With the reality show, Big Brother Nigeria now edging closer, and less than a week for the premiere on January 28, the social media have been abuzz.
Not only are Nigerians excited and waiting to watch the new Housemates, when leading Pay TV operator, MultiChoice Nigeria, announced the return of the reality show sponsored by a leading online store, Payporte; fans from every corner of the continent are also excited about the show, making it a pan-African event.
The return of the show is coming after the success of the second edition, where aspiring hip-hop artiste, Efe Ejeba won the N25 million-prize money and an SUV after almost three months of drama, intrigue, betrayal and entertainment in the Big Brother house.
Speaking on the return of the reality show, Regional Director, M-Net West Africa, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu said: “Around the globe, the Big Brother format remains one of the most popular genres of entertainment and this is also the case in Nigeria. The edition of Big Brother Nigeria was one of the most successful reality shows not just in Nigeria, but around the continent with a record number of votes and many of the housemates going on to pursue careers in entertainment.
“We are delighted to have the show return for a third edition and cannot wait for our audiences to once again tune in to experience all of the exciting entertainment that the show is sure to provide. At MultiChoice we take pride in providing the best entertainment available to viewers not just in Nigeria, but across Africa,” she added. According to her, the last edition of the reality show was a tremendous success and prompted multiple queries about the show’s return. She added that the third edition promises to be bigger as auditions were held in six locations across the country, an increase from the three audition locations from last year.
“We are delighted to announce that the show is indeed returning for a third edition, on a bigger scale than ever before. The number of audition locations has increased and we expect that the third edition will deliver even more excitement, intrigue and round the clock entertainment that the Big Brother platform is globally renowned for,” Mba-Uzoukwu stated.
The auditions for Season 3 would be Housemates were held in Lagos, West Town Hotel Ikeja; Port Harcourt, 5141, Aba Road; Abuja, MultiChoice Office, Plot 1548 Ademola Adetokunbo Street Maitama; Enugu, Oakland Hotel and Park Tunnel Crossing Ogui Link Road; Delta, Deluxe Garden Suites, Bauchi Close, Shell Edjeba, Warri and Ibadan, Mauve 21 Events Center, MKO Abiola Way Ring Road.
In Lagos, though the call time was 7am but as early as 5am crowds of thousands of wanna be star and housemates for the reality show had gathered, patiently waiting for their chance to prove they have what it takes to be on fame land and in the Big Brother House. Many of the prospective housemates share their experiences on Twitter and Instagram.
Meanwhile, popular media personality, Season 1 alumnus and Season 2 host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, is returning as host for the highly anticipated third edition of the show.The entertainment lawyer’s reprisal follows his successful hosting of the critically acclaimed second edition of the show, which was tagged See Gobe.
Speaking on Ebuka’s return to the Big Brother stage, Mba-Uzoukwu said: “We are thrilled to have Ebuka return as host of Big Brother Naija. This was the platform that unearthed his potential first as a housemate and then as a host, ultimately launching him to stardom.
“He is a prime example of what the Big Brother platform offers, as he has proven over the years to be one of Nigeria’s biggest names in pop culture and entertainment whilst also lending his voice to youth empowerment initiatives. Fans and viewers alike are familiar with his cool, debonair and witty, on-air and on stage personality. They are guaranteed to enjoy the excitement that he brings to the Big Brother Naija show,” she explained.
Eviction night would definitely not be the same without his long pauses before announcing the evictees and great Pidgin proverbs; but women seem to be more excited about the fact that they will have great eye candy on their screens for the next few Sunday evenings.
With the battle for N45 million set to commence next Saturday, former housemates, Miyonse, Kemen have offered advise to the would-be contestants to exhibit positive attributes and exemplary qualities of themselves during the show.
The ex-housemates, who were contestants in the second edition in 2017, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Ekemini Ekerete, also known as `Kemen’ advised the contestants to put up their utmost best and stay true to themselves in the house. “Even when they feel their best is not good enough; they should keep their heads up, support each other and stay true to themselves,” he said.
The fitness entrepreneur expressed optimism that the show would live up to expectation, saying that Nigeria is a country blessed with resourceful and talented youths.
Miyonse Oluwaseyi, popularly called Miyonse on his part, also expressed optimism that the 2018 edition would be bigger, exciting and showcase more talents. “The BBNaija show is a platform for contestants to expand and develop their talents; I believe they have something unique to showcase about themselves,’ he said.
Basically they should market themselves in the house to the global viewers. Whatever they are going to do, should be in such a way that when they are out of the house, they would be able to pick up from where they started,” he added.
On his expectations from the show, the celebrity chef said that whatever shortcomings the show had previously, the organisers would improve on it. “I am positive they will improve on it this year, like washing of pots and others; I wish all the 2018 BBNaija contestants best of luck,” he stated.
Gist on the street, particularly on the social media is that fans are preparing themselves to enjoy the 24-hour entertainment, drama, romance, deceit and action.
Weekend Beat gathered that some fans that don’t want to miss any single moment of the show action are upgrading their decoder to DStv Explora decoder to enable them record all the action in the Big Brother House. Meanwhile, fans in other countries are preparing for the show by polishing up on their Pidgin
In anticipation of the reality show, many viewers have been expressing what they miss most about the show. Some said they miss watching the weird and wonderful Housemates, hearing Biggie’s voice, watching the crazy house parties and the drama.
