Saturday 14 July 2012

Weekend special. BBA: Nigeria’s Golden egg


When it was announced that she will be joining the Bigbrother house, there was mixed feelings about her decision. MNET was not clear about the roles of the stars in the house so many just watched and waited to see what Goldie was up to. By the time it was clear that they were regular house mates just like the others, Goldie being part of the show was no longer an issue. In fact Nigerians did not see her as a flag bearer at first. Goldie was not the only one in such fix. 
The whole upville members were hardly given a second look.
This year Endemol, the production partners with Big brother decided to split the house into two. The first one is the Upville where stars from various countries will be playing the game. The Downville on the other hand is where the well-publicised pairs where kept. Little by little, the pairs where evicted. Those who survived eviction were promoted to Upville.
So when the show kicked off, the more rowdy Downville was the viewers favourite. Moreover, thrilling Africans where the duo of Ola and Chris. The two were major characters that took command of the house. In fact, if not for Ola’s illness that led to the two prematurely leaving the house, they were fancied to be the ones to take the money to Nigeria for the fourth time.
Their exit automatically changed the viewing pattern of many. Thanks to MNET, each house has its own channel. Nigerian started watching out for their own Goldie in Upville. What many saw was an anti-climax to who they thought Goldie was.
Goldie before the show is known mostly from her songs, videos and pictures. One could quickly categorise her as crazy (in an entertaining way), outgoing, an extrovert, flashy and strong willed. In fact she has been dubbed as the Nigerian Lady Gaga. Those who know lady Gaga will tell that is a crazy character. Very little of this traits are seen in Goldie. In fact Big Brother has shown a side of Goldie people never knew existed.
As soon as she got into the house, she distanced herself from many housemates. She would rather stay in the kitchen cooking and washing up the plates after everybody. Big Brother once asked her while in the Dairy room, why she like cooking and cleaning so much, she said that she was used to being  busy as musician and she had to keep herself busy somehow in the house. That is why she cooks and cleans so much. She even distances herself from pranks played in the house. She once told Big brother that pranking should be banned in the house.
Goldie became fun to watch when she started hanging out with Prezzo. Prezzo is a strong contender from Kenya. He plays out to be a open minded person. Little by little, Goldie started opening up and even taking part in social activities. The only time you would see her active before was when Big brother gave them tasks. Soon Prezzo became so much involved with her. When Ghana’s Keita was introduced to the house, Prezzo told him that he could have any girl in the house but leave Goldie alone.
On the other hand Goldie was forming another relationship. This time with Barbz, the South African diva. Their friendship was so close that they both made a promise to each other never to nominate each other when it is time for eviction nominations. Last Two Sundays ago turned out to be very dramatic. Both Prezzo and Barbz were up for eviction and Goldie as head of house can save one of them. She saved Prezzo.
In recent times, the house has seen a changed Goldie. She has somehow emerged out of her shell and the house is seeing her become more assertive and less clinging. There may be two explanations for this. Firstly the exit of her good friend, and secondly the back stabbing of Prezzo. After all the attention she gave to Prezzo and even saving him from eviction, Prezzo, came out to say he does not want anything to do with Goldie. In fact he nominated her for eviction.
All of a sudden, Goldie is using her new found enthusiasm to tell the housemates and Africa as a whole that she is not a push-over. She had since shunned Prezzo and started making friends with every other person in the house. Last Sunday she even played a prank of her own. She told the new comers that the rules of the house dictates that they do all the chores in the house. she now took them to the room where their previous fellow Downvillers where hiding.
On the whole the show which started off slow has turned out to be one of the best ever. Viewership has been high. And DSTV must be smiling to the bank. Big Brother dropped the biggest bombshell of the StarGame season on Sunday’s live eviction show last Sunday. Wati and Talia had been upgraded to Upville while Nafe and Tamara were evicted just moments before Big Brother delivered the remaining four Downville housemates to a surprised group in the Upville garden. The 12 remaining housemates will now compete over the next 35 days as individuals and not pairs they started of as.
Earlier in the show, last week’s evictee Barbz  checked in and told viewers that even though her stay in Upville hadn’t turned out as she had hoped, she felt that people had appreciated what she did and who she was. Quizzed about Goldie’s decision to save Prezzo instead of her, Barbz said she had expected things to turn out the way they had because “Goldie is a weak character and she needed Prezzo to hold her down for whatever reason”. Her comments are expected as she was let down by Goldie.
So why should Africa save Goldie? Beneath that shy harmless looks is a Tigress that is fierce. Like other Nigerian winners of the show, she is not quick to reveal her true nature. She is watching, assimilating and tactful. Uti, Kevin even the wild Karen, all were smart with dealing with the house mates. Goldie as viewers are getting to see, is an emerging force, while other housemates seem to have used up their steam.
Her real names are Susan Oluwabimpe contrary to many beliefs; she had started off as a musician in Nigeria over 10 years ago. Though her starts were false starts. Goldie was born in the early 80s to Late Mrs. Olabisi Betty, a former Managing Director of a bank and father Mr Olabisi a now retired Director of one of the new generation banks who now works as a cleric in Lagos.
The first of four kids, Goldie’s education began at the Green Springs Montessori Primary School and then St. John's College, Palm Grove, Lagos.
Goldie has always had a flair for the arts and flirted with music all her life. When she moved to the United Kingdom to study Business Management at the University of Sunderland, she and a couple of friends hooked up to produce music. Despite so many failed tries, Goldie kept on trying her hands with music. She finally hit Gold when she featured elDee in her hit single ‘You know it’.
She also runs an NGO called “Don’t Touch My Body Campaign” which she uses to fight against the indiscrimination of women, rape and violence in the society. She spreads the message by embarking on secondary school tours to speak to young girls. Through her works in this area she was made a United Nations “Peace Ambassador”.
Goldie has proved herself to be successful in whatever she lays her hands on. Big Brother is another big challenge; can she cross the finish line and bring the money home? Only our votes can tell.


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