From its inception 14 years ago, Big Brother Naija season 1, until the current season now in 2020 with the Big brother Naija Lockdown show, a host of celebrities and influencers have been birthed and will continue to be birthed from the show.
From Ebuka, who was a contestant on the first season of the show, to mega-influencer, Tacha, who is quickly making a name for herself, Big Brother Naija, also known as BBNaija, has proved itself to be a kingmaker of sorts.
Of course, viewers enjoy the show, with thousands of people choosing favourites at the beginning of the show and sticking with them until the end.
This can be noticed from the incredible rise in social media following of these stars from the moment they get into the house and even after the show is over.
The show is incredibly influential in housemates lives, helping them get incredible benefits like fame, money, and so many other side attractions. Of course, this all depends on how the housemates make use of their opportunities after the house.
It is well known that some of these opportunities can quickly slip by you while you are looking at something else or sometimes not even come to you. You may have to go out to find it.
In this list, we will go back in time to the Big Brother Naija season 1 housemates and try to find out where they all are now. Which of them stayed in the limelight and which did not?
The 2006 show featured 14 contestants with a $100,000 prize money. Katung Aduwak won the grand prize while Sandra Osigbovo and Ifeoma Ejikeme ended up as runners up.
In this list, we will see what they are all up to in 2020. Enjoy.
1. Katung Aduwak
Katung was 26 years old when he won the inaugural edition of the Big Brother Naija show. He went home with the $100,000 prize money.
Despite being the first to get a confirmation to be a contestant in the show, Katung did not get to enter into the house alongside the initial 12 contestants. His win was, therefore, surprising since he came into the house after the second eviction and won about 80 per cent of the tasks.
In an interesting twist, he and his co-housemate, Sandy, were kept in isolation with no external contact and zero access to TV or news for three weeks before they were introduced to the show.
By this time, though, Big Brother is known for his tricks and twists, and so, it is not at all surprising that this twist was added to the show.
Shortly after winning the reality TV show, Katung did not waste time and went on to study filmmaking at the Digital Film Academy in New York.
After seven years, Katung, who has been privileged to work with top organisations, as well as explore his creativity, decided to pursue his passion for filmmaking.
Since then, he has produced and directed several movies, including the movies Unwanted Guest and Heaven’s Hell.
He also directed a number of music videos for Chocolate City, Styl Plus and Gabriel Afolayan. He also starred in EbonyLife TV’s drama series, Desperate Housewives.
Katung is currently the Senior Channel Manager MTV Base and an Executive Director at Chocolate City.
2. Francisca Owumi
Francisca Owumi definitely enjoyed her time in the house, and this made her one of the most popular housemates on the show.
She was known as the fiery dancer during her stay in the Big Brother Naija house, and this helped the beautiful housemate, Francisca to nab the position of the first runner up.
What has she done since then though? The Big Brother Naija season 1 housemate has definitely explored her passions.
After a short period as a writer at Revista, an international magazine based in Ghana, she made an attempt into the Nigerian music industry with two singles Gbadun you and Diva. Her attempts did not yield much fruit, however. She is currently a talk show host at Fashionista TV.
3. Ifeoma ‘Ify’ Ejikeme
Ifeoma Ejikeme was definitely another popular face on the show and this helped her to go very far in the show, all the way to the final stage.
This gorgeous housemate, nicknamed Ify, placed third in the Big Brother reality TV show.
During her stay in the Big Brother House, she had an amorous on-the-screen relationship with the eventual winner of the show, Katung.
However, the relationship did not stand the test of time as it ended at the end of the show. This seems to be commonplace among most of the relationships that begin in the house, with the exception of a few, of course.
After the show, Ify retired to a private life outside the spotlight. She is currently an entrepreneur and is based in New Jersey.
4. Sandra ‘Sandy’ Osigbovo
Not everyone wants fame and fortune from the Big Brother Naija show. Some people just want to take a break from life, relax, and have fun.
This may have been the case for Sandra Osigbovo. The Big Brother Naija season 1 housemate, who was also referred to as Sandy, finished fourth in the Big Brother Naija House.
Fourteen years after the competition came to an end, Sandra has now found her passion as a certified fitness trainer and Zumba instructor. She is also a Fellow at the Institute of Registered Exercise Professionals.
5. Frank Konwea
When you place a number of people together within a space, of course, you will get people with different personalities, including the very obvious extroverts. Such was the case with Frank Konwea.
He was incredibly outspoken and he never allowed it to be forgotten. Now, Frank continued his career as a professional dancer, performing at several shows and concerts.
He was also a judge on a popular dance TV show. He has two decades of experience in stage productions dance and drama, TV series and a few movies. A theatre artist, Frank has featured in quite a number of stage plays, dance pieces local, and mostly international.
6. Joseph Ada
In 2006, when the Big Brother Naija season 1 show was held, Joseph Ada was 32 years old and was the oldest housemate on the show.
At the time, Joseph worked as a flight attendant. Sadly, he became the ninth contestant to be evicted from the Big Brother Naija reality TV house.
