After a ten-year hiatus, the second edition of Big Brother Naija, an all-Nigerian housemates version of the Big Brother franchise came to a frenetic end at the weekend.
Twelve contenders namely: Kemen, Efe, Tboss, Bassy, Bally, Debie-Rise, Uriel, Gifty, Soma, Miyonce, Bisola, Thin Tall Tony and Marvis from different parts of the country went into the Big Brother House in South Africa as housemates.
They were later joined by two ‘fake’ housemates: Jon and Ese who were evicted after just two weeks in the house. For 10 weeks, 15 young Nigerians were camped under 21 cameras and live microphones as they revel in the spotlight and enjoyed the lows and highs on their way to stardom. After all the drama, conspiracies, sexual posturing, and the high adrenalin that characterized the eviction shows, the final showdown took place on Sunday with 24 years old Efetobore Ejeba from Warri in Delta State emerging the overall winner of the N25 Million prize money.
The 2017 Big Brother Naija show produced high octane entertainment for millions of viewers in Nigeria and across Africa. For once, Nigerians were divided NOT by religion or tribe but more along the lines of the personalities represented by each housemate; and the messages, social media connections plus mobilisation prowess of their supporters.
In the end, it was the fan base of the housemates that ensured how long they stayed in the house and indeed how far they went in the game. For Efe, the Economics graduate from the University of Jos and eventual winner of the Big Brother Naija, his strength lied in his constant reminder of viewers and his fellow housemates that ‘he is real, streetwise, smart, subscribes to family values; and that he is from a humble background’.
That is the story of #EFENation, the trendy social media hash tag that earned him support from millions of people and gave him over 57% of the total votes on the road to victory. The gains Millions of Nigerians stayed glued to their TV sets to watch the drama in the Big Brother House for 10 weeks. For many, the show provided a huge relieve from the many ‘bad’ news that filled the Nigerian media space on a daily basis.
It was also an escape from worries like the health of our president, helpless state of health infrastructure in the face of a ravaging meningitis outbreak, tales of monumental corruption and employment racketeering, militancy and armed banditry, the foreign exchange issue, escalating cost of living, executivelegislature face-off and the general inactivity in government at all levels. As a result, many turned to Efe and his fellow housemates who represented Big Brother Naija: The gains, the lost opportunities the true Nigerian spirit of standing for something and surviving in the face of odds. All the housemates emerged winners in a sense that they all got their ‘15-minutes of fame’ and more.
They have all become ambassadors of Nigeria and many have even secured brand endorsements and other careerpropelling deals from their stay in the Big Brother House. For organisers of the Big Brother show, so much went their way in terms of revenues from advertising, viewership and top-ofmind awareness in the 10 weeks. An average of 6 million votes was recorded through the short messaging service (sms) platform weekly.
This translates to over 60 Million votes and an estimated N1.8 Billion earned at N30 per sms. Payporte, the main sponsor of the show, was for 10 weeks on top of the media exposure ranking index and ahead of other online shopping brands.
Other advertisers on the show, including gatecrashers, also earned huge exposure and media visibility. Lost opportunities Today, many state governors are queuing to invite the winner of the Big Brother Naija show and other finalists on courtesy visits.
Many opportunistic brands out there would suddenly see youth empowerment as viable corporate social responsibility riding on the popularity of the BBNajia celebrities. Even the spokesperson of the President was quoted to have used the words ‘based on logistics’(a phrase popularised by Efe, winner of the BBNaija) in one of his interviews last week. Most of all, Nigeria lost the opportunity to host the show in the country.
The reason given by the organisers was that ‘the facilities to host the show was not readily available in the country’ where as our leaders, past and present, have trillions of Naira as proceeds of corruptions stashed in foreign lands while places like Tinapa and Film villages in Lagos and Jos are wasting away.
The lesson for Nigeria is that we have an army of young people with the talent and energy to transform the country. All that is required is the right policies, adequate infrastructure like power and the political will in the right environment to engineer the turnaround needed to make Nigeria a better place for all.
