Medical doctor, model and public health advocate Dr Danielle Adewusi is setting her sights on the Miss Universe Nigeria crown, aiming to follow in the footsteps of her mother, Anthonia Okogbenin, who won the same title 35 years ago.

Speaking on her journey into pageantry, Adewusi explained that while she grew up with a deep appreciation for the world of pageants because of her mother’s legacy, it was never her main focus growing up. Her priority was excelling in school, studying medicine and becoming a doctor, and it was during medical school that she had a moment of reflection after repeatedly being told that medicine required complete sacrifice and could not coexist with her other passions. [Punch](https://punchng.com/i-want-to-win-miss-universe-nigeria-like-my-mum-dr-danielle-adewusi/) Rather than accept that trade-off, she resolved to pursue every path she felt called to, from medicine to women’s health advocacy, modelling, public speaking and mentorship.

On what finally pushed her to enter Miss Universe Nigeria 2026, Adewusi said the decision had always been at the back of her mind, but she wanted to first reach meaningful milestones in both her medical career and her non-profit initiative, Scrub The Stigma, before committing fully to the competition. She described praying over the decision and ultimately feeling that the timing was right, adding that pageantry offers her a platform to amplify the advocacy work she is already doing around improving women’s health outcomes through education and outreach.

Reflecting on her mother’s influence, Adewusi credited her not with teaching her how to compete on a pageant stage, but with modelling the values of confidence, integrity and grace that have shaped how she carries herself both publicly and privately. Beyond medicine and pageantry, Adewusi has built a wide-ranging résumé that includes a first-class degree in psychology, training as a pianist, published medical research and a hairstyling business she launched while still in medical school.

With her mother’s title from three and a half decades ago as both inspiration and benchmark, Adewusi now joins this year’s field of Miss Universe Nigeria hopefuls looking to write her own chapter in the pageant’s history, one she hopes will double as a platform for driving lasting change in women’s healthcare across the country.

Photo Credit: QED.NG