The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Big Brother Naija

  • #BBNaija: Like Tacha, like Cee-C

    With Big Brother Naija 2019 edition ending today, ADEYINKA AKINTUNDE takes a look at two controversial housemates lovers of the show cannot forget in a hurry.

     

    Cynthia Nwadiora and Natasha Akide will remain in the memories of fans of Big Brother Naija for a very long time. It is safe to call these two ladies definitions of their respective seasons, even though neither walked away with the ultimate prize.

    These ladies brought on board all the drama, suspense and controversies Big Brother fans probably subscribed to – it would have been one long bore if those two were not in the house. The difference however is that while one of them got to the final, the other got her dream cut short by a sudden disqualification.

    It will be difficult to forget the fight in the 2019 “Pepper Dem” edition, between Natasha, popularly called Tacha, and Mercy Eke, simply Mercy, which took place on Friday, September 27, 2019.

    That fight has since been dubbed ‘the dirtiest fight in the history of Big Brother Naija.’ It was replete with both housemates spewing hurtful words at each other, pulling at each other’s hair, pushing and exhibiting unprecedented violence on the show. But for the intervention of other housemates, they most likely would have inflicted physical injuries on each other.

    Tacha said to Mercy “You can fool yourself, but you cannot fool the world watching, they know you need someone to clout chase. I do not need anyone to clout chase. I am not a virgin; I will not say what I am not.

    “I am Natacha, I am me, I am bold, I am black, I am beautiful. I don’t tell lies. I am not fake like you.  You are an ambassador of black knuckles.”

    Big Brother, addressing the issue later in the evening, said “Tacha! Big Brother finds you guilty of breaking the house rules of physical violence and of intent to harm, the moment you shoved Mercy, and the moment you pulled her hair on two separate occasions.  Such physical violence has no place in Big Brother’s house.

    “You are hereby automatically disqualified from the Big Brother House. You must leave the house immediately.”

    He went on to issue Mercy with two strikes, warning that “One more strike, and you will be disqualified from the house.”

    Apologising to her fans on Instagram, 23-year old Tacha, who calls herself, “Port Harcourt first daughter,” said “……..Coming out of the Big Brother House disqualified was never my intention. Unfortunately, my weakness played against my strength and cut short what should have been a grand ending, with or without the prize.

    “I sincerely apologise for every action on my part that led to this point and I take full responsibility for it all. I am an adult and ought to be in control of my emotions, but I am human and I failed time and again. Please, forgive me.”

    As for Cynthia, widely referred to as Cee-C, housemate of the 2018 “Double Wahala” season, there are also many talking points. Like Tacha, she was at the centre of the worst fight of the season with another female housemate, Alex Asogwu. No one can tell specifically the cause of the fight, but during the verbal exchange, Cee-C told Alex that she was way below her. She also reminded her that she was yet to finish school, and advised her to learn from people higher than her.

    Rounding up the season, 26-year old Cee-C got into another scuffle with her former romantic partner, Tobi Bakre, on which occasion she hurled insults at him. She glided past him and called him “a useless man, miserable fool, and a fuck boy.” She also called him “a man who cannot stand on his own.”

    In her words, “Tell me about your likeness that is supposed to shake me. When you become a man, come and we can talk. Shut up and stop gossiping.

    “Respect yourself. When we go outside, you will cry, idiot. You are proud to have all these girlfriends. Your bitterness is obvious. You didn’t want me to be head of house. I told you I cried for you and you believed? Stupid boy.”

    Reacting later on, Big Brother removed the head of house title from Cee-C, and issued her a strike.

    This is just a few of the many fights the ladies got involved in, in their different editions, not forgetting the quarrel with their “love partners” in the house – Cee-C scuffling with Tobi Bakre, and Tacha quarrelling with Seyi Awolowo.

    Arguments have continued to trail who brought more fire to the house between these two in their different seasons. A point to remember is also that both ladies received two strikes during their stay, and both got pardoned later on, with Cee-C getting another strike following her brawl with Tobi, and Tacha getting disqualified just ten days to the end of the show.

  • Big Brother Naija is sheer PORNOGRAPHY —Reps committee chair on women affairs Onanuga

    Hon. Wunmi Onanuga is the Chairperson, House of Representatives Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development. She represents Ikenne/Sagamu Remo North Constituency in Ogun State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). She was the manager of the Miss Nigeria Beauty Pageant being handled by the then Daily Times of Nigeria. In this interview with VICTOR OLUWASEGUN, she speaks on her journey into politics, her legislative interests and sundry issues.

