41 Days to General Election, Multichoice Begins Fresh Session of Big Brother

With Nigeria’s fate hanging in the balance ahead of the crucial elections slated for next month, Cable TV proprietor Multichoice has debuted a new edition of the Big Brother reality show, BBTitans.

BBTitans would feature housemates from two nations, Nigeria and South Africa. They would be competing for a grand prize of $100,000 by living together for 10 weeks.

Some Nigerians consider the debut of the entertainment show ill-timed, citing concerns that youths can be easily influenced and sidetracked from holding prospective leaders accountable as has been the norm in the past few weeks.

Recent Multichoice reality shows have never been aired so early in the year, sparking accusations that organisers may have colluded with the political establishment to distract youths who have become increasingly interested in forcing the ouster of the existing order at the imminent polls.

When general elections were last held in 2019, the Big Brother ‘Pepper Dem’ edition started airing in June, which was roughly four months after the presidential elections.

Names of former and current housemates top Twitter trends during any ongoing Big Brother Naija season, which relegate discussions about political candidates and their parties.

Fans of various housemates are also known for hosting Twitter spaces, making strategies on how to rally support and canvass votes to keep their favourite housemate from getting evicted, leaving politics to take a backseat on all trend tables.

Already, names of political candidates including #Tinubu, #Atiku, #ObiDatti, #Batified, #Sowore have vanished from the top 20 Twitter trends few hours after BBTitans premiered on DSTV, validating concerns the reality show may indeed distract the entertainment-loving Nigerian youths from paying attention to the upcoming elections.