A contestant in the ongoing Gulder Ultimate Search (GUS) reality show, Chinedu Ubachukwu, has advised friends and family members to think deeply before applying for GUS in the future.
According to the University of Port Harcourt graduate, would-be contestants must brace up for tough times, as staying in the jungle could be very harsh and unpleasant.
Ubachukwu, who is a member of the Orange team in the 11th season of the show, stressed that he would discourage loved ones from competing on the show.
He said: “To be sincere, if I should leave here, I won’t advise a loved one to come here. But the loved one may think I don’t want him to progress in life. Because he or she may think that I’ve come and I’ve made it and I don’t want him or her to make it. But here in the jungle, it is really tough.”
Ironically, the graduate of Petroleum and Gas Engineering had dreamt of being in the jungle for the show, ever since he was young. It would be recalled that prior to entering the Aguleri forest, he said, “Gulder Ultimate Search is the first reality show I grew up watching and I have always admired the participants and I have always imagined myself in the jungle. I’m so happy and feel so fortunate to have made the last 14 this year.”
Otto Canon is another contestant who only got on the show after four unsuccessful attempts. He too, admits that competing on the programme is very tough. “There’s so much difference between watching Gulder Ultimate Search on TV and experiencing it in reality. When you watch the show on TV, you really can’t tell what the feelings are like.”
On his experience this far, Canon said: “I’ve come to appreciate food so much that the least piece of rice or gari means so much to me right now. At home, I don’t eat left over gari, but right now, I don’t care. At home, I’m very conscious of the water I drink. I will rinse the tumbler which I want to use to drink water, because I am particular about the tumbler being clean. Right now, I am very comfortable drinking water from the stream. The jungle is a place that humbles you and kills your pride.”
Sharon Robinson, who finally got in after failing twice challenged anyone who thinks that GUS is easy to fill in the form and try next year.
Evidently, life in the jungle has been a stark contrast to the luxuries of city life which the contestants are used to. The 14 contestants have had to depend on rain and stream water to quench their thirst, even after competing in grueling games. Their sleep has been cut short when it rains, because the palm fronds which serve as the roof of their huts sometimes fails to provide them the needed cover.
The contestants have had to depend on palm kernels and ‘baby’ sugarcane which sprout from the grounds not too far from their jungle abode.
Dr. Ikenna Emedike, one of the contestants, incurred the wrath of the Council of Elders and was almost evicted for taking cassava without authorisation. His action was considered as stealing. He gave the excuse of hunger and the desperate need to survive in the jungle.
“When I was walking to the stream, I saw a heavily weeded farm looking like it had been abandoned for years. So I looked at it carefully and when I saw there was a cassava sprout, I felt it was abandoned. If it had been properly weeded, I wouldn’t have touched it. However, I admit stealing it, because it wasn’t my farm. It was just about survival,” he said.
Notwithstanding, the show anchor man, Chidi Mokeme, described his act as shameful. Ikenna, alongside Otto Canon, his partner in the Indigo team, however appealed for forgiveness from the rest of the clan. Even though they were forgiven, the team lost three points.
For the first time on the show, contestants were paired into groups of two members each. They were asked to pick up circular objects from a calabash and the two that picked the same colour formed a clan. There were seven colours in all – representing the colours of the rainbow. They were also instructed to wear colour-matching bandanas provided for them at all times.
While the Indigo Team is made up of Otto Canon and Ikenna Emedike, the Blue team has Addoh Evi and Iroh Noella. Blessing Eriata and Loretta Erijakpor formed the Green team; Sandra Nwagbagiro and Chinedu Ubachukwu made up the Orange team; Samantha Appi and Sharon Robinson are the Red team; Emmanuel Afolabi and Joshua Nwagboso are the Yellow team, while Iwuoha Ikenna and Cosy Joe formed the purple team.
The teams would garner points from various tasks, with the winning team getting seven points while the losing team would be awarded one point.
After four games, Team Blue currently leads with an overall score of 22 points, followed by Indigo which has 19 points. Teams Purple, Orange and Yellow currently occupy the third, fourth and fifth positions with 17, 15 and 11 points respectively. The Red team is in sixth position with 10 points while the Green team is the lowest ranked with six points.
The show airs daily on African Magic World (DSTV), Real -Stars (Star Times), Minaj TV Obosi (Terrestrial), Ebony Life TV (DSTV), Galaxy TV (Lagos, Ibadan and Ondo), Hip TV (DSTV & GoTV), Nigezie (Star Times) and WapTV (Star Times) from 10pm to 11pm, and on the AIT Network (Terrestrial) from 10:30pm to 11:30pm.