    The number of women in the National Assembly has been on the decline. The 35 per cent affirmative action appears to have failed woefully in this regard. What is your opinion?

    I think it is one of those things that we ladies are talking about, because I think the 35 per cent affirmation is just not enough. Nobody is exerting any pressure on it. Even when the women push for it, the men try to knock it down.

    Maybe we are not lobbying well enough. Maybe we need to assert ourselves some more. Maybe we need to intensify our efforts in lobbying and see that it even goes beyond politics. It is not just affirmation in politics, maybe in appointments or in elective positions. What about the civil service and public service appointments and elevation for women? So, we are going to look into a broader perspective of the affirmative action and widen our net.

    Would you say that politics is a new turf for you? I have been in politics now for 16 years, so I would not say it is a new turf for me. But with regards to everything I have ever done, yes, it is a new turf for me. But I have been in it a few years. So, it is part and parcel of me now. I have been in the race for House of Representatives since 2015. In 2015, I was asked to stand down for another party member, and as a party person, I did. I found myself here through hard work.

    If you were not doing this, what would you be doing?

    I will probably be running a kitchen for the homeless; feeding people. That is what I will do. Off the street, really.

    Politics in Nigeria seems to be a hard turf for women. It is not easy for Nigerian women to play politics because of the money, violence and other things involved. How has it been for you?

    I want to believe what has helped me the most is the fact that I am a people’s person, and for you to be able to appeal to your constituents, you have to be a people’s person. You have to be someone in the grassroots. I don’t live away from my constituency. I have people who come to me sincerely and tell me all the stuff that my constituents want. They spin me stuffs.

    When we investigate, we find that some are just a fib. I let them know that they came to tell a fib, but they came to say that because they did notknow how I would respond. So, in this instance, take this and sort yourself out, but we would try and see how we would put you in a system where you will be able to work for yourself and you won’t have to go to someone to beg for anything. So, on a daily basis they go around, they come back and they see I am there.

    It is not like I am 50 miles away and they would have to call me before they see me. I am right in their faces. So, for most women who want to play politics, it is not knowing people at the top that will help you. You need to let your people know you. You need to be able to buy the truths, the lies and the blackmail and still stay firm. And let them see you are here and you are not going anywhere. You might as well just go with the flow. So, you need to be a grassroots person first of all and then you need to work hard and let the people who are able to make the decision know that you are on ground; that if they refuse to understand how much your people love you, electoral success might be an issue. So, you be a party person, be a peoples’ person and you have to be on ground. You can’t be a runaway politician.

    What do you consider as the major challenges confronting women in politics in Nigeria?

    For me, it would be cash. It is not like you need to break the bank, but if you need to be in peoples’ faces all the time. You don’t need to have a deep pocket; you just need to be sincere with whatever you have with you. Sometimes some people come to me and say, ‘I have not eaten for the past three days.’ You will see truly that this person has not eaten for some time and you have only N5000 in your wallet. You open your bag and say, ‘Come, this is all I have. I didn’t know you were coming.

    This is my wallet.’ You put everything on the table. How much do you need to survive today? What do you think we can do to get you off? I can’t afford this, what can you do on your own to get you to stand on your feet? You guys work out a plan together, but that money you have in your wallet, you are able to share it with that person. The person will say this person can help my life. The person will take that straw, cling to it, feed him or herself that day and come back to tell you I have a passion for doing this or that, but I need somebody to help me. If you help me, I promise I will help other people.

    That is what you need. To do that, it takes sincerity and it also takes knowing the places to go to help other people. You don’t necessarily need to take all the money from your pocket. Talk to NGOs that are willing to assist other people and you let the people know that you can access these things if you can do certain things. So, the problem that women have really and truly in politics is finance.

    Why did you go for a Gbajabiamila candidacy when you came in to the House of Representatives when there were other equally strong candidates in the race?

    When I came in here, the person that reached out to me was Hon. Speaker, Gbajabiamila. The others sent in their profiles and their brochures and all the things they wanted to do. When I read through the Speaker’s profile and the fact that he spoke with me, he took me to a place where I want Nigeria to be generally and a place where I expected the House of Representatives to be in order to be able to work properly in regard to legislation, with regards to how he would take care of old legislators, and for me, he showed compassion. I felt this is someone who had the brain, who had the compassion and who showed he has the capacity to carry a lot of people along. That was why I worked for him. What are your legislative interests? The aged, the women and the youth. But principally, the aged. I need a law that will make it a priority for the aged to have a place to recreate; just chill out and have fun.

