Monalisa Chinda's Kiss & Tell sparks with delightful acting and engaging storyline

By Adedayo Odulaja

The first thing that would probably come to your mind if you hear about Kiss and Tell, a recent movie effort produced by Monalisa Chinda, is what on earth the movie would contain.
This is clearly due to the presence of several largely uninspiring movies especially with such titles that dot the Nollywood space until recently. But even the poster of this movie will not help you much but maybe the faces of adorable Monalisa Chinda and handsome Joseph Benjamin would tell you there will be some worth in the movie as you would soon find out.
Iyke Duru (Joseph Benjamin) is an arrestingly handsome young man who is equally financially comfortable as the co-owner of a high-flying PR company in town while Delphine Nwakama (Monalisa Chinda) is a gorgeously beautiful lawyer riding her at Isaac & Sons where she works in the same town. Both being very good at the jobs they do and rich, their paths cross at a bar in a manner that is not too far in description to an ignition of hatred. Delphine, spotting the toga of a lady seeking attention, as far as Iyke is concerned, turns down a man who seeks to have a chat with him and Iyke turns on her and a verbal exchange is recorded although that is just the beginning of many more to come.
But it is when hanging out with his partner, Bernard (Desmond Elliot) that Iyke comes across Delphine once again who is also hanging out with her close friend, Tena (Nse Ikpe Etim) at an upscale bar. With he and Bernard always engaged in arguments, Iyke is left out as it turns out Bernard happens to know Tena from somewhere before which affords her the chance to interact with the ladies. Not long after Bernard goes over, Iyke goes after Delphine when she stands up but she dismisses him again when he tries to interrupt her phone call unsuccessfully.
Iyke, who prides himself as a man who can win the heart of any lady any day, is left feeling bad and in the heady discussion that takes place later between the two friends, pride is at stake. It goes even worse when they put 5% of their shares on offer, the 5% stake would make the other who wins the bet the controlling shareholder of the firm and all Iyke has to do to win is to sleep with Delphine to win. It is therefore a mountainous climb for the young man whose simple offer of conversation is being rebuffed by the lady he has to sleep with in ten days.
But with an ally in Mimi (Uche Jombo) who works with them, the objective, though pretty difficult, does not seem insurmountable for Iyke who sets about it in earnest, first with Mimi helping to get details, personal, professional and otherwise about Delphine.
On the other hand, Bernard, who feels he has got the edge through Tena, setting plans in motion to ensure Iyke does not win, the stage becomes set for an intriguing spectacle as the story unravels.
One of the most lifting indices about Kiss & Tell, modeled after the circumstance where a young man sleeps with a lady and discloses to his friends, is that the acting is top class. It goes in the tradition of other classic cinematographic works from the stable of Emem Isong’s Royal Arts Academy although this riveting tale is from the creative genius of popular actress, Monalisa Chinda showing her side as a producer.
The performance of both Joseph Benjamin and Monalisa Chinda are engaging but you would either choose to agree or not that it is quite difficult to cast the inredible Nse Ikpe Etim as a supporting actress as she seemingly dominates any set she finds herself and credit must go to Desmond Elliot. Not just for his killing portrayal in this movie as Bernard but even more as the director, a twin task which leaves none of the two roles lacking.
Just as Emem Isong is probably becoming the most prolific producer - she would be in contention as one of the best anyway- in Nollywood as her works speak volume about her dexterity and hardwork.
This story does not discriminate women, neither does it cast men in any stereotypical garb but it provides an avenue of liberation for both in a subtle rebuttal of the cassanova and engaging reflection of the power of love.
Kiss & Tell is a movie you should do all you can to see, aside the fact that this would afford one the opportunity of knowing what happens eventually in the spell-binding story laid across in the freshly premiered flick, it provides a platform through which you are entertained to no end. Even Nse Ikpe Etim who sat right in front of this writer, was nearly torn apart with excitement seeing the final product of what she and others have done. If the beautiful actress could be so taken in probably having seen it more than once before in its raw form, how much more would you who is yet to encounter it at all! Or have you?

