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  • Nigerians are nothing if not passionate, especially when it comes to supporting our own. If you’ve ever watched a Nigerian reality show, you’d have witnessed the full force of this unwavering loyalty. From trending hashtags on socials, making merchandise in support to doing the absolute most just, we’ve all seen it. This support has moved through the spectrum, from ridiculous to weird to downright extreme. 

    As the third season of The Real Housewives of Lagos is underway, it was only fitting that I talked to Nigerians who have done strange, funny, and ridiculously over-the-top things to show their love and loyalty to their favourite reality stars. 

    Here are the weirdest things Nigerians do to support reality TV stars.

    “I contributed ₦10,000 to the cause on three different occasions and I’ll do it again.” – Adeife*

    My favourite reality show is Big Brother Naija. Being a big fan began in 2017 during the “See Gobe” season. But in 2020, during the “Lockdown” season, I got on a different level of dedication to the show and my favourite, Erica Nlewedim.

    I was in a group chat dedicated to Erica, where we made contributions to meet a particular target to buy gifts for her as welcome gifts or birthday gifts. When she got disqualified, everyone in the group chat contributed whatever they had, but it was from ₦5,000 upwards. We even had some Odogwu who gave ₦100k, ₦200k, and more. I used my hard-earned money that wasn’t even sufficient for me and myself alone to support my fave with gifts just to make her smile and know she has an army behind her. I contributed ₦10,000 to the cause on three different occasions.

    We had close to millions at the end of it all for the gifting. We got her money towers, lots of money bouquets, designer shoes and dresses, and some household items because we heard some set of rich people got her a house.

    I even created a new X account, separate from my normal one, just to comfortably defend and drag whoever comes for Erica unprovoked. When I look back, I think I did it out of love and because I see some traits of those housemates in myself. To me, it was supporting and rooting for someone I do love, have interest in, and do not want to see sad. I’ll do it again, and this time, maybe even contribute more.

    “I left my lifestyle YouTube content to review RHOL episodes.” – Njutt*

    Real Housewives of Lagos is my thing, and I invested heavily in tweeting or making videos about it—be it my displeasure or love. During Season 2 of the show, I almost wanted to be obnoxious and be one of those people in their comment sections to express my displeasure with Iyabo Ojo and Chioma Goodhair, but I simply unfollowed them and talked about it on my YouTube channel.

    I made videos for every episode of Seasons 1 and 2 and TikToks, too, especially for Season 2 and all its drama. I did the show reviews purely because I wanted to talk about them. It didn’t even matter that they were far from the lifestyle vlog content I usually give my audience.

    ALSO READ:  “The Real Housewives of Lagos” Cast: Returning Stars, New Faces & Who Left (Season 1 – 3)

    “2020 was the last time I stanned someone, and I’d do it again.” – Soma*

    My cousins and I were casually watching BBN during the “Lockdown” season in 2020, and we noticed that many housemates and viewers started moving mad with Erica Nlewedim. We wanted to support her and thought of what to do. Then, my cousin and I had the idea to talk to people we know and persuade them to give us their DSTV IUC numbers to make a bulk vote for Erica Nlewedim.

    We swung into action and collected these IUC numbers like they were infinity stones. We’d ask friends, our parents, and one time, even the domestic staff. We got a lot of codes, and we were so intentional that my cousin had a note dedicated to keeping them safe, with their names and passwords.

    I look back at it, and I can’t believe we really did that. That was the last time I stanned someone, and I’d do it again—my girl (Erica) deserved that win like mad.

    “I stayed up and watched Laycon and other housemates while they slept.” – Jonathan*

    What do you call it when someone ignores their health and safety in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown to search for an open filling station simply because they need to power the TV to watch Big Brother Naija? It’s an insane level of fandom. Remembering that period, I moved mad because I wanted to watch Laycon—my favourite BBN housemate ever—and his entanglement drama with Erica.