    They have served their time, whether with government or the companies they have worked with or even their children. Some people have never worked a day in their lives; all they did was just to find a way to sustain their children to go to school. Now they are too old to do anything, even for themselves, and they have no were to turn to. Unfortunately for some people, those children that they laboured over are dead. Nobody is out there looking after them. To get a meal a day is a problem, let alone having clothes to wear. So, when I say recreation facilities for the aged, at least they can leave their homes on a daily basis, get to the centre, eat a meal, maybe not breakfast, maybe not dinner but at least lunch, even if it is an apple or a cup of tea they have for dinner and they go to bed, at least they would have food in their tummy. It doesn’t have to be a place where they stay. I am not saying old peoples’ home, even though I will agitate for that as well. But at least, let us start a recreation centre first so that on a daily basis, they can come there and eat. Let’s have a homeless kitchen that anyone who is not able to feed themselves can go in there and have a meal a day.

    There needs to be a legislation towards that, especially for the aged people, so that at least somebody is looking after them. All the people that are agile today will grow old, and if we don’t put something in place, I am afraid all the old people in this country will have problems. Some will even die before their time. Some people live up to 100 in other countries because they have people who care for them. We should care for our aged people like that in this country. Do you really have any agenda for your constituency? My state is a state of learned people because we have a lot of firsts. There are a lot of educated people from Ogun State. And as much as we have that, we have some people who are also not as learned. Probably they were not opportune to have access to education. One of the agenda for my state would be adult literacy, because I don’t want to go out and repeat a lot of stuffs. It is taking me this time to study past legislations raised on the floor, maybe they got to second or third reading. Even those that have been passed, I am researching into things that are my desire. I want to know why they failed, and if they didn’t fail, why we are we not implementing them. You managed the Miss Nigeria beauty pageant. What’s your opinion about the bare all policy in pageants nowadays.

    When I was Pageant Manager, Miss Nigeria, the pageants that I did were no bikini or swim suit, because I don’t believe you will have to wear bikini to show how beautiful you are. The first year I was going to do it, I had a lot of antagonism, even from the office. And I said if I am the Pageant Manager then we are not going to have bikini and we are not going to have swim suit pageant. Instead of that segment we had on casuals, they wore shorts and Tshirts, because we were looking for the intellect of whoever the contestant is.

    Women are not cows. They are not out to be displayed for you to see what God has endowed them with. When Miss Nigeria started in 1957, they were only doing it with pictures, and I said why should we have bikini and swim suit sections? So, for me, Miss Nigeria, when I was there, had nothing to do with bikini and swim suits, and I think it is high time we went back to that. What then is your opinion about this current Big Brother Naija show? Do you think it espouses the African values? First of all, I don’t watch it. Because the first time, I did, I think it was four or five years ago. I don’t know what I was doing that night. I think I was unable to sleep because I had lots of stuff I was writing that night. The television was on so I could have sound in my room.

    I don’t know how I got to watch it that night and I saw how they were being intimate on the programme, and I was like: is this what they do? I was shocked that that programme would get to the point where on live television, adults, so to speak…they’re adults, they can do what they like, but they have turned it to pornography. Even if it was under the duvet or whatever it is, it was obvious they were getting intimate. And I just got disgusted. For me, it is a personal thing and I do not agree with the values it is sending across.

    We have enough problems with young people being sexually active at a very young age. We don’t need a programme that will tell them that being that active is moral. It is immoral! That is personal. Those who believe they can make so much money with a programme like that, I think everything these days is reduced to naira and kobo. But we have so many intelligent, talented, gifted people out there who need to be encouraged.

    There are so many people who have invented things in this country, who exactly is encouraging them? We talk about corporate social responsibility, what exactly is the CSR of the companies who make money in this country? A young man at the time I watched the programme got a First Class from a university in Nigeria and he was given a cheque of N100,000, and a person who was cooped up in a place for 30 days or three months or six months, I don’t know how long the show goes for. Juxtapose it with a young man who concentrates on his studies for three or four years; someone gets 30 million and somebody gets 100,000.

  • Five positives of Big Brother Naija

    THE Big Brother Naija reality show has received wide condemnations and criticisms and many are even calling for its total scrap. Many parents have forbidden their children from watching the show ‘as long as you are in my house.’ And sexual immorality remains the major reason why people ask the federal government to remove the shock from television screens.

    Founder of Mount Zion Ministries, Evangelist Mike Bamiloye slammed the show for its explicit contents in 2017. He reacted shortly after Efe Ejeba walked away with the N25 million grand prize.

    Bamiloye said: “”They kissed, they romanced, before the cameras of Africa, and they were honoured and glorified.