I have a N50 million budget for my Charly Boy movie" – Ope Banwo

By Adedayo Odulaja

Ope Banwo is a prominent legal practitioner in town but he is more known recently as the brain behind Ghetto Dreamz, the Dagrin biopic. Although the waves created by the movie is yet to die down, the man, also the CEO of Stingomania Records, says he is ready to take the game even higher with a biopic focusing on Charles Oputa, better known as the hugely controversial Charly Boy, the ‘Area Fada.’ Banwo told Saturday Independent about what led to his latest move.
“Just like I said that one of the areas I said I would focus on when I decided to go back to making movies, is in the area of making movies that have meanings and lasting values, movies that celebrate our heroes both living and dead and movies that focus on a narrow niche of the movie-making industry which is biographies. Biopic is an area that people have not focused on and the very first one was done by me, Covenant Church when I was with Dove Media and I decided to do another one on DaGrin. Now I am taking the game a little bit higher by doing a series I call Heroes on people not just because they are popular or topical but also because they are people that generate conversation and have contributed something to their generation. When we were shortlisting, we came up with Charly Boy and this we arrived at by polling people ‘If you were to see a biopic of one of your heroes, who would you like to see and surprisingly, Charly Boy topped a lot of names.”
Since news about the new project titled Street Warrior became an open secret, many industry followers have labeled it an idea instigated by the outstanding success of Ghetto Dreamz which was not without its own controversies but Ope Banwo says this is not the case.
“I am not driven into this by the success of Ghetto Dreamz, as a matter of fact, it will surprise people to know the Charly Boy movie has been in the works before Ghetto Dreamz. This is because we had thought about it, talked to him about it and the only thing left was to finalise it because I asked myself if I was ready to go and shoot a movie abroad because part of the Charly Boy movie has to be shot abroad as it cannot be complete without the US end of his life and that part is even more colourful than the Nigerian side. We were discussing that and researching three biopics at the same time including that of Onyeka Onwenu before Ghetto Dreamz came up but it took centre stage as a result of the spontaneity of it. The urgency and immediate relevance of it led me into doing something to meet the first anniversary of his death so that his name would not be forgotten. If we had not done Ghetto Dreamz, DaGrin’s name was already fading because unlike Onyeka Onwenu or Charly Boy, DaGrin did not have a depth of repertoire before he died, you cannot say this is what he did ten years ago or so because his own fame was all about a year and so if we didn’t do it at the time, it is possible the movie would not be relevant at all. He didn’t have any song that is such a classic that people would still be playing in like three years from now maybe with the exception of “Pon Pon Pon” which was the reigning hit and other than “Democracy,” I don’t see any classic he did and which all means three years from now, people may not want to talk about DaGrin.”
Going further, he dismissed the criticism that the movie was rushed, saying it came about with a spontaneity that had to be filled immediately.
“Did you see the movie? If they give me five years, I don’t think we would do it better and it has proved a point by winning awards. No Nigerian movie has been considered, talk less of winning Los Angeles Movie Awards and Ghetto Dreamz won there. It’s also the first Nigerian film to be screened at the Las Vegas Film Festival coming up in August. It is already winning awards and people are talking, they would always say stuff anyway but I have no apologies. A movie that got big stars weeping at the cinemas, you saw KSB who had to be carried out but critics who have to say something would easily say the movie was rushed. Criticisms are okay, they keep us honest and I have no problem with that because even I don’t rate the movie hundred percent but timing is not the issue and Daniel Ademinokan did an awesome job, maybe the pressures made him do a better job than he would have if he was relaxed even.”
Of heroes around especially when it’s not limited to entertainment or showbiz, he sheds light on the choice of the weird and wild Charly Boy.
“Well, it’s a combination of all (his influence, weirdness, controversial nature and more) because he is someone that should be called Mr Biopic as somebody called him and I think I like it. To make a biopic, it is not enough for the person to be an influential figure, not enough to be a hero even; the person has to have enough drama, enough activity in his life to make a movie watchable. If you pick somebody who is influential but does not have a colourful lifestyle or series of events in his life to make the film an interesting one to watch, it is not going to work. So Charly Boy fits the bill of the check list of things to consider to. Has this person made contribution to his generation? Does he have enough drama in his life to make a movie? Is he the kind of guy that people would like to even know more about when he is on screen? And then, is he somebody who is marketable as a product and finally, is he someone who will cooperate in the marketing and promotion of this movie? And on all five grounds, Charly Boy scored very highly and I won’t say it’s due to his controversial nature, most popular and influential people in the world are controversial in one sense or the other but I think it’s just a compelling story.”