Now, he is doing well for himself and has moved completely past the reality Tv show. Joseph Ada currently lives in Washington, America, where he runs his own concierge services company.
7. Helen Eremiokhale
Helen Eremiokhale was one of the 12 housemates in the inaugural Big Brother Naija show.
She was referred to as the ‘mama’ of the house because of her love for cooking meals for everyone in the house. Helen currently owns and manages a catering business, Helen’s Kitchen.
8. Ebuka Obi-Uchendu
Ebuka Obi-Uchendu’s story is a testament to how temporary setback cannot really define a person’s journey. Most times, we will have to wait and see, no matter how accurate we may think our guesses are.
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Ebuka was the seventh housemate to be evicted from the house but now, he has turned that around. He is now unarguably the most popular Big Naija season 1 contestant.
After his stint in the house, he went on to write for a number of newspapers and magazines. He also anchored some high profile events before taking a break from the public eye and his fast-paced life to go back to school for his master’s degree in Law.
Now, he is reaping the fruits of his labour. Ebuka has become a highly ranked media personality of note. He has won several awards and was also honoured by the Federal Government by being included among the Top 100 Young Nigerians to mark Nigeria’s centenary celebration in 2014.
Interestingly, he returned to the Big Brother Naija franchise, hosting the show from 2017 until today, in 2020. This is what has brought Ebuka the majority of his fame.
He is known as the Big Brother Naija host with the interesting outfits and more interesting questions which never cease to put housemates on the spot.
9. Gideon Okeke
Many people know Gideon Okeke as an incredibly gifted actor, but not many will remember that he was a part of the very first Big Brother Naija show.
Gideon Okeke was evicted from the Big Brother house on Day 50 but he did not let this deter him from pursuing his dream career in acting.
Almost immediately after he exited the house, he bagged a role as Philips Ade Williams on the MNET produced soap opera Tinsel. From there, his career took off.
His famous face can now be seen on movie posters in several cinema houses in Nigeria. His acting prowess has also earned him a number of accolades and recognition, including an award for Best Actor in a TV series (Drama) Nigerian Entertainment Award in 2010 and a nomination for Best Actor in a Drama in the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Award in 2015.
He has been a part of big-budget stage productions such as critically acclaimed SARO The Musical. He has also hosted several TV shows and events and is currently the CEO of a media outfit, AppleBox.
10. Maureen Osuji
Unfortunately, the popular vote was not enough to keep the then 23-year-old Psychology graduate, Maureen Osuji in the Big Brother Naija season 1 house and she was evicted from the show.
After her time in the reality TV house, she did not choose a career in entertainment but one in the corporate world.
She later proceeded to the Fashion Retail Academy in London for a degree in Fashion Buying Merchandising. Maureen, who also had a stint in Nollywood, is currently a Creative Director and independent media buyer at Aurora Daniels.
11. Joan Agabi
Joan Agabi may not have won the hearts of the majority of Nigerians but she was a favourite in the house.
After leaving the show, she delved into acting and starred in movies like Be My Val 2 and Twisted. She is currently working actively in the hospitality industry.
12. Chinedu Amah
Chinedu Amah was only 24 years old when he became a part of the Big Brother Naija show. His time on the show was definitely interesting. He was also a strong contender during his time on the show and has always been self-employed.
After he left the house, he continued to run his own businesses. He is currently the CEO of Spark Media Ltd, a communications company focused on the Nigerian power sector.
13. Adeyinka Oremosu
Adeyinka Oremosu was definitely interesting. He wore braids, stood at six feet eight inches tall, and was a one time musician.
He was also known as an all-round entertainer in the house. Today, he has decided to go down the same line and chase after all his passions. This is impressive as not many people have the bravery to do so.
He is a travel curator/blogger, hotel reviewer, radio personality and masseur.
14. Ichemeta Ochoga
Ichemeta Ochoga was the first housemate to be evicted from the Big Brother Naija season 1 reality TV show. She was also the youngest contestant at the time.
However, shortly after she left the house, she dropped out of the spotlight.
Now, Ichemeta is married and is now known as Ichemeta Ochoche. She currently lives in Markurdi, Benue State where she practices as a teacher and preacher of the gospel.
Conclusion
Fame comes and goes like the waves of water on a beach. We can hardly stop the progression, neither can we hope to predict it.
These 14 housemates who joined the Big Brother Naija house in 2006 did so because they were in search of fame, money or both. Now, 14 years later, we are taking a look back into their lives and then connecting that to where they are now.
Additionally, future Big Bother Naija housemates can look at this list in order to gain a higher understanding of the type of things that they should expect by being on the show.
Nothing happens by magic, and the show definitely won’t place everything that you need in your lap. What it does, however, is to give you a much-needed boost as it did for many housemates on this show.
So, we want to know: did you watch the original Big Brother Naija show in 2006, and if yes, which of these housemates did you already know and which of them surprised you now?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and don’t forget to share this article.
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