    “At times, the glory of this world makes the children of the kingdom look stupid. I hope some Kingdom children will not begin to envy this type of worldly glories

    “What does this teach our youths now? Glamourizing and glorifying immorality before the cameras of the world can fetch you millions and make you a celebrity overnight?

    “I hope some pastors will not begin to make reference to this as a work of God’s grace.”

    Politician, Segun Adekoya, also called for its ban in 2017, saying that Nigeria, despite her development, remained a conservative society and as such, allowing “immoral” shows like the ‘Big Brother Naija’ to be broadcast on television could corrupt the minds of the younger generation, especially teenagers.

    But there are positives from the show, including:

    It remains the “realest” and richest reality show on television. Unlike other reality shows where contestants rehearse how to live their lives, the Big Brother Naija show is one where Housemates come as they are and live in the open. There are many cameras to capture every moment and every housemate, so there is no place to hide for anyone.

    Again, the stakes get higher every year the show is hosted. From the winner getting N25 million in 2017 to walking away with N45 million in 2018 and N60 million up for grabs for the winner in 2019, no show on television beats the Big Brother Naija show financially.

    This is apart from other juicy prizes housemates will walk away with from winning tasks and challenges, during the course of the show.

    It has produced successful friendships and marriages: In 2014, Nigerian Kelvin Chuwang-Pam got married to Tanzanian, Elizabeth Gupta. They have a child. They met in 2009 as Housemates of the then “Big Brother Africa”.

    In 2017, Olurishe Deborah Ebun (Debbie-Rise) and Bassey Ekpeyong met in the Big Brother House. Though they are not married, they remain close friends till date.

    On September 7, 2019 Tope Adenibuyan aka Teddy A and Bamike Olawunmi, popularly called BamBam, had their introduction. The world waits for their white wedding. They officially got engaged on August 4, 2019. They met in the Big Brother House in 2018.

    Every participant of the reality show is an instant celebrity. It is always a thing of pride for one to feature in the Big Brother Naija show. That explains why millions of youths scrabble to get into the House during the auditions. It is a show of “everyone is a winner”.

    New cultures and exciting things are learnt in the show: One major aspect of the Big Brother Naija show is the Thursday night presentation show. Here, Big Brother brings a task for the Housemates, asking them to showcase the cultures and lifestyles of various cultures of Nigeria and other parts of Africa. This is an avenue for viewers to learn one or two things they never knew from other cultures of the world.

    Economic contributions. Though it is focused primarily on entertainment, it has an effect on other industries with significant impact on Nigeria’s GDP, which is currently worth $397.472 billion.

    Again, MultiChoice has always insisted on an all-Nigerian production crew, which means jobs will be created for Nigerians, courtesy, Big Brother Naija. With foreign cameramen, and DJs, artists and journalists flown in to the country to perform and cover the event especially the eviction weekend, Nigerian hotels would be smiling to the banks.

    But are critics seeing this?

  • Why Mercy thinks Tacha is a low budget CeeC

    With less than two weeks left till the end of Big Brother Naija, the stakes are higher than ever and housemates are definitely feeling the pressure as we’ve seen in the latest episode of Extra View on Showmax.

    Earlier in the week, housemates were tasked with leaving their mark in the house by painting their unique individual graffiti on the wall. As part of his graffiti, Omashola chose to paint his fellow housemates. However, Tacha wasn’t pleased by this and proceeded to clean off her image after Big Brother’s ninjas led Omashola and Mike away from the house for a Showmax movie treat.

    While Omashola wasn’t happy about Tacha’s move, Mercy found her actions wanting and shared her thoughts with her love interest, Ike. Describing Tacha’s actions as unnecessary, Mercy revealed that the move “weighed Omashola down a lot”.

    Ike, however, suggested that Tacha’s actions sprung from the fact that the show was coming to an end “and she wants to be CeeC”.

    “He [Omashola] told me he’s angry but he already knows that she’s doing this thing because we’re reaching the end and she wants to be CeeC.”

    Fans of Big Brother Naija will recall that CeeC, who was the second runner up of the Double Wahala set, had several heated run-ins with her fellow housemates, which led fans to dub her ‘the real double wahala’, in keeping with the season’s theme.

    Agreeing with Ike, Mercy shared that she was glad Omashola didn’t give Tacha the attention she seemingly sought, and went on to describe her as a low-budget version of the ex-Big Brother Naija housemate. “She can’t be CeeC; she no even hard. She’s forming to be hard, but that is how CeeC is. This one [Tacha] is a wannabe, low-budget CeeC.”