To him, many believe Charly is always in the eye of the public but stunning revelations await Nigerians in the movie.
“A lot of people know him yet they don’t know him and from the research I have done so far, I myself have faced revelations upon revelations on Charly Boy. For instance, how many people would know that Charly Boy was married at the age of 15 and that at the age of 21, he had already married four wives? How many know that Charly Boy was like an official juju man for people in his village for years in exchange for money? I am sure many don’t know these three points and there is the part of his life in the US where he travelled to for five years and married four wives there. How many know about the drama surrounding his life in the US or aware of his national conscience thing when he fought for the poor as many consider him a charlatan who was just making noise but I was stunned by the breadth of his achievements. The fight for retired military men who were living on the streets and not given their pensions, the fight against piracy, the first reality show done in Nigeria on the Charly Boy show. The man has done so much that you cannot even tell his story in only one movie and that is why we are doing something very crazy which I told him is about his brand. It will be a trilogy, not a Part 1 - 3 thing but three separate films that take different aspects of Charly Boy because each of the areas is a full story on its own. So Charly Boy is a very compelling figure that people are going to be stunned by the new revelations they are going to see in the movie.
“In Ghetto Dreamz, well some revelations here and there about DaGrin but most people already knew much about the story but people focus more on the radicalism of Charly Boy and do not even know that he has lived two complete lives between the age of 1 and 30. To me, that is even more compelling than his lifestyle as an Okada guy and that is why he was chosen.
“The major thing that stunned me about Charly Boy are these revelations I had no clue about and the movie is still at the research stage and even Ghetto Dreamz was researched for about four months, I did it myself. It would take us about a year to make this movie and we are still talking to critical people in his life, his father, mother, family members, friends and even enemies because we want to make an interesting movie not to glorify Charly Boy but to tell all sides of the story like biopics do.”
On the choice of director for the movie, he revealed that nobody has been earmarked yet but with how pleased he is with his direction of Ghetto Dreamz, Daniel Ademinokan is in the running but he also dropped a line that could create a debate regarding Ademinokan and Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen.
“I don’t think Lancelot would do a better job than Daniel Ademinokan did with that movie. With all due respect to Lancelot, I think Daniel did an awesome job and I don’t see Lancelot doing a better job. Lancelot is a great guy, don’t get me wrong but I am certainly not looking at Lancelot for this one. I am looking at three different people and might still end up with Daniel but it is not on a platter and strangely enough, I want a director grounded in the Igbo culture because a part of the Charly Boy movie will be shot in Igboland. His first two albums are in Igbo and generally, the Igbo influence on his life is so much and it is not an issue of being tribalistic or anything but just that every story has its nuance.”
With the incredible work he put in at RCCG-owned Dove Media which he midwifed to great heights, it is funny many do not know or link Ope Banwo to that and he says it’s deliberate because the past is what it is: the past and he lives for the present.
“I am not a man that lives by past glory and I want to be known for what I am doing now. When I first came back in 1999, when they wanted to introduce me, they would say the former MD of Dove Media but I want to be known for the present and I downplayed that part. Dove Media was huge, I started the company, recruited all the staff, raised the fund and was the CEO for two years but I don’t want to ride on the glory of all of that. Same thing with my private company, Stingomania Records, I discovered DJ Zeez and a lot of people don’t know that. I discovered Konga also and their first albums were released on my label, just like Midnight Crew but I left and came back but what matters to me is not what you have done but can you do it again? That is why I started from the scratch and did not play on my previous name and I am glad at how it has come out.”
The experience might not have ended well but he says he is grateful for the opportunity afforded by that institution.
It is only a bad person that would bite the finger that fed you, I am happy with the Dove Media experience and grateful to the GO of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and all those involved even though there are issues but Dove Media fed me and gave me the privilege of getting into the entertainment industry.
In terms of budget, Ope Banwo, has a heavy war chest peaking at a whopping N50 million naira as the project, entirely funded by him, is likely to go on celluloid even.
“We are looking at 50 million and I don’t want it to go beyond that but I would be happy if we can shoot the movie for N20 million because that would mean I’m sure of what to do to make my money back but when it is 50 million, it is of course more difficult. If you are not very creative and you are not marketing savvy, it might not be easy in this environment but you know the kind of person Charly Boy is, the thing could change and the budget higher and I am the one funding the movie. I am funding the movie and he did not ask for anything, we are the ones who offered to give him a percentage of the revenue.”

