(This article was first published on Mouthpiece.com.ng in 2018. I publish it here again as I believe its message is relevant for this year’s BBN)
The Downside of BBNaija
By: Deji Yesufu
Teddy A, a young man, and Bambam, a girl, are two housemates in the ongoing Big Brother Naija reality show going on presently on DSTV. Like other housemates tend to do among themselves, these two have found love between each other and have shown it by their frequent kisses and show of affection. Last Sunday, viewers suspected that the two had sex; but there was much conjecture as to whether or not it really happened.
However, on Monday night Big Brother video cameras caught the two of them inside the bathroom, in a wave of steamy sex and hot romance. There was no doubt about it this time. The BBN had had sufficient viewership content for one night and enough to discuss about for the next few days. Despite the increased viewership such sex acts will bring the BBNaija, most people are unaware of the downside of watching programs like these.
BBNaija is a reality show that airs on DSTV. BBNaija 2018 began with twenty housemates, who are meant to spend close to three months together in a house. After a while, some of the house mates are evicted gradually. At the close of the day, the last person standing goes home with a large sum of money. This year, a whooping sum of N45Million is available to be won.
The idea behind the whole show is to create a reality TV program that will offer viewers something to watch and the more scandalous the events on the program are, the more viewership it gets. Therefore, a few weeks ago, Big Brother brought into the house packets of condoms. The purpose of these condoms were not stated but a few days ago, a participant raised the alarm that the condoms were fast depleting and that it was obvious that house members were secretly having sex. No one owned up.
At some point on the show, participants will be nominated for eviction by fellow participants. Then viewers will vote for who to leave the house. The more outrageous a person is, the more they give viewers something to watch, the less they stand being evicted from the house. And since most viewers will enjoy sex scenes, those who can offer these to them are likely to last longer on the show and thus increasing their chances of winning the prize money.
Though BBN offers viewers a whole lot of entertainment, much to watch and gossip about, the down side of it all is that the program is robbing our youths of their intellectual capacity and thus ruining their future.
There is nothing enlightening about a couple of young people sitting about lazily around a house, for close to three months, discussing nothing beneficial, fighting over flimsy issues, kissing and having sex at night. Generally speaking research has shown that reduced television viewership increases intellectual productivity. A television program that encourages youths to sit and watch a twenty-four hour show, will add nothing to their thinking and general productivity.
Nigerian youths need to be careful with what they imitate from the foreign world. Nations like the United States that has reality shows like those of the Kardashians, have also balanced their national life up with a highly productive society. Foreign nations that can afford the luxury of shows like these are already developed. If Nigerian youths will operate at the level of these countries in the future, they must up their thinking. BBNaija is not one those things that will help them.
At the inauguration of the Google Business Group, Ibadan chapter, that held at Jogor Center on Tuesday, 27th of February 2018, Tunde Onokoya, popularly known as “The Mechanic”, spoke to a gathering of Ibadan youths that would have numbered about 700. A young and enterprising young man himself, Tunde spoke about how so many facilities that exist on the internet that can be harnessed by the Nigerian youths to up their businesses and in the process make a lot of money. Mr. Onokoya ended his speech by saying to the youths: “get information; get savy; get online; get busy; and get productive.”
There is no youth today, who spends most of his free hours each day watching BBNaija, that will get the necessary information for a future business. Neither will he develop the proficiency to be savy in a skill. He will not have the time to get online and do anything productive, besides looking at Facebook. He will not be busy, as he loves the sought of idleness that BBN encourages. And worst of all, he will not be productive.
In short, BBN is producing future poverty for those who are at present engrossed with it. At their expense, the producers of the show are reaping a great deal of money and laughing, not smiling, to the bank. They are however doing it all to the detriment of these young people and to the overall productivity of the nation Nigeria. This is one reason the Nigerian government may consider banning the show.
Despite all of these, information has emerged that Bambam, the girl, is a faithful member of Revival House of Glory International Church, Abuja, Nigeria. Prior to her sexual escapade with Teddy A, Bambam was regarded as a “church girl”. Her actions in recent times have revealed how much church she has within her.
If Bambam emerges winner of this year’s Big Brother Naija, she will walk away with a sum of N45million. Her sex scenes would have paid off eventually. What cannot be debated is that this amount pales off in the light of the billions this country stands to loose as a result of loss of productivity in its future.
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