    With less than two weeks left till the end of Big Brother Naija, the stakes are higher than ever and housemates are definitely feeling the pressure as we’ve seen in the latest episode of Extra View on Showmax.

    Earlier in the week, housemates were tasked with leaving their mark in the house by painting their unique individual graffiti on the wall. As part of his graffiti, Omashola chose to paint his fellow housemates. However, Tacha wasn’t pleased by this and proceeded to clean off her image after Big Brother’s ninjas led Omashola and Mike away from the house for a Showmax movie treat.

    While Omashola wasn’t happy about Tacha’s move, Mercy found her actions wanting and shared her thoughts with her love interest, Ike. Describing Tacha’s actions as unnecessary, Mercy revealed that the move “weighed Omashola down a lot”.

    Ike, however, suggested that Tacha’s actions sprung from the fact that the show was coming to an end “and she wants to be CeeC”.

    “He [Omashola] told me he’s angry but he already knows that she’s doing this thing because we’re reaching the end and she wants to be CeeC.”

    Fans of Big Brother Naija will recall that CeeC, who was the second runner up of the Double Wahala set, had several heated run-ins with her fellow housemates, which led fans to dub her ‘the real double wahala’, in keeping with the season’s theme.

    Agreeing with Ike, Mercy shared that she was glad Omashola didn’t give Tacha the attention she seemingly sought, and went on to describe her as a low-budget version of the ex-Big Brother Naija housemate. “She can’t be CeeC; she no even hard. She’s forming to be hard, but that is how CeeC is. This one [Tacha] is a wannabe, low-budget CeeC.”

    With less than two weeks left till the end of Big Brother Naija, the stakes are higher than ever and housemates are definitely feeling the pressure as we’ve seen in the latest episode of Extra View on Showmax.

    Earlier in the week, housemates were tasked with leaving their mark in the house by painting their unique individual graffiti on the wall. As part of his graffiti, Omashola chose to paint his fellow housemates. However, Tacha wasn’t pleased by this and proceeded to clean off her image after Big Brother’s ninjas led Omashola and Mike away from the house for a Showmax movie treat.

    While Omashola wasn’t happy about Tacha’s move, Mercy found her actions wanting and shared her thoughts with her love interest, Ike. Describing Tacha’s actions as unnecessary, Mercy revealed that the move “weighed Omashola down a lot”.

    Ike, however, suggested that Tacha’s actions sprung from the fact that the show was coming to an end “and she wants to be CeeC”.

    “He [Omashola] told me he’s angry but he already knows that she’s doing this thing because we’re reaching the end and she wants to be CeeC.”

    Fans of Big Brother Naija will recall that CeeC, who was the second runner up of the Double Wahala set, had several heated run-ins with her fellow housemates, which led fans to dub her ‘the real double wahala’, in keeping with the season’s theme.

    Agreeing with Ike, Mercy shared that she was glad Omashola didn’t give Tacha the attention she seemingly sought, and went on to describe her as a low-budget version of the ex-Big Brother Naija housemate. “She can’t be CeeC; she no even hard. She’s forming to be hard, but that is how CeeC is. This one [Tacha] is a wannabe, low-budget CeeC.”

  • The other side of Big Brother Naija

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

    NO reality show on television has received wide condemnations and criticisms like the Big Brother Naija reality show. Many are even calling for its ban. Many parents have even banned their youths and young ones from watching the show.

    Sexual immorality remains the major reason many people have asked the Federal Government to stop airing the programme on any of the Nigerian television stations. The epic reaction from popular evangelist, and Founder of Mount Zion Ministries, Mike Bamiloye, in 2017 comes back to mind, shortly after Efe Ejeba walked away with the 25 million naira grand prize. On his social media handle, he said “They kissed, they romanced, before the cameras of Africa, and they were honoured and glorified. At times, the glory of this world makes the children of the kingdom look stupid. I hope some Kingdom children will not begin to envy this type of worldly glories.

    “What does this teach our youths now? glamourizing and glorifying immorality before the cameras of the world can fetch you millions and make you a celebrity overnight? I hope some pastors will not begin to make reference to this as a work of God’s grace.”

    A Nigerian politician,  Segun Adekoya, also called for its ban in 2017, saying that Nigeria, despite her development, remained a conservative society, and as such, allowing ‘immoral’ shows like the ‘Big Brother Naija’ to aired on television could corrupt the minds of the younger generation, especially teenagers.