Eti Keta is a movie in which superfluous portrayal taints bright acting

By Adedayo Odulaja



Ajadi (Sunkanmi Omobolanle) is an impulsive young man who works at the same place as his elder brother, Adigun (Saidi Balogun) and from the very first blast of the movie whistle, his tempestuous nature is unleashed on viewers. His incorrigible manners is more brought across in the manner in which he addresses fellow workers, one of which also snaps at him for ordering her around and even the intervention of the manager does not stop his tantrums and they soon earn him a two week- suspension as he accuses the woman of taking sides in the matter.
Storming out of the company, he ensures he has a misunderstanding on at least three people just before he gets home and others the same day. Some of these people include his girlfriend, Shakirat (Yinka Salami) and his friends and it takes the intervention of his brother, Adigun, to calm him. That is how we get introduced to the world of the two brothers.
Struggling to take care of the house, the two work to keep some money in the house. Adigun’s fiancée, Sherifat (Kate Henshaw-Nuttal) soon comes into the picture as a doting and dutiful woman in Adigun’s life. But the fear of losing one way or another persists as she had been married before but lost her first husband to the ECOMOG expedition in Liberia with a son to show for that union.
In the aftermath of Ajadi’s suspension, Adigun goes to beg the chairman of the company to plead furiously on behalf of his misfiring brother and getting assurance that Ajadi would be welcomed back to work after two weeks. However, on coming back, Ajadi tells him he is not interested in going back but ready to start his own business immediately, having secured a small loan to start straightaway from his girlfriend.
But the real story begins when the company where Adigun works selects him for a scholarship to the United States as part of an annual programme of the establishment. Confirmed as a beneficiary no doubt, the problem posed has to do with the raising enough money to fund the flight fare and the search for the money takes him far and wide. As Adigun becomes more desperate, one of Sheri’s friends, Adedun (Funke Adesiyan) offers to help him out but the condition to leave that he must leave his fiancée is unacceptable to him and this is even made worse when he discovers that both Adedun and Aunty (Shafy) are willing to have him as he storms out of the house. But in the end, it is Ajadi whose business is gradually picking up, that comes up with the money for the ticket but the money is actually meant for a wood contract he gets at the time.
The understanding is that Adigun would travel out and then send the money to his younger brother in about two weeks so life can go on for both of them. This is easier said than done and Adigun is unable to fulfill the promise of paying back so Ajadi can in turn make his customers’ supply. The consequences of this are dire but it is Ajadi that bears the brunt most as he is locked up in a police station by his creditor and only bailed by Adedun after some days. In anger, Ajadi refuses to pick Adigun’s calls after his business is ruined and having the feeling that something was amiss, calls Sheri to help him hand the phone to Ajadi and that is when the younger man, still refusing to speak with his brother, lashes out at his brother with all the bottled-up anger finding a way out.
While shedding tears for the verbal arrows the unfortunate circumstance brings his way, Adigun decides there and then to abandon school for menial jobs in order to be able to raise his brother’s money and return to school the following year.
The other colleague who is also chosen as a beneficiary of the scholarship scheme by the company they work for, Francesca Agbabiaka (Ronke Anthony or Oshodi Oke if you like) tries to dissuade hism from leaving school as that is the primary task of their coming to the United States of America, all to no avail. With this decision bound to come with its own consequences of course, Adigun’s desperation soon takes him to doors he would not have had course to go ordinarily.
Back home, all is not the same as Ajadi, whose business is also ruined totally, turns to areas that are not for the law-abiding, ending up as a member of a robbery gang as the unravels the more, setting off a biting conclusion to a tale widely acknowledged to be commendable.
Coming to a critical look at what Eti Keta is, we have heard about the widely reported statement of the movie’s producer, Saheed Balogun who also plays the lead role as Adigun that the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba are widely used in the movie. I disagree with that because making use of the Hausa language in one secen or a maximum of two is not enough to say it is one of the languages of the movie. Aside Hausa, even Igbo is sparingly spoken with three word phrases the best that could come out of the lone speaker, Shola Kosoko who plays the role of Ifeoma.
But the real poser that this argument would be based on is if a native speaker of any of the major languages would be able to grasp the story with the occasional with the subtitling process only for the time the Yoruba language is spoken. Even the title of the movie is arguably defeated when you look at the fact of the matter upon which it is based as the truth about the robbery incident that leads to the death of Adigun is already known to Adedun, her aunt, the aunt’s friend and many others yet it is assumed that a third party is yet to share in the secret.
But one of the great walls of disenchantment with the movie as far as I am concerned is the fact that it evidently too didactic an effort and this goes on to sorely affect its entertaining essence. How in God’s name can anybody, while speaking to you tell you her name is Ikilo (warning in any kind of translation to the English language) and you would not be curious as to what sort of name that is? That is what happens in one of the scenes when Ajadi goes to the house of one of his girlfriends and a little girl co0mes out to advise him on grave issues and he doesn’t get the drift until later when it is played back.
There is no problem with the acting of Kate Henshaw-Nuttal as she is known to be one of the most trusted when it comes to acting delivery but even her falters a bit in this movie especially with her Yoruba very suspicious if you are familiar with the language. But then one of the high points of this movie comes into play with the enactment of the all scenes involving Doris Simeon Ademinokan. She is a shining star as far as this movie is concerned and not even acting the part of a partially crippled but beautiful young woman takes this away.
So if you forgive the producer for all the advert placements that dot the movie without warning, the documentary part involving Saheed and his trip to France to drum support for tourism in Nigeria, Eti Keta, directed by Daniel Ademinokan, remains one of the movies around for which you would not bite your finger or be mad at yourself for devoting time to.

