My thoughts on Big Brother Nigeria

Have you read the book by George Orwell titled 1984? I came across it when I was 16, read a couple of pages and got bored coz it was too technical for my brain at the time.

I remember that this book was about a somewhat dictatorial government based in a fictional 1948. In this government, everyone took orders from an anonymous figure known as Big Brother.

Crazy huh?

Big Brother ran the entire country with an iron fist and made decrees that if disobeyed lead to dire consequences. I didn't read the book so I don't have a proper story to tell about it. Do read it if you get the chance.

Big Brother

The original Big Brother show was aired in the Netherlands in 1992. It had the voice of an anonymous personality known as Big Brother whose decrees were meant to be obeyed by the individuals under his jurisdiction.

This is exactly what we have with the current Big Brother Nigeria Show. Young males and females are confined into space and made to interact with themselves, much like an experiment, and are given orders by a voice.

Big Brother Nigeria

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The Big Brother Nigeria show was first aired on March 5th 2006. I don't know the story behind how it began. I was 8 years old at the time, the internet was not as it is today. I have no memory of ever interacting with the show in any way until I turned 20, I think.

At the time I began to be aware of the show, I'd already distanced myself from television for a while so I couldn't even be bothered by what went on there. Much less the idea that it's a reality TV show with young people doing almost nothing of relevance to me.

Basically, the concept of the show involves having some young people in a house. Within the house, they take orders from Big Brother, cook, clean and basically live as housemates for a period of 3 months.

Within these 3 months, a lot of things usually go down and that's what interests people about the show. These individuals are basically normal people. However, when they get into the house their entire being is under scrutiny.

The way they walk, talk, eat, breath, think, scratch, and every other irrelevant activity is scrutinized by millions of people around the world. I barely have the time to sit and witness these occurrences.

The gains

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The cash prize for this year is 90 million nairas. I believe that's about $180,000. That's a lot of money regardless of where you are in the world.

However, that prize can only be won by one person, but the other contestants don't leave without some awesome perks themselves.

For the most part, they get publicity. Being seen by millions of people makes you attractive even when you aren't. So, a normal person with normal talents is seen as unique just because the world says they are.

For this reason, they leave the house and become celebrities and their faces are used by many brands to push products. This is normal. It's a scratch my back and I scratch yours sort of situation.

Where are the previous winners?

I have no idea. For the last 2 years that I've been aware of the winners, I know they both started music careers within the years of their wins. But that's where they end. Their musical careers never yield anything as far as I know.

Honestly, that, to me, says a lot about the standards of individuals who win this show. However, I might be wrong. They could actually be living low key lives in wealth and abundance. But I highly doubt that.

What I like about the show

Right now, the only interest I have in the show is somewhat sentimental. One of the contestants happens to be connected to me in some sort of way.

He's one of my brother's friends so I tend to always keep my ears out for word on how he's doing.

Getting information on what goes on there isn't entirely hard as everyone in my house watches the show, however, I still try to distance myself.

I think I like the fact that it produces some funny memes. However, that's all that interests me.

Why I don't like the show

I'm a strong believer in rewarding talent. I was a consistent follower of the recently concluded Nigerian Idol. The winner deserved the win. He has awesome talent.

However, I don't see many deserving qualities on this BBN show. People select their prefered housemates not based on talent or knowledge, but on the sad stories, they tell.

I mean if it was based on knowledge, everyone's favourite housemate ought to be Yerins. He's obviously the most intelligent so far. Speaking 3 foreign languages fluently, a medical doctor and an artist.

But nope, people have their preferred housemates based on their physical qualities, stories and tribe.

I also don't like the fact that these individuals find their way into politics thanks to how silly our Nigerian government is. Not only are they talentless, but they are placed in control of a sector of an economy most times like Youth development or culture. With absolutely no qualification.

My only Interest

I'd been thinking about awesome ways to monetize this show to my benefit and this contest had to be one of them.

I believe that while the winners do their thing, I should be able to do my thing and earn from their presence in the house.

I really don't care about the show and I will not be voting. However, if you intend on wasting your resources, kindly vote for Yerins. He's an awesome chap.


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