    One time, after I got back home from an outing in the evening, NEPA being NEPA made me go out to buy fuel. I told my dad I needed light to charge my phone and do some important things, but the truth of the matter is, I wanted to watch BBN too. Our generator worked from 8:30 PM, and I didn’t turn it off until 1:30 AM when my dad came to the sitting room to ask why I was disturbing the neighbours with the generator noise. I don’t know if it was boredom or something else, but I stayed up and watched Laycon and other housemates while they slept. I think I was weird.

    “In retrospect, it gives crackhead vibes because only an addict would do anything to see a person on a reality TV show.” – Omosewa

    It was the year 2021 in university. I lived alone off campus and had my electric appliances like TV, DSTV, etc. Turning to DSTV was a regular thing to do at night before sleep, and BBN was my favourite thing. I lived to watch Liquorose.

    During that period, I got very broke, my DSTV subscription finished, and I could hardly buy fuel to even charge. So after missing the show for a week and being unable to hype Liquorose and bant people on my WhatsApp status, I summoned the courage to persuade other hostel mates who liked to watch with me to contribute to subscribe to DSTV and buy fuel. A few of them made smart jokes, basically saying I was shameless, but I didn’t care.

    But later, clarity hit that I did too much. In retrospect, it gives crackhead vibes because only an addict or someone obsessed would move like that and do anything to see a person on a reality TV show.

    ALSO READ: Who Are VVIPS? Uncovering the Dark Underbelly of BBNaija’s Fandom

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  • Once upon a time, Astor recapped an insane Christian book that claimed the devil created football as a tool to destroy humanity. The article’s popularity made him turn his recaps into a weekly series named “So You Don’t Have To“, where he finds batshit crazy pieces of media (books, movies, etc) and recaps them for your pleasure.

    Hi, my name is Conrad, and I’m a Real Housewives of Lagos addict. I’ve decided to take on the responsibility of recapping all the messy and unhinged content that comes our way at Zikoko. Will I survive this task? Check back next week. 

    Let’s get into it. 

    After an explosive finale that had us all shook, our favourite Lagos housewives came back to give us some more drama with a reunion to end all reunions. 

    Considering the heated fight between besties, Chioma and Caroline, and the social media back and forth between Caroline and Toyin, we were all gagging to see how the reunion would play out. Will people throw hands? Will wigs come flying off? With the Real Housewives of Lagos, anything is possible. 

    We first see the housewives pulling up with their glam squad because why not? The reunion host Uti Nwachukwu goes round to greet each housewife in their rooms, reminding them to bring the drama. 

    He also reminds Chioma not to pull that lateness bullshit she’s known for because no one has the time. 

    With all the housewives seated (minus a noticeably absent Caro/Carolyna/Caroline), Uti gets ready to stir some shit and milk every drop of drama he can get from these women. We stan a chaotic king because last last someone has to pour kerosine on the many fires of this show. 

    Uti asks each of the housewives about their experience on the show, and Iyabo tries to convince us that no part of the show was scripted. Ma’am, we weren’t born yesterday. 

    Bringing up the elephant not in the room, Uti asks the ladies if they think Caroline will show up and it’s obvious these women don’t give a shit since she’s fought with literally every cast member at this point. Mariam is so unbothered she basically says: 

    After a montage of all the good times the women had on the show, Uti wears his chaotic gele and starts the drama by bringing up the fight that started the season,  Chioma and Laura’s “friendship”. Laura admits she overreacted to Chioma saying they weren’t friends and that Chioma is right, because honestly, they’re not  really friends. But this doesn’t stop Laura from attacking Chioma for not having her back against Caroline at the boho party in episode three. 

    Leaving that fake friendship unresolved, Uti asks Laura who told her that the other housewives were shading her at the beach house in episode two. At this point, the housewives start acting confused like the whole show doesn’t run on gossip and rumours. 

    Laura tries to act like no one told her anything, but as usual, the show’s resident FBI agent Iyabo Ojo pulls out the receipts, telling everyone that Laura had mentioned to her that Toyin was the NTA reporter that gave her the hot gist. 