A theatrical celebration of Wole Soyinka at 77

By Adedayo Odulaja

It will not be considered news by now that Professor Wole Soyinka has now turned the enviable corner of 77 years on earth. What would be news however if the enigmatic literary giant and playwright is not celebrated by the arts, literary and theatre circles which are the very ones he has lived for all his entire life.
But this has never happened and what happened on July 15 was nothing else but a lavish honour for one of Africa’s greatest sons whose activities transverse the layers of literature, theatre, music, dance, politics and many others. It was by no means a night of much talk but space had to be given to the initiators of the colourful atmosphere to say a thing or two about the event and what led to its being put together.
According to the managing director of Zmirage Multimedia Limited, Teju Wase Karrem who collaborated with theatre practitioners to organise the event, with another year rolling by, the future of Nigeria remains gloriously bright although the challenges facing the country seem insurmountable. The values of love, faith and belief are needed beyond all others for the youths, who are the future of any country, to weather the many storms and come out glorious and that is the rationale behind the Season 2 of the Open Door Series which afforded 77 young Nigerians the special privilege of spending a day with Soyinka, the world renowned Nobel Laureate at his home in Abeokuta. This was after they had been chosen out of the whole lot of respondents who participated in a nationwide essay competition under the title “I love my country” and which will hopefully lead them to love their country even more in future.
On his own, Mufu Onifade, chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) paid tribute to the man popularly known as Kongi, saying as a global icon, Soyinka deserves all the ovation and even more.
“Wole Soyinka deserves seventy-seven rounds of applause at the age of 77 and he is such an enigmatic personality that we at NANTAP cannot but honour the man for the many things he has done for the circles of Creative Arts. Wole Soyinka is a river that you can reach through many roads; those of dance, drama, activism, literary activities and others,” Onifade said.
And when it comes to performances in the diverse areas of music, dance, theatre, drama and chanting, they came aplenty as far as that particular night was concerned. The night was first set aglow for what was to come by the Funkadelic Agidigbo Band which consisted of four drummers, one singer and a back-up singer using traditional drums and gong.
Eda Oto, a fast rising folk singer and disciple of the serenading Beautiful Nubia was next with a song titled ‘Aye o feni foro’ and in spite of the flip flops of the microphone, the dreadlocks-wearing young man improvised, getting to carry the audience along in his overall fantastic delivery. He rendered another song titled entitled ‘Somi Edumare’ before leaving the stage for others who were to come.
Corporate Band, another group of young men clad in beautiful Ankara fabrics, was the next on stage, performing a number of classic tracks like ‘Eko Akete’, ‘Oni dodo’, ‘Mummy water’ which were very popular in days long gone. Heavy sounds of bata drumming soon enveloped the entire hall when a group which did nothing other than the drums performed in more spectacular ways than one. That however was after the session for the talking drum, which they used to talk to the audience really as interpreted by one of them, had held.
