By Ada Obeleagu, YeyeNews.com, September 30, 2021
Producers of the most successful TV Show in Nigeria, Big Brother Naija, have announced that the show’s next edition will be a Sharia law friendly edition. The organizers of the most popular show in Africa made the announcement on the night the show evicted Liquorse.
The move, as explained in a news circular received by YeyeNews.com, was necessary to stop people in northern Nigeria from being alienated. In addition, it will douse the fire ignited due to calls from mostly Muslim adherents to censor the show or cancel it because it promotes immoral acts.
“We just have to do it for peace’s sake,” said Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, the host. “Maybe one edition, and then we go back to our normal show”, he explained.
Asked what he thought the reaction of Nigerians might be, Ebuka told YeyeNews.com that it would not matter either way. “If Nigerians hate it, it will justify what we have been doing; and if they love it and vote with their money, we will smile to the bank as always. It is a win-win situation for us”, he added.
A top movie producer based in Lagos who is close to the BBnaija organisers told YeyeNews.com reporter that the idea of a Sharia law friendly edition was hatched by the show organizers after the end of the Lockdown edition. “Nobody can actually say how the Sharia edition will be received by viewers” he said. “The idea has been entertained for a long time now. That’s exactly why Yousef was brought into the “Shine Ya Eyes” edition – to gauge the effect a devout Muslim on the show will have on viewers. And it was a success”, the producer expanded.
Another source told YeyeNews.com reporter that the performance of Yousef on the show and the support he got across the country is a testament to the possibility of hosting a successful Sharia edition. He informed that even though there were still some conservative Muslims who opposed the show, Yousef was obviously able to soften the mind of a huge chunk of that constituency.
When asked if they wee not worried about how southern viewers might react to a BBnaija Sharia edition, Ebuka told YeyeNews.com reporter that “Southerners are quite liberal. Their curiosity will make them sit and watch the Sharia edition. Our surveys and polls have confirmed that. And with Yousef’s success here. I will call say to critics to brace themselves for a BBnaija Sharia edition next season. It is inevitable”.
