Nigeria: Lessons From BBA
BY BOCO EDET, 31 AUGUST 2013
OPINION
Africa's princess, as she liked to call herself, Dillish was upgraded to queen last Sunday with a $300,000 bounty. She became the third woman after eight seasons to win Big Brother Africa (BBA) season 8 (The Chase).
Dillish from Namibia took the lead with five country votes, followed by rap artiste Cleo who is from Zambia with four country votes, Elikem the Ghanaian was third with three country votes, Melvin and Beverly both of whom represented Nigeria came in fourth and fifth respectively with two and one country votes in that order.
Dillish during the final task presentation on Thursday in the Big Brother house, as if sensing what was coming to her, gave 'Biggie' her princess crown and wand to pass unto his daughter if he had one and announced that she would now wish to be addressed as Queen Dillish.
But her win came as a huge shock for her biggest fans: the Nigerians. If you say these results dealt a huge blow to the ego of Nigerians you won't be far from the truth. In fact, one wicked tweet which made the rounds on twitter said, "Nigerians have never been shocked like this since Abacha died."
It was unusually sober on the BBATheChase hash tag after Melvin and Beverly were evicted. The usually loud Nigerians went quiet or took the cheap route: claiming the results had been rigged. It was the turn of the East Africans who had been bullied throughout the season to jubilate and taunt Nigerians.
But I was more surprised by the shock expressed by Nigerians. Having gained a few kilos watching BBA for a full month during my annual leave and dedicatedly for the remaining 60 days, following the voting patterns as housemates were been evicted every week, I saw Melvin's chance of winning becoming a dream.
Summarily, here are my reasons: Nigerians and by extension West Africa campaigned more for Dillish than either Melvin or Beverly because in their heads they thought Melvin and Dillish were in love with each other (even dubbed them Mellish) plus they seemed hypnotised by Dillish's captivating beauty, in fact four of the five times Dillish was nominated she was saved because of the West African votes, Melvin and Beverly were the least nominated so the opportunity to test their popularity before Africa never really presented itself except once in Melvin's case but Dillish had been nominated five times and even though Nigeria felt it was a big advantage that the housemates were not nominating their country representatives it turned out to be a big disadvantage eventually.
Asides all of these dynamics, Dillish seemed to have her strategy locked down more than either of the two contestants from Nigeria. Melvin, while he had an appealing character, a large heart and a friendly disposition he wasn't much of an entertainer. If I dare say the truth, I usually switched channel whenever his diary sessions came up and didn't really get to know what he was about. Beverly on the other hand tried too hard to entertain: she told ridiculous lies, chased men, begged for sex and came off as been too desperate for attention.
Dillish however flirted her way all through especially with the West Africans, she was attached to Melvin at the hips, campaigned for Bassey (from Sierra Leone) to come to the Diamond house, became close to Elikem when both houses merged without been kissed by any man. She knew when to talk about her boyfriend Stephen and when to flirt with Melvin who had a serious crush on her. Then she never joined camps, never gossiped about anyone and avoided confrontations like a plague. She also maintained a low profile, was never in your face and kept a bubbly personality all through.
However I personally think while the housemates were playing their game on the inside, their countries were playing another one on the outside and it was about ego. The biggest mistake Nigeria made was to carry on like they owned the game and could manipulate it the way they wanted. They really got on the nerves of not only SADC but especially the East Africans.
Nigerians boasted they were responsible for the eviction of Pokello for passing bad comments at West Africa when Melvin saved Selly and swapped Hakeem from Zimbabwe who eventually went home, they boasted again when Oneal from Botswana (who was also hating on West Africa) left. They never supported housemates who nominated Nigerians even if it was in their best interest to do so strategically for their country mates and they carried on like it was a birth right for them to remain in the house and not be nominated.
So even if Melvin had a lovable character, other countries chose not to see it, they were simply fed up with Nigeria's pushover attitude. Nigerians seemed to forget that even if we were 160million in number it only amounted to one country vote and they would need the votes of other countries especially as they had two country representatives in the finals and a Ghanaian who would definitely take his own country vote.
In fact, asides Dillish winning the money the two other big embarrassments last Sunday for Nigerians was Elikem the first Ghanaian to make it to the finals in the history of BBA beating both Nigerians and Sierra Leone voting for him. That shocked me because in that final week I had heard comments like, "Nigeria would rig other country votes for Melvin" and to finally see they couldn't even get Sierra Leone. Sad!
This season East Africa ( Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) earned my respect and moving forward I hope Nigerians who vote would learn a thing or two from them and have the sense to befriend them. They were the game changers. While other countries were tweet fighting or strapping on TV, they were silently voting for their candidates and they always presented a united front. I kept saying that as long as Nigeria did not get East Africa on her side we would never win and I was proven right. They helped secure Dillish's victory because otherwise she would have been left with Angola and Malawi.
I hope this experience has humbled Nigeria. Next year it would pay us more to run a clean campaign not naming and shaming other country mates, drop our untouchable attitude, vote more and talk less and stop pushing others over.
If a young lady with a country population of two million winning the money isn't enough lesson I don't know what is. Meanwhile, Dillish congratulations. Finally, you can build a home for your family.
Meanwhile, Beverly during answering questions on Rhythm 93.7 FM's Morning Show said, "I'll still say nothing happened between me and Angelo. I did not have sex with Angelo. I loved him and I still love him. I would get married to Angelo if I had the chance. "
On his girlfriend she said, "I don't want to talk about his so called girlfriend because I don't know anything about her.
On her BBA: The Chase strategy, the model said, "I talk a lot. My strategy was nothing. I just went with the flow."
She has also turned down an invitation by Afrocandy to feature in a video and says she'll "continue with my online reality show "Beverly Says" and I'll finish school. That's what is important now."
BBA Finalists Beverly and Melvin to be Hosted at Cool Club Hop at Club Vegas Tonight
The organizers of Cool Club Hop with Star Music hosted Nigeria's BBA finalists, Beverly and Melvin, as special guests at the second edition of the popular event which held at celebrity hotspot, Club Vegas, Ikeja.
Beverly and Melvin arrived the country earlier in the week -amidst tight security- to a rousing welcome from avid fans and admirers, and were amongst the special stars gracing the glamorous blue carpet last Wednesday.
The Cool Club Hop with Star Music at Club Vegas was their first public appearance since returning home from the popular 90-day reality show, Big Brother Africa, which held recently in South Africa.
The event will also provided eager fans a first time opportunity to meet and greet with the duo.
Before appearing at Big Brother Africa The Chase, 27-year-old Melvin Oduah, a Chemistry graduate, was a model and actor who desired to use his exposure on the international platform to further launch his budding career.
Ada Beverly Osu, a popular model, video vixen, actress and self confessed 'life of the party' was no stranger to the screen with numerous appearances in music videos before her stint in the show.
Fans and admirers also had the opportunity to meet and mingle with other celebrity guests as well as their favourite OAPs from Cool FM- Mannie, Kaylah, Mercy and others.
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