Josephine ‘Phyna’ Otabor has been crowned winner of Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) season 7. She becomes the second female to win the reality TV show after Mercy Eke, the 2019 winner.
She was announced the winner at the BBNaija finale show on Sunday, October 2, 2022.
Phyna emerged the winner after polling 40.74 % votes in the show’s final week to defeat five other finalists — Adekunle Tobilola Olopade, Chidimma ‘Bella’ Okagbue, Brian ‘Bryann’ Chijoke, Chinenyenwa ‘Chichi’ Okoebor and Daniella Utangbe.
Phyna was closely followed by Bryann, who polled 26.74 per cent of votes to become the first runner-up.
An emotional Phyna, who had audioned four times before getting in on her fifth trial, fell to the floor in disbelief after she was announced the winner by the show host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, on Sunday night.
The Level Up season, pitching 28 housemates against one another — four more than the 24 from the previous edition — featured never-before-seen twists and turns. The season’s first twist was the introduction of two house levels, which ramped up the show’s intensity and made for some perfectly played inter-level drama. Then came the ‘untouchable’ riders, followed by the Level 3 house and the Supreme Veto Power, which saw Chichi choose two other housemates to make it to the finals with her.
Amidst all the twists, pranks and surprises from Biggie, Phyna, a 25-year-old stand-up comedienne and skit-maker, impressed fans and the voting public and constantly topped the BBNaija analytics charts as one of the top five most talked about housemates from her first week to the final week of the show.
The ‘hype priestess’, as she is fondly called by her fandom — Phynation, was known for her confidence, creativity and energy, especially during tasks and presentations. While she never shied away from confrontation, which always made her a topic of interest, she also entertained viewers with her authenticity and vibes, just as she promised on her first day in the house.
Phyna was the only Level 2 housemate to win the Head of House, putting an end to Level 1 housemates’ winning streak. After using her power as HoH to save her friend Chichi from eviction, the latter returned the favour by exploiting her veto power as penultimate Head of House to nominate Phyna, together with Daniella, to be in the finals.
According to daily BBNaija analytics released by ID Africa, a Pan-African Communications advisory company, the last four days before the finale, Phyna stood at number one on the list of Top 5 housemates leading online conversations.
Phyna is going home with this season’s ₦100m grand prize, including ₦50 million cash, an Innoson G5T vehicle, Dubai Trip for 2, a Tecno Camon 19, electronics and several consumables.
Being one of the housemates with the least earnings from the weekly challenges and tasks, it’s a lap of luxury for the hype priestess to walk home with the greatest prize of all in a winner takes all show. Phyna now joins the illustrious list of former BBNaija winners who have built flourishing careers in Nigeria’s creative industry.
In its seventh-season run, the BBNaija show has continued to draw a record audience across Africa as the biggest reality show on the continent.
The show’s guarantee of fame and wealth from brand endorsements has continued to inspire many young Nigerians to audition for reality shows. Organisers say they received over 40,000 applications for BBNaija season 7.
The grand finale aired live on DStv channel 198 and GOtv channel 29, featuring live performances by Nigerian superstars Falz, Mi Abaga, and Pheelz.