Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Danielle Adewusi, representing Lagos State, has been crowned Miss Universe Nigeria 2026 after defeating 19 other contestants at the grand finale held on Sunday at Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. The medical doctor and women's health advocate will now represent Nigeria at the 75th Miss Universe Festival scheduled for November 24, 2026, at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Adewusi impressed the judges with what organisers described as her confidence, intelligence, elegance and commitment to social impact before securing the crown after the final question-and-answer session. The event followed weeks of competition featuring camp activities, advocacy projects, talent showcases and stage performances. Guy Murray-Bruce, President of the Silverbird Group and National Director of Miss Universe Nigeria, crowned Adewusi at the end of the ceremony.
Anita Osikhena of Edo emerged as the first runner-up, while Myya Jones of Cross River was the second runner-up. Oluwafunmibi Ajaja of Ekiti and Melissa Toghanro of Delta completed the top five. The Top 10 finalists also included Benedicta Iferike of Abuja, Chidinma Oluku of Abia, Precious Chinah of Rivers, Eno Idungafa of Akwa Ibom and Edidiong Udoidua of Ebonyi. Jones secured her place among the Top Five after receiving the highest number of votes in the fast-track voting category, earning an automatic place in the final stage of the competition.
The night also produced several special award winners. Osikhena, despite finishing as first runner-up, had a memorable evening, winning the Pitch Your Dream Competition and receiving one million naira from Yolo Island alongside a two-night, all-expenses-paid stay at Yolo Island Beach Resort. She also won the Best Advocacy Project award, taking home five hundred thousand naira and a one-year supply of Golden Penny products. Other award recipients included Miss Akwa Ibom for Most Photogenic, Miss Ekiti for Miss Amity, Miss Edo for Best Evening Dress, Miss Oyo for Top Model, Miss Osun for Best National Costume and Miss Ogun for Best Talent. Toghanro will represent Nigeria at the Miss Supranational pageant.
Adewusi's victory carries particular significance because of her background. She is a medical doctor who studied Medicine at King's College London, where she earned an MBBS and a first-class Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She has published research in international scientific journals and describes herself as an aspiring obstetrician and gynaecologist. Her interest in women's health was shaped during medical school, particularly during an Obstetrics and Gynaecology rotation that made her aware of the barriers women face in accessing healthcare.
In 2023, Adewusi founded Scrub The Stigma, an organisation focused on tackling stigma around women's health and helping women access information and resources to advocate for themselves. Through the initiative, she established women's health funding aimed at helping patients with medical bills at Irruka Specialist Teaching Hospital in Edo State. The organisation runs health education programmes, including Educate Lagos and Educate Edo, which provide young people with information about menstrual health and wellbeing. She previously served as a United Nations Women UK delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women, gaining broader insight into challenges affecting women across different countries.
Adewusi's victory also continues a family pageant legacy. Her mother, Tonia Okogbenin, won Miss Universe Nigeria in 1991, making Adewusi's triumph a remarkable intergenerational achievement. In an interview before the competition, Adewusi said pageantry was not initially her main focus, despite growing up with an appreciation for it because of her mother. "My priority was excelling in school, studying Medicine and becoming a doctor," she said. She later realised that pageantry could bring together her interests in medicine, women's health advocacy, modelling and public speaking. This is not her first pageant experience; she previously competed at Miss Universe Great Britain in 2023, where she finished among the Top Five contestants.
Beyond her medical and advocacy work, Adewusi is a classically trained pianist and cellist. Her official biography states that she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and holds a DipABRSM in piano. She also has interests in entrepreneurship and public speaking, and her professional profile presents the Miss Universe Nigeria crown as an extension of work she had already developed before entering the competition.
For Adewusi, medicine and pageantry are not separate pursuits but different platforms for the same mission. "For me, medicine and pageantry aren't separate worlds. They are simply different platforms that allow me to pursue the same purpose: creating meaningful change in the lives of women and girls," she said. As Miss Universe Nigeria 2026, she will now take her Scrub The Stigma advocacy project to the global stage, where she will have the opportunity to amplify conversations around women's health, challenge stigma and encourage women to seek reliable healthcare information without shame or fear.
The Miss Universe Nigeria pageant has become a significant platform for Nigerian women to advance causes ranging from women's health and education to economic empowerment and social justice. Adewusi's victory adds her name to a list of titleholders who have used the crown to pursue advocacy work beyond the runway. Her medical training, her international advocacy experience and her family's pageant history combine to make her a uniquely positioned representative for Nigeria at the 75th Miss Universe Festival. As she prepares to travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in November, she carries with her the hopes of a nation and the determination to use her platform for meaningful change. For Adewusi, the crown is not an end in itself but a beginning, a larger stage from which to pursue the mission she has been building for years.
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