Other reputable groups which performed to the enjoyment of the crowded hall include Dance Guild of Nigeria (EkoGOND), Equity Theatre Arts Musicians (ETAM), Muri Amulegboja whose ijala/ewi chanting was more than lifting. But one of the very best was that of dancing sensation, Dayo Liadi popularly known in the dance and theatre circles as ‘Ijo Dee.’ Although also let down by the audio set which would have blasted his choice of music, the man who became popular after his choreography part in the ‘Olori Oko’ video of the now split gospel group, Infinity, gave another mind-blowing performance that confirmed his high rating. It was so good one would not want to believe the master of ceremony, Shuaibu Hussein when he said the whole performance of Ijo Dee, accompanied by the guitar-playing and singing skills of Eda Oto, was an improvisation after it was evident the flip flops of the microphone would not allow for a good outing if no other arrangement was made.
Although probably not billed to be that involved in the event, two comedians were given a few minutes each to take their time on the stage and the men of the laughter trade did not disappoint in any manner. Rather, their time on stage can be described as one the highlights of the spectacular event although the whole programme was not lacking many of such as all those present could see and feel anyway.
In terms of drama still, there was nothing more appealing than the piece of dramatic impression provided by the impressive and always reliable Crown Troupe of Africa. The troupe, led by its creative director and stage/screen actor, Segun Adefila excited with its I like Lagos, I no go lie piece and it must be said that the performance was no match for any other on stage that night and they would have easily carted away any award if such was on offer. Also, the staging of an extract of Budiso, a play written by Fred Agbeyebe and directed by the wizardry Segun Adefila was a fitting icing on the cake of the occasion.
Sir Peter Badejo, who was honoured in the United Kingdom for his contribution to the theatre scene in Britain in the area of dance, was a member of the large audience that gathered to commemorate Soyinka’s birthday at the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. So were Alhaji Teju Wase Kareem (who was part of the planning and execution of the programme himself), Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi and Chief Mrs Niyi Aluko. Others are Lara Adesola, a member of the Village Headmaster cast; Pamela Udoka, consummate children’s theatre practitioner and wife of National Choreographer, Arnorld Udoka; Shina Elegbede, Director of the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture; popular actors, Yemi Solade and Akeem Rahman; Dele Osawe and many others.
Teju Wase Kareem, in the form of a vote of thanks, commended the entire leadership and members of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners for that event which turned out even more remarkable than it was being planned.
Mufu Onifade further informed that as much as the celebration of Soyinka could not be left undone, it is not Soyinka alone that they intend to honour and celebrate. He said a long list of people who have contributed to theatre and the arts will be celebrated by NANTAP and this they have started doing already with Teju Kareem a recipient of that honour early this year.
Fred Agbeyegbe is said to be next on the list in which have been categorised into two: Living Legends and Grand Living Legends of Nigerian Theatre. For the first group, those below the age of 70 would be celebrated and for the latter, only those who are 70 years old and above beginning with Fred Agbeyegbe whose play, Budiso would be on stage soonest.

