There’s nothing Nigerians love more than playing spectator to the drama in other people’s lives. Outside of our fake hatred for semo, the one other thing that unites us as a people is amebo, and that’s why we love Big Brother.
With each new season of the show, we find previous housemates striving to remain relevant in the face of their successors. But what happens when a housemate leaves the show and either chooses to disappear or simply fails to hold our attention as an audience? Well, it has happened before, and these are what some of our former Big Brother faves who disappeared have been up to lately.
Igho Karen
Karen was the real bad bitch. Funny, audacious, and five seconds away from showing you craze. She walked so that housemates like CeeC, Tasha and Phyna could run.
After emerging as the first female winner of the Big Brother Africa show in 2011, she made a few appearances on some Nollywood shows, popped up in Blackberry Babes Reloaded and hosted a radio programme on Naija FM. She also had a brief stint with music. While Karen may have left our minds, she’s maintained her presence on social media and recently appeared in an episode of And Just Like That, a sequel to Sex and The City.
Katung Aduwak
Katung was a contestant on the first season of Big Brother Nigeria in 2006. While Ebuka has become a celebrity sweetheart and fashion icon now, he lost to Katung Aduwak in BBN 1 back in the day. After winning the $100k prize, Katung went to a film school, taking a more behind-the-scenes approach to the spotlight. Since then, he’s directed a few short films, and become an artist and public speaker. His most recent project is a masterclass on becoming a reality star.
Michael Efe
Michael Efe, known as Efemoney, went into the Big Brother house looking to blow. His strategy was his musical talent, poverty sob stories about drinking garri without sugar every day and his life in Warri. These were enough for Nigerians to vote for him as their winner of the See Gobe season of Big Brother Naija.
Efemoney went straight from the Big Brother house to the studio, but Nigerians were quick to turn their attention from him once they realised his songs didn’t slap like that. That hasn’t stopped Efemoney because he’s still in the music business, and recently released an EP, Stubborn Boy.
Miracle Igbokwe Ikechuckwu
Even though Miracle won Big Brother Naija: Double Wahala in 2018, it was pretty evident the pilot and model had no desire to remain in the entertainment business. After the show, he went back to aviation school and graduated a year later. Since then, he’s focused on being a pilot and scarcely updates his social media posts. Miracle really won and said, “Aired, dfkm” to the Nigerian entertainment scene.
Ezekiel Bright Osemudiamen
Brighto may not have made it to the top five, but his impact during the Lockdown season of BBN was felt. The audience couldn’t choose which version of Brighto they liked more: The one that made semo at midnight like a thief or the Chiwetalu Agu-inspired one that kept pitting housemates against each other. Since he left the house in 2020, he’s started a car dealership business, Lord B Autos, and occasionally features in comedy skits on Instagram.
Olamilekan Agbeleshebioba
Laycon didn’t just win BBNaija season 5, he won the hearts of Nigerians with his grass-to-grace story and display of intelligence. Like Efemoney, this artist was in the house to build his brand and amass recognition, which he succeeded in doing because his fans were streaming his songs while he was still in the house.
Three years later, it seems his fame from the show is dwindling because even though he’s still very much in the music industry, there’s hardly any buzz around his music. The most recent mention of him is the MA he’s since received from Portsmouth University.
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