate you
That was great. It is heartwarming to see this happening in a supposedly fragile society occasioned by religious intolerance. This was a positive testimony that in Nigeria, our problem is more of political exploitation of our differences for personal gains.
Congratulations to the winner and indeed the Panelists for this unbiased judgement. Stronger together should be our national culture, going forward.