BBAmplified: End near as struggle increases with plague of multiple evictions

BBAmplified nears end as struggle increases with plague of multiple evictions

By Adedayo Odulaja

The past 10 weeks has undoubtedly seen most of Africa’s youths hooked on the ongoing Big Brother series which is furiously winding down this month. The show, however, has finally reached the half way mark if one goes by the number of Housemates that were brought into the house at the beginning of the show and now, half that number remains in the house. A total of twelve housemates have been evicted while one was summarily disqualified for violating a core code which leaves another thirteen remaining on the show out of the twenty six that started out.
Most of the countries that are still represented left in the House all have housemates each now but some countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe and trust, Nigeria, are maintaining their strong footing in the house with their two Housemates still chasing the claim to fame and fortune on offer.
Others with one representative are South Africa (which still has Luclay), Namibia (with Bernadina in still), Ethiopia (which still has Hanni), Malawi (with Lomwe). Also, Millicent is still trying to bring Kenya honour while Sharon O and Zeus are still making attempts to do same for Uganda and Botswana respectively.
As July 31, the terminal date of the exhilarating show and judgment day for the housemates draws closer, tensions are expectedly running high and friendships are being questioned as a frantic chase begins for the ultimate prize.
With last Sunday, July 10 looming, the housemates especially those up for eviction were knew they were in for a torrid time but it got even worse that day. It turned out to be the day of triple eviction with the trio of Angola’s Weza, Bostwana’s Peo popularly known as Miss P, Alex who was the only one left flying Ghana’s flag after Confidence was evicted weeks ago, all had to say goodbye to BBAmplified, leaving the thirteen housemates to continue.
Sharon O, whose survival of last week is being viewed as a shocking one due to the fact that she was up against those considered as very strong housemates, managed to soar above all the others except Karen in terms number of votes got. She got three votes while the popular Nigerian housemate, Karen, who etched her name on the minds of many with her daring decision to put herself up for eviction instead of replacing someone with herself as head of house, had the most votes of the night, eight in total.