    But there are arguments that show some advantages of the reality show, that the critics are not seeing. A few may include:

    It remains the “realest” and richest reality show on television. Unlike other reality shows where contestants rehearse how to live their lives, the ‘Big Brother Naija’ show is one where housemates come as they are, and live their lives all in the open, for the period they remain in the house. There are many cameras to capture every moment and every housemate, so there is no place to hide for anyone.

    Again, the stakes get higher every year the show is hosted. From the winner getting 25 million naira in 2017, to walking away with 45 million naira in 2018, and 60 million naira up for grabs for the winner in 2019, no show on television beats the Big Brother Naija show financially. This is apart from other juicy prizes housemates will walk away with from winning tasks and challenges, during the course of the show.

    It has produced successful friendship and marriages: In 2014, Nigerian Kelvin Chuwang-Pam, got married to Tanzanian, Elizabeth Gupta, and they have a child in their marriage. They met in 2009, as housemates of the then “Big Brother Africa”. In 2017, Olurishe Deborah Ebun (Debbie-Rise) and Bassey Ekpeyong met in the Big Brother House. Though they are not married, but they remain close friends till date.

    Read Also: BBNaija: Seyi becomes Head of House again

    And most recently, on September 7, 2019, Tope Adenibuyan aka Teddy A and Bamike Olawunmi, popularly called BamBam had their introduction, as the world waits for their white wedding. They officially got engaged on August 4, 2019. They met in the Big Brother house in 2018.

    Every participant of the reality show is an instant celebrity. It is always a thing of pride for one to feature in the Big Brother Naija show. That calls for the reason why millions of youths scrabble to get into the house, during the auditions.

    New cultures and exciting things are learnt in the show: One major aspect of the Big Brother Naija show is the Thursday night presentation show. Here, Big Brother brings a task for the housemates, asking them to showcase the cultures and lifestyles of various cultures of Nigeria , and other parts of Africa. This is an avenue for viewers to learn one or two things they never knew from other cultures of the world.

    Now hosted in Nigeria, the show will be contributing to the Nigerian economy. Though it is focused primarily on entertainment, it has an effect on other industries with significant impact on Nigeria’s GDP, which is currently worth $397.472 billion.

    Again, MultiChoice has always insisted on an all-Nigerian production crew, which means, jobs will be created for Nigerians, courtesy, Big Brother Naija.  With foreign cameramen, and DJs, artistes and journalists flown in to the country to perform and cover the event especially the eviction weekend, Nigerian hotels would be smiling to the banks.

    But are the critics seeing this?

     

    Akintunde, an online journalist sent this piece from Lagos.

  • I don’t think sex is a big deal

    Ex-BBNaija 2018 housemate, Leo Babarinde Akinola Dasliva, simply known as Leo and currently the campaign ambassador for premier cool, revealed that his entrance into the reality show was to showcase his business potentials to the world. In this interview with SAMPSON UNAMKA, he speaks on why he avoided having sex in the house, among other issues.

    HOW has the journey been since you left the Big Brother house?

    The journey has been quite fulfilling and good and I went on the show having my structure already on ground. It’s just that I needed a platform to amplify it and Big Brother was the platform. A lot of people felt that the show was an entertainment show and you being a serious business man would not really mix, but at the end of the day, I was in front of Africa; so it was up to me to show Africa what I wanted to show and I chose to show them my business, which is what is kind of my life.

    Lets talk about your business…

    Right now I run my holding company; what we do is that we try to get investors and we help invest in small in small businesses as well; so that is the mix of what we do and we try to provide business support for businesses that we invest in.

    So, how long have you been in the business?

    Formally, I have been doing it for over a year now. But informally, I have been doing it for close to three years. Since I have my platform on what not, I decided why not make this a proper structure? You know employ people under it, instead of doing everything by yourself; why not make it more efficient? So that was what I did in July last year; set up the office in Ikoyi. We decided to start doing things properly, documentation and we signed the partnership with an international edge funds.

    So, it’s a thing where you can get funding for businesses up to millions of dollars. It’s just a thing where we just speak to you and tell you what we are charging from you, forgetting the amount  of money and if entrepreneurs come to meet us as well, you can tell our investors that we have these guys that have ideas and this is how much they have.  Sometimes we use our own funds to invest.

    Many people went into the show for entertainment purposes, but yours was strictly business?

    Hmmm yea! It was not just strictly business;  I just wanted people to know that I am a serious person and it kind of worked. For strangers to give me money to help them invest, they need to know you are a serious person and you need to have a  form of integrity. So, that is what I have benefited from the platform.  The fact that I was able to show that I went on the show to show that this is me, so that the people that will like me would like me and the people that will relate with  me would do so.

