Talk show host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu recently appeared on the “Menisms Podcast” and shared a surprising story about his beginnings. Ebuka revealed that he was actually a contestant on the very first season of Big Brother Nigeria way back in 2006! He emphasised that he never went on the show to become famous; it was just something he decided to do.
“I was 23 when I first started Big Brother. We were in the first season of Big Brother Nigeria. It was even called Big Brother ‘Nigeria’ then, not ‘Naija’. Naija wasn’t a thing then and I feel like we were just guinea pigs because nobody knew what the show was going to be like if they were going to watch, what to expect and all that,” he began.
Ebuka’s Big Brother NIgeria poster [Big Brother Wiki]
Ebuka dished on the podcast about how he ended up on Big Brother Nigeria. He saw an ad for the show and, in a spur-of-the-moment decision, decided to audition as a dare from his sister.
He admits that part of the motivation was seeing all the attractive ladies at the audition. But, to be honest, the grand prize money probably didn’t hurt either.
“I didn’t go in to blow, which is what you get now. Now it’s like a path to entertainment for people. Back then the prize was even $100,000 and they still advertised in newspapers because there wasn’t social media then.”
He continued,
“So I saw the ad in the newspaper and it wasn’t something I would have ever done. I was a lawyer then and my sister dared me to do it, so I auditioned, they called me and I saw mad babes and I was like ‘I have to do this’. But the main motivation was the money. I wanted to win the money, go to Yankee and get my master’s. That was the plan I had at the time and there was no entertainment in my path.”
Ebuka went on the podcast to share that even though he auditioned for the money and the pretty faces at the Big Brother Nigeria auditions, he ended up finding his calling in entertainment after the competition ended. In other words, going on the show for a dare turned into a whole new career path for him.
“Of Course, I didn’t win and then everything went left. I had gotten the fame and I wasn’t enjoying being a lawyer and I was kind of broke. And that’s how this started, people kept telling me that I had a great voice and I looked good, so I started going for auditions and then I got my first job with NTA. I started doing this strictly for the money,” he said.
Ebuka gets evicted from Big Brother Nigeria [Big Brother Wiki]
Little did Ebuka know that his dare to audition for Big Brother show would change his life. Even though he originally went on the show for the money and the fun, his time on Big Brother Nigeria launched him into the entertainment industry.
Ebuka has become one of Nigeria’s most popular media personalities and TV hosts. And ironically, the host of the very same reality show that gave him his big break!
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