The Northerners and some of the groups born in the area have been known to have gone to extremes to express their displeasure with certain entertainment shows. Some say it has something to do with religion, while others are of the opinion that the Islamic religion is subjective in terms of practice.
Every now and then, you see groups like Arewa Youths raining fire and brimstone on individuals or bodies who go against their belief system.
Big Brother Naija has been known to be a well-beleaguered show when it comes to its acceptance in Northern Nigeria. However horrible, a considerable number of educated Northerners have always seen the programme from its positive sides, even though they keep their opinions secret in most cases. Saying it out could subject one to lynching by one extreme group or the other.
Yousef – one of the housemates in the ongoing BBN – has been a topic of observation. On the first week of his arrival in the house, people already thought he would easily leave, given the fact that “only his northern guys” were expected to vote for him. And seeing that the Muslims do not take such shows to heart, many concluded that he won’t even be getting votes from Muslims. But how he has managed to last this long, and almost with the highest votes in most cases, has shown that apart from some of us who see him as a proper gentleman, the guy is loved by his brothers.
The Northerners are voting for Yousef, and he could likely be the first-ever Northerner to win the show.
I think this is a marketing scheme by Multichoice Nigeria. Selecting him as one of the housemates is obviously an experiment to see if the Northerners will throw away pretence when one of their own is involved in a competition.
From all indications, Islamic youths are falling into the desires of Multichoice, and subsequent editions of the show could be auditioned in such a way that one or two northerners would enter the house.
This, to me, is good business.
Written by: Edward Amah