    For me, it was more of a journey thing. I wasn’t thinking about a sprint; I was thinking about longitivtiy. There was a lot of pressure to probably act, to probably to do a lot  of entertainment, hosting a lot of that but I think what it is, is: you don’t want to be known for too many things; you need people to know exactly what you are doing;  not a thing where I  need a plumber; yes, let’s message him; they need to know if you are messaging me. It has to be about  something serious. It has to be about business. So that’s what I’m doing.

    Along the line, if entertainment gig comes along, you’ll turn them down?

    Yeah, I have turned down acting roles; I have turned down a lot of hosting roles, hosting like Mc. The thing is for me, it has to be something that aligns with what I want to do. For example, I do a lot of public speaking; I do a lot of mentoring and if I get roles that say ‘Come and speak at this conference and host something that has to do with unity depending on what business that aligns with what I’m doing. You cannot tell me to come and host a pageant; it has to be something I can relate to; there is no pressure for me to be who I’m.

    When you were in the house, you had a thing with one of the ladies. Tell us about it

    No, I don’t want to speak about anyone. I want to speak for myself.

    What do you think about sex in the Big Brother house and how were you able to abstain from sex because we know you had no scandals?

    For me, it’s just about understanding what you want. You know, it’s not as if  people who want to have sex are bad people; if you want, you can. So,I don’t think sex is a big deal. If an adult wants to have sex; he or she can.  So for me, it’s about the way I was able to do it; didn’t want to do it.

    Who did you miss most in your Big Brother set?

    I won’t say I miss anybody most because all the people I was close to, I’m still close to them.

    Can a contestant do without smoking, alcohol and romance in the house?

    Yes, of course, it’s all about you as a person.

    Who is your favorite Big Brother housemate in this current show?

    I liked Cindy, but I don’t really have a favourite because I have campaigned for Seyi and I have voted for Mike as well; I also voted for Cindy. So, there is no particular favourite.

    Who do you think will win?

    I think it’s going to be a lady.

    Khafi had this issue about sex with Gedoni. What is your take on the issue?

    I think Gedoni came out and said they never had sex. I think they never did have sex. Whatever, maybe they were making out or what not, I don’t know if they actually did have sex but it’s unfortunate that it really spread like wildfiree fire and someone started the allegation that they actually  they had sex and it got to the Police Force in England and it’s unfortunate that it’s going to ruin Khafi’s career as a Police woman and that makes me really sad. So, that was one of the reasons, while I was in the house, I tried  to stay away from assumptions. You understand? You try to stay away from things that will make people talk about things like that,  so you don’t find your self in that kind of position. So, it’s unfortunate but I think she will be okay at the end of the day.

  • #BBNaija: Mercy, Ike win joint Head-of-House

    Mercy and Ike will rule as joint head-of-house this week.

    This is the first time ever that two housemates will rule as head of house at the same time in the Big Brother Naija reality show .

    Big Brother offered both housemates the offer, with both of them winning the game of throwing balls into the cup. He however told them to decide who will be on immunity this week.

    Read Also: Esther, Sir Dee bid #BBNaija farewell

    The decision saw Ike receiving the immunity.

    Both housemates also won 250 Bet Naija coins, for winning this feat

    Recall that Esther and Sir Dee got evicted from the Big Brother house last Sunday.

  • Esther, Sir Dee bid #BBNaija farewell

    PepperDem Housemates, Esther and Sir Dee have been evicted from the Big Brother Naija House

    Esther got the booth immediately the show started on Sunday, as the housemates gathered in the lounge.

    Speaking to Ebuka  when she came out of the house, Esther described her experience with Frodd and Nelson in the house, saying “Frodd is sweet and Nelson is my gee,”

    Frodd, reacting to Esther’s eviction described it as a movie. But he assured that anyone who will have issues with him should say it to his face, because “it is going to get realer”

    Read Also: BBNaija2019: Tacha vows to limit her pride

    Sir Dee , simply told Ebuka that Omashola would end up winning the show at the end.

    The result of the collated votes showed Tacha getting the highest, with 31.22 per cent, Cindy following with 22.03 per cent, Frodd and Venita following as third and fourth.

  • Big Brother Naija show

    The fourth season of the Nigerian version of the global reality TV show, Big Brother, is currently being aired live on DSTV’s channel 198. The maiden edition of Big Brother Naija (BBN) was aired for 90 days from March 5, 2006. The 2019 version started on June 30 and would run for 99 days. This year’s version is code-named ‘Pepper Them,’ a term rooted in the Nigerian social parlance.

