The return of Big Brother Naija

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We blinked, and Big Brother Naija has reached its tenth season. Who would have thought? When it started out in 2017, the rest of Africa made fun of the big, bad Nigerians with funny English. It wouldn’t last, we said, or hoped.

DStv would soon come to its senses, we prophesied, hoping for a return of Big Brother Africa. How could they ignore more than a billion Africans for the sake of ‘only’ 200 Nigerians? And anyway, what fun is there in watching 20 something Nigerans in a house?

And yet, 10 years down the road, there are more Nigerians than ever in the house. And Africa, albeit reluctantly, is watching. Last weekend saw the launch of Big Brother Africa 10/10, and it took place over two days, Saturday and Sunday. The women (not girls, with one the mother of an 18-year-old) entered on Saturday, and the guys on Sunday, for a total of 29 housemates.

Libe, every season, the first few days are tricky for both the housemates and the viewers. They try to make an early impression, hoping the public would vote their way.

We watching on TV, on the other hand, try to spot the standouts, the pretenders, and maybe determine our favourites. Although it is difficult when there are so many of them.
I watched the girls enter the house, and a couple or so stood out for me.

There is Mide, the Angel Reese look-alike, who likes to keep her distance from the drama. Then ‘tattoos-all-over-my-body’ Ivatar, born in Nigeria but grew up in South Africa. She tried too hard, I thought, and promptly lost her voice. With all 29 housemates up for possible eviction, will Nigerians save a South Africa?

Hope so, would like to see more of her.
Sultana is from the Nigerian north, which is mostly Muslim. And Muslim women don’t show their hair, so Sultana is always wearing a turban of sorts. But she has tattoos, and shows her breasts; go figure.

Anyway, the first week is always not very exciting, as the Housemates try to find their feet, and there is a lot of ‘fake’ attitudes and many try too hard. But they will soon settle down and we’ll see if it will be an interesting season to watch, 10 years after it all started.

Meanwhile, we in the Rest of Africa are still hoping Big Brother Africa will come back again. DStv has lost quite a bit of goodwill over the years, this will be one way of regaining a lot of it. Hint, hint.