Like many issues I used to be oblivious to, I didn’t know something about Large Brother Naija a few years in the past. If I had not discovered myself working in digital media, I won’t have been as accustomed to the present as I’m now. I knew it was a actuality present. I knew when college students in my college cramped right into a single corridor to observe what I now know because the eviction present. I used to listen to loud noises from that corridor at any time when one thing eventful occurred or maybe, their favorite housemate was evicted. However I used to be by no means . To me, it was simply one other present like Sport of Thrones or Star Wars that I won’t hassle to observe.
I wasn’t alone. I had buddies who weren’t too. However the distinction between me and these buddies is that I wasn’t crucial of the present. My buddies hated the present as a result of, they stated, it distracts folks from the nation’s realities. I don’t agree. I don’t imagine a actuality present – among the many quite a few mediums of leisure in Nigeria – has a lot impression on us to overlook our actuality as a nation and folks. For the previous few years, Nigeria has skilled unrelenting socio-economic and political volatility. Even once you need to stay apathetic or apolitical, the tough financial state of affairs jolts you again into actuality, one {that a} present like Large Brother Naija can not alienate you from.
Sure, Nigerians are neck deep within the rising excessive value of dwelling. Issues are exhausting and costly. Inflation is strangling necks and tightening bellies. Individuals are hungry. Lives are at risk. The unemployment charge retains bumping up. Gas prices are costly. Dwelling is changing into tougher day-to-day. Sure, these are recognized info however we can watch the present and nonetheless be crucial of our authorities. We will be entertained whereas being politically aware. The 2 aren’t mutually unique.
It’s okay if discussions that emerge from the present don’t contact on actual societal points like gender roles, relationships, and even the economic system. However we should do not forget that it’s not Large Brother Naija’s accountability to unravel Nigeria’s issues. The present is designed for leisure, and it does simply that. Anticipating a actuality TV present to handle the nation’s points is a misplaced demand. Individuals additionally say issues like, “I can not sit on my screens to observe different folks,” however we additionally watch and go gaga over soccer or concert events. Each present is established for these . If you’re not all in favour of following or watching the present, that’s a alternative that nobody will fault you for holding. You shouldn’t fault others for holding in any other case too.
Some folks additionally complain that Large Brother Naija dominates their social media timelines, filling their feeds with content material they’d fairly not see. However within the age of algorithms, we have now extra management than ever over what we devour. If the present’s content material is to not your style, you possibly can mute the hashtags, unfollow the accounts, or just scroll previous. The digital world is huge and various, catering to everybody’s pursuits. Complaining about Large Brother Naija taking over area in your timeline is you underutilising the instruments at your disposal to curate your on-line expertise.
I don’t contemplate it a good critique to say that BBNaija diverts folks’s consideration from urgent nationwide points. Leisure has at all times existed alongside societal challenges, and it’s equally as necessary as political or financial points. Individuals want leisure, not simply to outlive however to really feel human, to attach, and to expertise pleasure. The truth that Nigerians nonetheless discover time to observe Large Brother Naija regardless of the nation’s financial difficulties speaks to the proven fact that the present is assembly their have to be entertained and socially linked. In the long run, Large Brother Naija is a mirrored image of the society that consumes it. It is probably not everybody’s cup of tea, nevertheless it serves a goal. It brings pleasure, ignites conversations, and, for a couple of weeks, supplies a shared expertise in a rustic usually divided by a lot. Those that criticise it for being a distraction should additionally acknowledge the significance of distractions in a world that always feels overwhelming.
Large Brother Naija will hold airing, it doesn’t matter what. In case your values or faith doesn’t share a familiarity with the present’s, the simple response is to disregard it. The present’s very existence would possibly look like a snub to the “seriousness” of the state of affairs of the nation, however maybe the true affront is the expectation that individuals must be in a continuing state of tension, by no means permitting themselves a second of reprieve. In a rustic the place survival usually appears like a full-time job, slightly leisure isn’t just a distraction, it’s a necessity. Let folks get pleasure from what they need, please.
