BBNaija… Biggie’s big tricks

The ongoing Big Brother Naija reality show is living up to the hype and buzz generated prior to its opening. Various social media platforms are abuzz with comments; debates and even teams are being formed to root for their favourite housemates.

Biggie, on the other hand, is keeping housemates on their toes with tasks, tricks and intrigues that are receiving commendations from viewers, who cannot but wait to see what he comes up with next.

So far, the housemates have shown viewers all the beautiful things they know about Nigeria including, folktales, dance, craft and drama. The reality show has brought together 14 young Nigerians with diverse cultural backgrounds to live together and relate only with one another without any contact with the outside world.

With the current arrangement, one wonders how ‘Biggie’ keeps everyone sane for that length of time without serious boredom setting in. How does he maintain steady streams of activities to keep housemates excited and not have them turn on one another, or lash out at him?

It takes a special kind of skill, experience and preparedness to hold young people in ‘lock down’ for 12 weeks and keep things interesting; keep them entertained and educated while bringing out their creative and entrepreneurial talents.

Since the first Big Brother show on the continent in 2003, the reality TV show has grown to become a favourite programme, which keeps viewers glued to their TV screens. In the Big Brother Naija house, Biggie has shown he is up to the task of keeping the housemates and the viewers spellbound.

With the show in its second week and the first real eviction expected to hold tomorrow, none of the housemates has shown any sign of wanting to opt out. The tension during the nomination stages was so palpable that it was evident that they did not enter the house to ‘look at the bridge’.

Despite the prize money being a huge motivation, activities in the house have been such that housemates are physically and mentally tasked. For TallThinTony, one of the housemates, being in the Big Brother House is a privilege, and he believes that their lives as housemates will never remain the same after the reality show.

The Big Brother’s house is huge and has beautiful furnishing and fittings that would make anyone want to stay forever. Inspite of these, the housemates lack the freedom to open the doors and walk out at will. They do not have contact with their mobile phones, the internet, television set, except the TV screen they use to interact with the show host, Ebuka, on live shows. The only way they can leave is by eviction or if there is an emergency.

Just two weeks into the show, Biggie has been able to shake things around and bring out the hidden nature of the housemates. The act of making the Head of House (HoH) the supreme ruler and being hailed Igwe have ruffled a few feathers. Some housemates are identified as the ‘haves’, depicting the upper echelon of the community, while the have-nots, depicts the lower class.

Biggie made the Igwe ensure the have-nots cook for the house and even wash the feet of some of the haves. They are to obey every single order of the Igwe without complaints. The Igwe was provided with a black book from which more instructions were written. According to the house rules, the Igwe will lose his/her position if he/she is careless with the royal regalia and is discovered and taken by someone else.

The show became more interesting on Tuesday, Day 9, when Igwe CoCoIce was dethroned following her lost of the crown and Staff of Office to Efe, who she had earlier nominated to replace Gifty, she saved from the eviction list.

To affirm his kingship, Efe needs to be in possession of the ‘black book’ or ‘diary book’ as it is called. This, the new Igwe, Efe demanded from CoCoIce, who insisted that she did not have it, but agreed to only hand it over on Biggie’s instruction.

This heightened the suspense, as the new Igwe instructed his subjects to search the entire house for the book. One wonders what will happen if the book is found, as Biggie has instructed that it is for the eyes of the Igwe alone.

From all indication, the coming weeks will be full of intrigues, suspense and excitement and it is safe to say Biggie still has a lot of tricks up his sleeves. Housemates will be put on their toes as Biggie unveils more tricks.