With the high level of rape happening in Nigeria in recent time, especially to minors, Nigerians especially feminists should promote decency not a show of shame“
Nigeria’s most controversial reality TV Show, Big Brother Naija popularly called BBNaija kicked off on Sunday, June 30th 2019 to the excitement of many spectators around the world with the usual controversies.
This year’s edition is tagged “Pepper Dem” and will run for 92 straight days. We have started seeing a bit of what is yet to come at the same time taking note of the controversies of which we are going to take a look at some.
1. Foreigner’s Show
Despite the fact that being a Nigerian is one of the requirements to qualify for the show, many of this year’s BBNaija aspirants, fans and viewers were quick to point out that the “Pepper Dem” edition is occupied with more foreigner’s than Nigerians. Some noted that it must have been one of the aims of the organizers when they tagged it “Pepper Dem”.
This has resulted in so many backlashes from some fans. Some fans took to their twitter handle to express their disappointments.
#BBNaija why this show is always selective, 90% of housemates are already known person, be it in media or entertainment line or foreigners that only. Visit 9ja once a year. We hardly see neutral person
— Adewale (@Lovingheart4ril) July 4, 2019
So big brother is asking the housemates to share their audition experiences so it won’t be like say they had straight ticket.. They are telling us that there is a special room for awon foreigners. #ogalasun #BBNaija2019
— OGALASUN (@ogalasun) July 4, 2019
2. Value System
Recall that thousands of young Nigerians struggled to get into the audition venues with the hope of being selected as was seen in many videos in circulation in popular cities like Lagos and Ibadan.
It was puzzling for many to see a Manchester-based Mike, London Police Officer Khafi, Ike among others who revealed that this is their first time in Lagos, making the poor young Nigerian youths living in Nigeria and took their time to flood the audition venue look more hopeless.
Nigerians have started probing BBNaija’s value system and audition process. While some think the rich and influential ones will always enjoy at the expense of the average populace, there are still some Nigerians that believe the world is meant to be for the rich and influential ones.
Another major point of question among observers is if being a “Diaspora-Nigerian” now earns you more privilege than being an indigenous Nigerian.
3. Morality
One of the annual BBNaija controversies trailing the BBNaija program ever since it was launched is the appropriateness of the show. According to the organizers of the program, the program is to be viewed by people who is 18 and above.
However, many are not taking this as a justification to spread immorality across the land. When asked about the BBNaija show, Olawale said:
“With the high level of rape happening in Nigeria in recent time, especially to minors, Nigerians especially feminists should promote decency not a show of shame”
He believes the Government, activists and feminists are too soft with the fight against rape if they are not ready to fight indecency, especially among females.
4. Profit Generation
While it is established that everyone has the right to spend his/her money anyhow he likes, a lot of people have argued that if the rate of poverty in Nigeria is as poor as it is being reported, millions of Nigerians will not pay N30 per SMS to vote for a show that gives them nothing in return other than something to “talk about”.
According to Premium Times report of 2018, over 170 Million votes were cast in the Big Brother “Double Wahala” show, a figure that is a little bit above the total population estimate of Nigeria according to the 2006 general census. This saw the BBNaija rake in about N5.1 Billion.
The BBNaija organizers, however, claimed that that the computation was faulty as a lot of votes were cast online for free and that telecommunication networks through which the votings were done withheld substantial part of the SMS fee.
The is also one of the BBNaija Controversies.
5. Community Development
The BBNaija has contributed a lot to the developments of Nigeria through the award of a huge amount of money, usually in millions, to the winners of the show. In a publication by SaharaRepoters, Timi Olagunju believes it can be used as a tool to promote leadership and deliver good governance in Nigeria.
This aspect has also generated a lot of controversies among observers, as some claims that the damage it is causing the community is far greater than whatever developments it is providing.
