Own Correspondent
5 August 2024
It was a surprise-filled and entertaining opening week of Big Brother Naija season 9 that saw the No Loose Guard Housemates lose their first wager. But that wasn’t all: it ended on an emotional note when besties Tami (Damilola and Toyosi) became the first pair to leave Biggie’s house in an eviction show like no other.
That means 13 dynamic duos live to see another week in Biggie’s house, fighting for their shot at the incredible N100 million grand prize.
During last night’s live eviction show, our inimitable host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu summed up the first week of BBNaija as such: “It’s been nothing short of drama, fun, entertainment and competition amongst all pairs.”
Speaking about being evicted, Toyosi said she wasn’t surprised by the result: “I wasn’t disappointed at the vote [because] Dami’s had issues with a lot of them.” When Ebuka asked Damilola why she hadn’t built alliances in the house in order to survive, she replied: “I tried doing that. When I realised they had issues with me, I apologised immediately. But my apology didn’t go anywhere, I guess.”
Except for those who had immunity, all duos were up for eviction this week, with the viewers choosing the four pairs who would ultimately be nominated to leave the house. The other eviction nominees were: Chekas (sisters Chizoba & Onyeka); Radicals (friends Fairme David and Michky); and Streeze (friends Toby Forge and Mayor Frosh).
Announced during the live eviction show, the remaining pairs not up for nomination had the power to decide who would leave. Biggie granted each pair 20 seconds to vote in the diary room – and they were also allowed to conspire with one another to evict a duo they wanted out of the house.
It was also time to see what the storied custodian box held: custodian titleholders Ndi Nne (niece and aunt Chinne and Nne) were allowed to save a pair from eviction. They chose the Radicals.
It was a fitting end to a sizzling first week in the BBNaija house, which has been filled with fun twists and dramatic moments.
Kicking things off was the Head of House (HoH) change this season: whoever won HoH would be via ballot vote from their fellow housemates. More surprisingly, winning HoH doesn’t come with immunity from eviction as it always has.
The first HoH-winning pair were the Mbadiwe Twins (brothers Ocee and Ozee). They were tied with the Radicals on votes, but custodians (more on that later) Chinne and Nne gave the twins the title with their deciding vote.
The next twist? The introduction of the custodian challenge, which takes place immediately after the live eviction show. Whichever duo wins the challenge secures immunity for the week and also gets a secret mystery card which could influence either nominations or evictions. As witnessed during the first eviction show, the custodians potentially have the power to change the course of the game.
And that all happened in the first 24 hours!
The rest of the week only added to the drama:
- Five housemates (Chinwe, Michky, Ruthee, and twins Wanni and Handi) broke down crying on wager night – which they lost;
- There was an immunity challenge, won by Beta (friends Ben and Tjay);
- Couples saw their boundaries and loyalties tested (Chinwe accusing Zion of betrayal); and
- The Thursday night pool party wasn’t without memorable moments (Shaun and Wanni aka Shanni’s undeniable chemistry resulted in their first kiss).
If week one was this entertaining, we can’t wait to see what this next week has in store! But first, Ebuka had some sobering parting words for the remaining housemates: pull up your socks.
“You now realise that the game has started – it’s not a holiday. Some of you are literally being carried by your partners. You’re just there existing while your partner is doing all the work. The viewers are seeing everything,” he said to a shocked house.