    In a meeting with the President of National Council of Women Societies, Gloria Shoda, the Director-General of National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Mr. Segun Runsewe, said that the government is already in talks with StarTimes, another cable network provider in Nigeria, to start a state-owned BBN that will reflect the Nigerian culture and kitchen. He added that the agency is preparing to send a nudity bill to punish sexual acts as displayed on BBN.

    The name Big Brother was coined by George Orwell in his extremely popular book 1984, a political satire about repressive governments. A Dutch man, John De Mol, decided to build a TV reality show around the concept based on Dutch TV series in 1997. It consists of a group of housemates who live in seclusion and under strict rules with 24-hour camera monitoring and required to wear their microphones all the time. They are watched by viewers who ultimately determine who wins the grand prize.

    The Big Brother franchise is in many countries and follows almost the same rules as most adult entertainment programmes because it is rated 18 and the age limit for participants is 21 years. For Big Brother Africa and BBNaija seasons, there have been allegations of sexual impropriety against some of the housemates by some government officials, religious groups and individuals, as they argue that it is negatively affecting the youths who are the major viewers of the programme.

    We recognise the social impact of any sexual act on impressionable minds on the continent, and especially Nigeria. However, there are major positives of the programme as it is a major job creator. It has helped most participants, losers and winners alike achieve career goals that might have been undiscovered. The current host of the programme, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, a lawyer came to prominence in the entertainment industry, having taken part in the maiden edition in 2006. The winner, Katung Aduwak is now a major film producer working with Multichoice, Gideon Okeke a former participant is a successful actor today.

    We believe that the government should not throw the baby away with the bath water through a holistic condemnation because of the alleged sexual indiscretion of a few housemates. Being a reality show, it signposts the possibility of real life behaviour on the programme. We would rather the government dialogue with the managers of the programme to either blur certain explicit sexual actions or give direct instruction to the housemates about the cultural implication of certain actions within the limits of freedom of choice.

    Before airing the Big Brother Reality Show the franchise owners must have signed a contract with some government agencies like the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), etc., and we believe that they would have made them agree to certain clauses depending on the concerns they have. Initiating another BBN with another cable company just because you frown at the alleged sexual impropriety seems a flawed and precipitate reaction. No government around the world plans its entertainment or cultural programmes based on some spontaneous dissatisfaction with some housemates’ indiscretions.

    The D-G of NCAC said, “Having love affairs on screen is not part of our culture at all”. Love affair and unedited sex scenes are not the same thing. But then, the government needs to do more to protect and showcase the values of Nigerian cultures in ways that promote them to the youths so they too can promote same in return. More pervasive and youth inclusive programmes to promote culture must be the focus of government and its agencies rather than just starting its own brand of BBN.

    The youths have unfettered access to the internet, even without TV. The government is free to start its own entertainment programmes but we equally believe it should not be a priority or a panacea for the alleged sexual impropriety in the current or past Big Brother shows or in society. If government is not satisfied with the reality show as it is, it can encourage others to compete with the present one.

     

  • Gedoni and Jackye evicted from Big Brother Naija

    Two Big Brother Naija housemates, Gedoni Ekpata and Jackye Madu have been evicted from the ongoing BBNaija season four.

    Both housemates have become the eleventh and twelfth housemates to be evicted from the ongoing reality TV show. They were both evicted after scoring the lowest number of votes.

    According to the scoreboard, Jackye had 3.38% while Gedoni polled 3.98%. Those who survived eviction on Sunday include Mercy who polled 25.55%, Mike 20.60%, Frodd 19.20%, Seyi 15.69% and Diane 11.60%.

    The Cross River born Gedoni was popular for being Khafi’s love interest. He scaled through eviction in the first week and formed a bond with Khafi in the second week after which the two have remained inseparable.

    Read Also: Nollywood actress, ex-BB Naija housemates laud Onga Foodies Hangout

    Jackye came into the house as a gentle lady, who didn’t want to reveal much until she won the Pepsi challenge and a sum of N2 million. She came out of her shell and found friendship in the hands of Mike.

    After a dramatic exit, Gedoni spoke with Ebuka, the show’s host on his feelings for either Khafi or Venita, said; “Khafi is priority to me. There is no feeling for Venita.”

    Jackye on her part said she had low moments staying in the house, but will go out focusing on her project. She however told Ebuka that she will definitely miss Mike and revealed that she will be rooting for Mercy to win the reality TV show.

    So far, Joe, Enkay, Jeff, Nelson, Thelma, Avala, Isilomo, Ella, Kim Oprah and Tuoyo have been evicted from the show.