There were five housemates up for eviction last week and in the end, Miss P and Alex got 1 vote each while Weza got 2 votes to put them in a disadvantage compared to the support the two others received from the continent of Africa.
That edition of the eviction show kicked off with Nigeria’s fast rising music star, Ice Prince delivering a fine performance of his ‘Superstar’ track. Next, the head of house was called out to reveal to the other housemates what her decision was and that was when it turned out that she had left the nominations as they were minus in a bid to save her self. All the housemates were expectedly shocked by that selfish move.
Zambia’s Kim was simply overwhelmed with emotions when she learnt that Karen as head of house had sacrificed herself. Luclay soon joined in the act as he got up, hugged Karen as Sharon told of how she had a dream about Karen sacrificing herself.
Miss P was the first one to be called out of the Big Brother house and Kim could not do much but cry even more. While on stage, Kim said “It was awesome for having left the house” in an ironic fate as Weza(who was evicted same day), Sharon, Mumba and Luclay were the housemates who nominated her.
IK swung into action as he called out Alex and Sharon O, telling them to stand on their feet. “Sharon, you are safe,” IK roared as she made the cross sign and thanked Africa once again for ensuring her stay in the house continues while at the same time breaking down in tears of joy.
As Ghana’s Alex made his way to the stage, oblivious of what fate had in store for him that day of course, Ice Prince came back with his monster hit track, ‘Oleku’.
Alex, who was nominated by Sharon O who said that she was aware Alex had not been up and wanted to see how Africa feels about him and it is clear now that Alex did not have the support of Africa and that became evident on Sunday. Other people who nominated him were Hanni, Millicent and Vimbai.
IK again switched to the house as he called Karen and Weza out and without much ado, he immediately delivered fired the sad shot at Weza and saved Karen. The issue of the three housemates evicted on Sunday has led the remaining hosemates into calculation considering the fact that there are only two eviction sessions before the terminal date. With thirteen housemates left, only the much feared big brother knows how it is going to go down and how many will be left as the days roll by.
The import of this is not lost on the housemates themselves and with so much that strategy and popularity cannot achieve, it is time to start calling on God or gods as it were to intervene on their behalf. Already, Zeus and Sharon O have been spotted of late going down on their knees in the last few days and while there is nothing wrong with praying or interceding, that it is coming at this time is sure not lost on anyone. Zeus was spotted kneeling on his bedside and appealing to the power(s) above for intervention a few days ago and who would blame especially with him being the last hope for his country, Botswana.
It was Wendall’s birthday recently and the girls, led by Vimbai, had a great plan to prank him at midnight to usher in his birthday but he duly outsmarted them all by hiding in the closet.
When Luclay, who was part of the plan, was ready to get him out of bed as planned, Wendall could not be found and no matter how hard they tried, it was all futile and all the girls were left with no choice and had to leave their designated spots and go in form of a search party. The initial plan was for Luclay to get him to come outside where he would be sprayed with water with flour on his face to go with it.
However, the plan didn’t work out and they ended up trying to wet him in the bedroom after Vina spotted him in the closet where he was hiding.
Wendall, the birthday boy, equally shocked like other housemates about the three evicted on Sunday, said he has become certain that Biggie would be following tonight’s trend in the next two Eviction shows and would not evict less than three Housemates per show so there can be a decent number of finalists for the final week.
But part of the grand plan of the ladies in the house is their objective that a girl has to win this time around and moving forward concerning this, they held a high profile discussion about maintaining their alliance against the guys,. The girls made a pact to nominate the guys as they insisted that the guys were playing them anyway.
However, coming to this week, there is no dull moment as we await the eviction show tomorrow. Big Brother Amplified current head of house, Zimbabwe’s Vimbai on Monday displayed much patriotic zeal as she saved her fellow country man, Wendall in order to keep the chances of her country brighter and replaced him with Zambia’s Mumba. At the end of the day, five housemates are up for eviction tomorrow and it remains to be seen if she has not incurred the wrath of Africa the next time any of the two is put on the chopping block.
Vimbai’s choice of Mumba was a bit surprising as it was Karen who had nominated her for elimination from the contest in the first place. The two contestants haven’t been the best of buddies on the show and that is as clear to anyone as the sky. Since Big Brother dissolved the Heads and Tails houses two weeks ago and reunited the housemates in one house, Vimbai has consistently nominated Karen but for some reason still unknown to all, she felt it was Mumba’s turn on Monday. This might not be unconnected with Karen’s perceived strength as she seems to be one person that usually has an easy ride with the eviction session.
So Zambia’s Mumba, Bostwana’s Zeus, Namibia’s Bernadina, Malawi’s Lomwe and of course, Nigeria’s Vina are the five on the list of those who could be evicted this week. Lomwe leads the pack in the category of the housemate to be evicted this week with 26.6 percent, followed by Vina with 21.5 % and Mumba with 19.9, Bernadina with 19.1% and Zeus with 12.9% follow respectively out of the 11,698 votes cast yet as at the time of writing this.
The ray of hope for Vina shines brighter on the side of the divide as to which housemate to save with 40.5 %, Zeus follows with 21.2 %, Lomwe has 18. 2%, Mumba has 12.2% and Bernadina has 7.9 % out of 14, 375 total votes. So Africa’s decision is yet unclear and hope Nigerians will not weep for Vina tomorrow with at least three housemates to yield the stage for the others.