    But Laura takes out time to let everyone know that she hated Caroline from the beginning and the slap she promised her was based on that hatred, not the beach house gist. She also goes ahead to accuse Toyin of being the one that actually threw the most shade at the beach house. This doesn’t sit well with Toyin who was  consulting with Ifa at the time. 

    RECOMMENDED: Here’s What Your Real Housewives of Lagos Fave Says About You

    Stepping in like a ghost, Caroline finally arrived 19 minutes into the show. Once again, the ladies don’t care for her because Toyin is basically like: 

    Uti brings up Chioma’s lateness and Laura’s love for mess and drama. While Chioma owns her latecomer title, Laura pretends like she doesn’t know SHE’S THE DRAMA! 

    Mariam’s infamous dinner comes up and Laura blames the alcohol for her behaviour that night, but Iyabo isn’t having it. 

    This eventually leads to Laura vs. Caroline + the mysterious governor. Caroline maintains that Laura used to do whokup for money and Laura maintains her innocence. Ladies, sex work is real work. No one cares. 

    The main drama starts with Caroline vs. Toyin. Their friendship comes up and Caroline can’t seem to pinpoint when or for how long they were friends. She also tries to convince us that she was 23 in 2013 and no one is believing that shit. 

    The two women go ahead to slut shame one another. Toyin accuses Caroline of cheating on her husband and being a wife of Solomon. While Caroline calls Toyin a hooker who’s slept with half of Lagos and maybe Ogun state. Once again, sex work is real work. 

    The episode eventually ends with both Caroline and Toyin shouting to the delight of the other women. Going by the preview for next week, we can’t wait for the fight between Toyin and Chioma. Yes, we love drama. 

    ALSO READ: These Chaotic Reality Shows Need to Make Their Way to Nigeria ASAP!

  • …#RHOLagos tops Twitter trending chart 10 weeks in a row.

    Lagos, Nigeria – Fans of the Real Housewives of Lagos flocked to Twitter to comment on the latest updates, gossip, banter, and shocking reveals, as the first Nigerian installment of the hit global reality franchise hit TV screens across the country. As many fans expected, the reality show turned out to be a smash-hit, drama-filled display of the extravagant luxury lives of six Lagos socialites; living aspirational lives, while navigating friendships and sharing personal wins as well as their struggles.

    For its debut season, the #RHOLagos featured Chioma Ikokwu, entrepreneur and socialite, Carolyna Hutchings actress, real estate investor, and ex-wife of billionaire Musa Danjuma; Iyabo Ojo, a veteran actress;  celebrity stylist and fashion designer Toyin Lawani-Adebayo, entrepreneur Laura Ikeji, and PR expert Mariam Timmer.

    The show, which made its debut in April, definitely had #TwitterNaija in a chokehold, with data from Twitter revealing just how much of a converging point the social media platform was for fans of the show, right up to the recently-aired final episode.

    The Most Used Real Housewives of Lagos Hashtags

    Hashtags continue to be the most effective way to track what is happening on Twitter, and #RHOLagos was an audience favourite as the most mentioned hashtag appearing on the TL over 55,000 times during the duration of the season. #RHOL, #realhousewivesoflagos, and #chioma were also widely used.

    The Most Mentioned Handles

    @showmaxng the video streaming service with exclusive rights to the #RHOLagos franchise series was the most mentioned handle. Housewives such as @tiannahstyling2 and @hrmcarolyna also featured amongst the most mentioned handles. Media outlets and comedians such as @thenetng, @theladymo and @mrfunny_received a lot of engagement and mentions during this season.

    Top #RHOLagos Retweets

    For every scene of every episode, the cast brought their A-game, leaving no crumbs! The impeccable styling, stunning accessories, luxurious vacations and fast cars conveyed affluence from a mile away. While the six housewives showed up and showed out, #TwitterNaija could not get enough. Below are some of the most engaging Tweets from the reality series.

