The Miss World Organisation moved the pageant from the African nation in the interest of the contestants and the country as a whole, following rioting which broke out in the northern state of Kaduna and left some 200 dead.

The violence followed a newspaper report which said that the Muslim Prophet Muhammad would have probably married one of the delegates.

Reached at her hotel in London, Odessa told the Chronicle that when she learnt of the killings she became "still...numb" and wanted to leave Nigeria where the December 7th pageant was scheduled to be held.

And according to her, she and the other delegates learnt of the deadly disturbances from their hotel in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.

"We had no idea of what was going on. We were sitting in our rooms the usual way until the report of the killings came on CNN", she recalled.

Asked what was her reaction, Odessa said "I was like...(sighs) I don't know, it was just shocking. I was still…numb. I sat there for a long time and was thinking what to do."

She admitted though, that packing her bags and leaving Nigeria was a thought that kept flowing through her mind, adding, "everyone was hysterical. I think Miss Canada was the first to book a flight out.

"Honestly, I wanted to leave because I did not go to Nigeria to be blamed for the murders of innocent souls," she said passionately.

Controversy started even before the delegates had reached Nigeria early this month, as there were international calls for them to boycott the event in solidarity with Amina Lawal, a woman who a Muslim court has sentenced to death for bearing a child out of wedlock.

"When I left Guyana, a lot of people thought that I should have boycotted, but I thought I would go to Nigeria and make a more positive impact and save Amina's life", Odessa said.

"I am satisfied that I have achieved that objective, and so do the other girls. When we were showed the letter from the Nigerian Government that they would use all their powers to stop the stoning of Amina, I felt great. We all felt great. I was excited", she added.

"So to the people who thought that we were all interested in ourselves, that's not so, we achieved something", she added.

"And c'mon, we didn't start any rioting in Kaduna, we were just blamed. It was all because of that reporter who said Prophet Muhammad might have married one of us", Odessa said emphatically.

"The people of Nigeria know that we didn't cause any trouble and we honestly don't feel we did, I don't feel I did", she stated.

Reflecting on the start of the pageant in Nigeria, Odessa said everything was going so well. Nigeria is a beautiful country and its people are "very, very generous".

Reacting to claims by a parent of one of the contestants that they weren't being fed properly in Nigeria, the Guyanese queen said such comments were totally baseless.

"I would not agree with that at all. We were given three square meals a day and it was great. We had English food, African food and Indian food," Odessa said.

“On Sunday when the Miss World Organisation decided to quit Nigeria and fly the delegates to London, I did feel bad.

"Nigeria was filled with lots of fun. The people especially, made us feel so welcomed. It was really a pity things had to be called off in Abuja", she added.

Meanwhile, a venue for the pageant now in London on December 7 has not yet been finalised.

And, given the switch of climates, on Monday all the contestants went shopping for warmer clothes.

Tuesday, Odessa said they were all required to put on their evening gowns and make-up for a trial run.

Odessa's gown, themed "El Dorado" is of a golden green.

It has a ‘cold’ shoulder, body fitted at the top and flows at the bottom.

The top is of white and is spotted with chunks of gold to depict Guyana's wealth and the majestic Kaieteur Falls.

The bottom of the dress is of a forest green to showcase Guyana's virgin rainforests.

Official rehearsals for the pageant started on Wednesday and Odessa shares a room with Miss Belize, whom she described as "very cool".