Lagos State representative Danielle Adewusi has been crowned Miss Universe Nigeria 2026, 35 years after her mother, Tonia Okogbenin, won the same title in 1991.
Adewusi emerged winner at the grand finale held in Lagos on Sunday, September 27, defeating 19 other contestants to secure the crown. She was crowned by Guy Murray-Bruce, President of the Silverbird Group and National Director of Miss Universe Nigeria.
The new queen will now represent Nigeria at the 75th Miss Universe Festival, scheduled to take place on November 24 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Adewusi's journey to the crown is backed by a medical career and years of advocacy.
She studied Medicine at King’s College London, where she obtained an MBBS and a first-class BSc in Psychology. She has said that an Obstetrics and Gynaecology rotation during medical school exposed her to some of the barriers women face in accessing healthcare and influenced her decision to work in women’s health advocacy.
She subsequently founded Scrub The Stigma, a women’s health organisation operating in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. The initiative focuses on health education and advocacy, including programmes that educate young people about menstrual health and wellbeing.
Her women’s health advocacy also formed the basis of her Miss Universe Nigeria project. Following her victory, she is expected to take Scrub The Stigma to a wider international audience.
Adewusi's victory also continues a family pageantry legacy.
Her mother, Tonia Okogbenin, won the Miss Universe Nigeria crown in 1991. Adewusi has said that although growing up with her mother’s pageant experience gave her an appreciation for the industry, pageantry was not initially part of her career plans.
Her priority, she said, was education, medicine and becoming a doctor.
It was while studying medicine that she began to see how pageantry could bring together her interests in medicine, public speaking, modelling and advocacy.
The Miss Universe Nigeria title is not Adewusi's first experience in pageantry.
She competed at Miss Universe Great Britain in 2023, where she finished among the Top Five contestants.
She had also served as a United Nations Women UK delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women, an experience she said broadened her understanding of issues affecting women internationally.
At the finale, Anita Osikhena of Edo State emerged runner-up, while Myya Jones of Cross River was second runner-up.
Oluwafunmibi Ajaja of Ekiti finished third runner-up, while Melissa Toghanro of Delta was fourth runner-up and also earned Nigeria’s representation at Miss Supranational.
Osikhena also won the Best Advocacy Project award, receiving ₦500,000 and a one-year supply of Golden Penny products. Other special awards included Most Photogenic for Akwa Ibom, Miss Amity for Ekiti, Best Evening Dress for Edo, Top Model for Oyo, Best National Costume for Osun and Best Talent for Ogun.
For Adewusi, the national crown now opens another chapter, one that will take her medical background, pageantry experience and women's health advocacy to the international Miss Universe stage in Puerto Rico.
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