Big Brother Naija, otherwise called BBNaija, started on March 5, 2006. It is a reality show on which contestants, both male and female, from different parts of the country are jammed in an isolated house to compete for a cash prize worth $100,000 at the end of the show. This is only possible if one is not evicted from the house by viewers.
The first show ran from March 5 to June 4, 2006. From 2006 till 2020, that is a total of 14 years. That means BBNaija has been in existence for the past 14 years. It is a Nigeria reality competition television series where 12 to 21 contestants are allowed to live in house with food provided, expecting to win prize for doing nothing. Besides, cash prizes, other material gifts are given to the winner.
It is aired on live DStv and Africa Magic. At the beginning of the contest, youths get themselves auditioned and they are selected to be camped in the house for the number of days. One sees the boys and the girls just roaming round the house, cooking for themselves, eating, sleeping, quarrelling, messing up themselves and committing the most public form of immorality.
Cameras are fixed in all the places, so there is no where an member of the house could hide without the camera seeing whatever they are doing. Some are nudely cladded and impurity is put on sale. One can imagine people from different cultures are lumped in one house, doing nothing but just cooking and exhibiting the worst from of unhealthy character.
This year the BBNaija has kicked off again. I think it is high time the government of Nigeria banned the Big Brother Naija programme. The programme has no contribution to life in any form or any way. Rather it encourages laziness among youths who crave to win millions and rise to stardom through loose living in an indecent environment. The environment encouraged high level immorality and promiscuity.
It is defiling and dirty for the viewing eyes. Yes, some may say if you cannot view it, turn your television to another channel. While that is correct, it must be stated that young minds will not turn their minds to another channel because of the alluring nature of the dirty characters in the reality show. Its entertaining nature as some people put it is sickening and destroys the moral fabrics of society.
A society built on moral sanctity and wants to breed well organised and disciplined children and youths cannot expose its youths to such morally degrading and debasing show on the television. It is captivating and attention grabbing because of the weakness of the human nature. Those arguing in favour of it are morally depraved souls and have no sense of morals in a decent society.
One wonders why winners should receive such huge reward of millions of Naira when youths who have struggled through education have remained at home seeking for jobs but no job for them. Besides that there are some students who participate in brain tasking competitions, win all rounds to the national level and are judged to be genius in their fields but they get no recognition for their efforts. But youths who gather in a house to mess up among themselves are honoured with prizes in millions. This is disturbing.
The show is engaging youths and diverting their minds from their education, especially now that the federal government has called for resumption of classes for students writing external examinations, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the exam to be conducted by the National Board for Technical Examinations (NABTEB).
It’s time the government stood up and banned the reality show. It will help save the youths of Nigeria from thinking of quick wealth and working hard to earn a decent living. The painful part is that our governments give their blessing to this show. State governments are supportive of this dirty show by giving additional rewards to winners who have messed up themselves at the Big Brother House.
It is most disgraceful seeing Nigerians from different states donating money to assist whoever is from their states to emerge winner from the contest. This is the height of insensitivity of some Nigerians. I think it’s the show was blocked and banned from Nigeria.
