Former Miss World Nigeria Joy Raimi has attributed Nigeria’s failure to win the Miss World crown to the country’s reputation, following Tamunosoye Karibi-George’s performance at the 2026 competition in Vietnam.
Raimi, who represented Nigeria at the 72nd Miss World pageant in India in 2025, made the remarks in a video circulating on social media on Sunday.
She argued that Nigeria’s international image could influence how its representatives are perceived at global pageants, regardless of the quality of contestants representing the country.
She said, “Nigeria has bad reputation. I’ve been in Miss World firsthand. They would look at you. Yes, good, beautiful girl. Then they will look at your country. Your country is a mess. So they will just move you one side. Yes, you can call Agbani Darego to come and compete again for any crown. We are not getting anything. We are not going to get anything.
“When I went for Miss Intercontinental, we’re always going to stop at top. The highest we can go is first runner up. Nigeria is not getting any crown anytime soon because we have bad press. It’s not even bad press. It’s the truth. We’re in a mess. We are like someone with bad reputation. You know, people in society, you know, oh, this person has a lot of scandals. This person has bad reputation. That is what Nigeria is.
“Nigeria has bad reputation, and no organization. Back to back, we have been sending excellent representative. Excellent. But that’s not the point. The point is that the country is not looking good.”
Raimi also used the opportunity to call on Nigerians to make informed choices during the 2027 general elections.
“So when election come 2027, your mothers and your fathers are going to take bag of rice. Tell them after they finish taking the bag of rice, they should vote wisely and defend their vote. We’ll keep wasting money. I swear to God. We’ll keep wasting money. Nothing is going to happen. Nothing, nothing will happen. Yes. That is.”
Her comments came after Karibi-George competed at the 73rd Miss World competition, which concluded in Vietnam on September 5, 2026.
Karibi-George, who succeeded Raimi as Miss World Nigeria, made it to the Top 12 at the global contest after progressing through several stages.
The 26-year-old had earlier won the Miss World Africa Top Model title, which secured her an automatic spot in the Top 40. She subsequently advanced through the competition before her journey ended in the Top 12.
Raimi represented Nigeria at the 72nd Miss World pageant in Hyderabad, India, on May 31, 2025, where she finished among the Top 20 contestants and was also among the Top Five contestants from Africa.
Karibi-George was crowned Miss World Nigeria 2026 in June, succeeding Raimi and earning the opportunity to represent the country at the global competition in Vietnam.