For 15 years, Big Brother Naija, Africa’s biggest reality TV show, has provided premium entertainment for viewers across the continent. Season after season, it has consistently delivered top-notch drama, excitement, banter and talking points.
The show has also served as a springboard to launch the careers of those who participate in it. Former housemates have gone on to become successful actors, music artistes, OAPs, models and entrepreneurs.
Big Brother Naija, initially modelled after the Big Brother Africa franchise, debuted in 2006. The show’s first season, which ran for 92 days, featured 14 housemates, with Katung Aduwak emerging as the winner. Most of the housemates in that season have gone on to have successful careers. Gideon Okeke is now one of Nollywood’s leading men, and Ebuka Obi-Uchendu is currently the host of the show and a style icon.
After an 11-year hiatus, Big Brother Naija returned for a second season in 2017 with the subtitle “See Gobe.” That season, 14 housemates had to compete for the grand prize of N25 million over 78 days. Big Brother Naija: See Gobe was sponsored by Payporte, MiniMee, and Dano Milk, and over 170 million SMS votes were recorded in the course of the season. The housemates provided a lot of entertainment and talking points, but it was the Warri-born Efe Edjeba who clinched the grand prize.
In 2018, Big Brother Naija returned for a third season with the subtitle “Double Wahala.” Sponsored by Payporte and Heritage Bank, it featured 20 housemates and lasted for 85 days. The season was memorable for the drama between Tobi Bakre and Cee-C and the romance involving BamBam and Teddy A. Still, Miracle Igbokwe came out on top, going home with a cash prize of N25 million and a new SUV worth N12 million.
The fourth season of Big Brother Naija, tagged ‘Pepper Dem’, premiered on June 30, 2019. Sponsored by Bet9ja, Pepsi, Nigerian Breweries, Oppo and Dano Milk, it featured 26 housemates and lasted for 99 days. Memorable for the drama and controversy surrounding Tacha Akide, Big Brother Naija: Pepper Dem polled over 240 million votes during the season, with 50 million of those votes in the final week alone. On October 6, 2029, Mercy Eke became the first woman to win Big Brother Naija, going home with N60 million in prizes.
Amidst concerns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, which ravaged the globe, Big Brother Naija returned for a fifth season, aptly tagged “Lockdown.” It lasted for 71 days and featured 20 housemates, with sponsorship from Betway, Guinness, Oppo, and WAW Nigeria. Big Brother Naija: Lockdown attracted 900 million votes across all platforms, including SMS and online voters. At the end of a highly entertaining season, Laycon emerged as the winner, receiving N85 million worth of prizes.
Beyond the entertainment value, Big Brother Naija has made instant celebrities out of the participants. Former housemates enjoy substantial social media followings and leverage their popularity to make something for themselves. Bisola Aiyeola, first runner-up at Big Brother Naija: See Gobe, is currently one of Nollywood’s fast-rising actresses. Laycon, who won last year’s edition, channelled the support from his huge fan base into pushing his music and recently released his debut album, Shall We Begin. Tacha, one of the standout housemates from Big Brother Naija: Pepper Dem, is one of Nigeria’s most prominent social media influencers and NET Honours 2021 ‘Most Popular Person’. These success stories give young Nigerians the impetus to dream of becoming famous, and this is why audition venues are always packed.
A survey conducted by Plaqad found that Big Brother Naija is the most watched show in Africa. According to the survey, “In Nigeria, barring perhaps a natural disaster, a presidential election, or the Super Eagles of Nigeria playing a FIFA world cup final, no other event has the popularity and stickiness to get Nigerians glued to their TV for hours unending like Big Brother Naija or BBNaija as it is more popularly called.”
According to data from Keyhole and ID Africa, the show generated over 55 billion media impressions from July 19 to September 23, 2020, with the word “BBNaija” appearing over 20 million times on Twitter alone.
Big Brother Naija has been named the Most Popular Event at the NET Honours People’s Choice Awards, one of the world’s most prestigious audience data-based awards. This is well-deserved, and congratulations are in order.
By Jerry Chiemeke
