Yesterday marked the beginning of another season of Nigeria’s most-watched reality TV show, Big Brother Naija.
Or should we say Big Brother Titans (BBTitans) since it is fused with both the Nigerian and South African franchises?
As many Nigerians were excited to see what the collaborative season would hold, some patriotic Nigerians were not so happy about the Big Brother Titans’ timing. It clashes with a critical point in Nigeria’s history — the 2023 general elections.
There are also conspiracy theories about political parties sponsoring the show to distract voters, according to Labour Party spokesperson Yunusa Tanko.
Was launching BBTitans the right move? Could it really “distract” young voters? Here’s what four Nigerian youths had to say about this:
“The timing is alarming and gives money laundering vibes for the elections.” — Martha*
Videographer Martha believes that while people are now more politically aware of the need to vote, the BBTitans may be funded by political opposition parties because of the timing.
According to Martha, “Why would they be having to run the whole show now? What happened to having to do a reunion for the last set? Before a new one begins? And they had to kickstart a new one by January? It doesn’t just feel right.
I also believe it’s a money laundering avenue for the elections. Any money that is moved at this point would be considered as “sponsor’s money”, and there will be no trace to find.”
On her thoughts of voting for the 2023 elections, Martha sadly can’t join the bandwagon of voters this year, as she could not catch up with Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) registrations.
“The BBTitans are also at risk of losing viewership during the elections” — Isaac*
Isaac as a media practitioner is highly anticipating voting for his favourite candidates in the 2023 elections and doesn’t see the show as a distraction.
However, he also wants people to realise that the 2023 elections are not the only program at risk of losing the attention it deserves.
In his opinion, Multichoice (the African broadcasting company hosting the show) would also be aware of the 2023 elections holding and might also be taking a huge business risk by organising the show at this time.
He also feels that the decision was made due to the two countries (Nigeria and South Africa) coming together to host one show.
“People arguing about the BBTitans timing is an agenda that is unreal.” — Yinka
For upcoming music artist Yinka, he doesn’t see why an election process of 2-4 hours for 2 days will clash with BBTitans.
According to Yinka, “As a voter, I am not going to spend the whole day watching BBTitans. I am also not going to spend all day at the polls. Most of the BBTitan drama happens in the evenings from past seasons. This doesn’t coincide with voting which takes place in the morning. The fact that people are literally taking this agenda and running with it shows that Nigerians are bored and just looking for anything to talk about. It is an agenda that is unreal.”
“Big Brother will not distract me from my tasks.” — Elizabeth
Big Brother is definitely not the hindrance that people think it is, according to Elizabeth.
In her own words, “I think there’s no one that was really going to vote that’d be distracted by BBN. I watch BBN and still deliver on my tasks, so this is not even that deep.”
Sadly, Elizabeth can’t vote due to issues with recapturing her Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC).
So what do we think about their opinions? Let us also know your thoughts in the comments below.
Don’t forget to pick up your PVC and vote come February!
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