    1.         @theNETng

    2.     @eboigbeanita

    3.         Sibu Mabena

    4.         @teefahlaygos

    5.         @ShowmaxNG

    Top emojis, media and other stats of note

    The Real Housewives franchise is best known for its unending drama and the Lagos edition did not disappoint. With ten episodes aired, the show was filled with premium ‘Gbas-Gbos’ and constant drama, entertaining fans on #TwitterNaija.  The #RHOLagos event page brought the latest updates and Tweets to the community of show lovers.

    Tweeps shared their excitement on the timeline using emojis to express their emotions amid heated banter. The top emojis used were: 🔥 😂 😍👑 😭 👀 🤣 🖤 🤩 🙏🏿  – a clear depiction of the moods fans left with after each episode!

    Although the last episode of the debut season has ended, the drama doesn’t end here. The reunion is scheduled to air on the 1st and 8th of July.

     @Twitter remains your official source for what’s happening!

    About Twitter, Inc.

    Twitter is what’s happening and what people are talking about right now. To learn more, visit about.twitter.com and follow @Twitter. Let’s talk.

  • After three long months, Real Housewives of Lagos is over, and we don’t know what to do with ourselves anymore. The spin-off of Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise was a massive hit that introduced Nigerians to the dramatic and opulent lives of its six titular characters. We all picked faves as the show progressed, but what does our choice of housewife say about us on a deeper level? 

    Let’s find out. 

    Laura Ikeji-Kanu

    Sis, not only do you love drama, YOU ARE THE DRAMA. In your friend group, you’re the one person who has fought with everyone else. You love attention and won’t stop until you get it, whether or not you ruin the vibe for everyone else. However, as much as your friends secretly hate you, they can’t do without you. Your wahala is the only fun thing they have going on in their lives; without it, they’d be bored to death. 

    Chioma Ikokwu 

    People either hate or love you; there’s no in-between. You have everything from the looks to the money and style, and you know you’re the shit. Your confidence is great, but sometimes, it prevents you from taking accountability for your fuck ups. In your friend circle, you’re the one who always shows up for a hangout two hours late and without a reasonable explanation. Do better, sis!

    Caroline/Carol/Carolyna Hutchings 

    You’re the queen of your little kingdom, and no one can tell you shit about it. You’re borderline narcissistic, but there’s a sweet side to you very few people have access to. There’s also a high chance you’ve rebranded so many times that most of your friends can’t even spell your name correctly. You seem calm and proper, but when someone messes with you, you’re not above dragging them and their family (especially their family). 

    RECOMMENDED: I Watched The Season Finale of The Real Housewives of Lagos So You Don’t Have To

    Iyabo Ojo 

    Honestly, you’re unproblematic. You know your head is not alright, so you avoid fighting with people before you remove their eyelashes. Your definition of a good time is instigating fights between your friends so you can grab popcorn and enjoy the drama. Even though everyone knows you will open their bumbum in public, they still feel comfortable sharing their deepest darkest secrets with you. You love a good time and hate it when Gen Zs greet you with “Sir”, “Ma”, or “Aunty”. Ewww. 

    Toyin Lawani 

    At the core of everything, you’re a good person. You used to fight up and down back in the day, but you’ve calmed down. After all your years of “hard guy, hard guy”, you’re finally in love, and you won’t let anyone around you rest. It’s adorable. Do you want to know your biggest flaw? It’s the fashion, sis. What’s going on? You keep dressing like a cross between a fine arts project and a disney villain. 

    Mariam Timmer 

    Your motto is “Chop life, make life no chop you“. All you care about is good vibes and a good time, but your friends are always fighting. Because of these problematic friends, you’ve picked up the habit of creating your own drama so that you’re not excluded. No one remembers what you’re shouting about, sis. Pipe down… There’s a high chance anything anyone thinks they’ve done, you’ve done it already and added extra because you’re wild AF!

    ALSO READ: These Chaotic Reality Shows Need to Make Their Way to Nigeria ASAP!