Oddities of Big brother naija as curtain falls

Finally, the curtain has been drawn on the Big Brother Naija reality show, season six, tagged, ‘Shine ya eye’. As I said some months ago, like some other persons, I did not subscribe to the BB dedicated channel on DSTV. Yet, one is still confronted with stories about the show and its participants, online and offline by both social and conservative media. This is due principally to the media reach of the show’s organizer, multichoice (operators of digital satellite television, DSTV). Here are some things I find odd, some would say unique about the programme.

Firstly, the show is coined in Nigeria’s corrupted name, viz, ‘Big Brother Naija’, rather than ‘Big Brother Nigeria’. Naija is not Nigeria’s official name, but a nickname of sort or more correctly, a corrupted form of ‘Nigeria’. The word ‘Nigeria’ should be written and pronounced the way it is given officially. To pronounce or write it any other way is to demean it. Like the country’s flag, the nation’s original and official nomenclature should be given some honour by not substituting it with any other name. It is either Nigeria or nothing, no half measures. All those that are fond of using ‘Naija’ in place of ‘Nigeria’ should desist from such as there is only one name for the country; all others being fake/ corrupted names. To rephrase an advertisement line, if it is not Nigeria, it cannot be the same as Nigeria.

Secondly, most of the show’s chosen ‘themes’ are in pidgin (broken) English. The last one was ‘pepper them’ and the just concluded one, ‘Shine ya eye’. Again, this flows from its corrupted name of Nigeria, for, pidgin English itself is corrupted English. Does the ‘theme’ have any bearing with the conduct of participants in the house? Can’t really tell, except to state the observation by many that this year’s show is the ‘dirtiest’ in terms of sexual behavior of the Housemates. Perhaps viewers were being asked to shine their eyes (watch carefully) for such entertainments as its followers like to call those conducts. Talking about conducts, it appears to me that the veiled Big Brother himself in the closet of the Diary Room, prompts some housemates to pump up the action (you should have guessed what this means in the context of the Big Brother show) by suggesting amorous behaviours to them.

To me too, Housemates almost invariably have peculiar albeit homogenous kinds of occupations. They are mostly models, actresses, singers, fashion entrepreneur/designers, fine artists, dancers, fitness experts and rappers. Lately we saw businessmen participating. I suppose for obvious reasons, civil servants cannot participate. But why can’t there be or rather why have not seen Housemates that are teachers, presenters, reporters and so on and so forth?

Surprisingly, a married person is allowed to participate in the show as a Housemate. Given what the Big Brother show is all about one wonders what spouse would truly consent to his/her wife/husband participating in a show where he/she would indulge in intimate affairs with other Housemates. The Big Brother show should be a no go area for a married person. It causes friction between couples as there is no excuse any married Housemate can give to explain off his/her conducts in the House, just as there is no way he/she cannot become intimate with some Housemates given the circumstances.

Housemates are voted for by the viewing public. Fans of each Housemate sometimes gather at a centre for the exercise. There is no limit to number of times each person can vote since for the organizer, the ultimate objective is to rake in as much revenue as possible. Although the public is told that the votes tally are certified correct by a top accounting firm, one cannot really decipher what the firm is looking out for. Because multiple votes are allowed, money bags can bankroll votes for their favourite Housemates. Also because it is a celebrity show, celebrities a.k.a. social media influencers can tilt votes for their preferred Housemates by getting their followers to vote for them. This was the case with Obi Cubana of the famous Oba money show.

From the very first day, he broadcast it to the world that he was rooting for his town’s man, Whitemoney. And he dutifully followed it up by giving free airtime to as many people as were willing to vote for Whitemoney. Not surprising therefore, his man won at the finale of the show, carting home the mouth watering prize of N90 million and a brand new car. And one of the first acts of Whitemoney was to go pay homage to Obi Cubana, kneeling down before him in gratitude. By the way, are there no taxes paid for the cash prize? What about the usual ten percent deductions as ‘handling charges’? Or, is that the net amount after all necessary deductions, including taxes?

Evicted Housemates undertake a media tour for interview sessions ostensibly to promote themselves. Ditto the overall winner. These interviews revolve mainly on one issue, namely, their relationships while in the House. While many ardent fans of the show find them interesting, being the kernel of the show itself so to speak, some others like me find it boring.

Each Housemate has his/her dedicated fan base. And so it happens that upon being evicted they are showered with expensive gifts by their fans. Such gifts include Iphone, tones of cash and a car! Goodness, these are not ordinary fans by every estimation. But why overload them with such gifts when they are already handsomely rewarded through their participation .

in the show and gifted many things by the several sponsors of the show? I mean, why should the so-called fans stress themselves by apparently taxing themselves to procure such expensive gifts for their favourite Housemates? It is unnecessary and odd.


Ikeano writes via [email protected] 08033077519