Atejade na ni yi ni ede geesi;
Since you left the Big Brother Naija house, you have been seen everywhere attending events and making new friends. What have you been up to?
I have been everywhere trying to be successful. I have been building my brand and achieving my goals as much as I can. Big Brother gave us a platform and I have been trying to build on that platform to achieve everything God has placed in my heart.
Has it been hard building your brand on that big platform?
The brand I am trying to build is not one that would be built overnight. What I am building requires a lot of hard work and groundwork, and a lot of determination and commitment. So far, so good! I have been working hard to bring that dream to reality. As much as I am working hard to bring make sure everything turns out fine, I have come to understand that by the time you get to the end of a destination, you will realise that there is another destination. Basically, I am a work in progress. I am grateful for how far I have come, but there is more work to be done.
After the Big Brother show, was there a time that you felt like there were things you should have handled better; what was that thing you wished you could take back?
What makes a man is him being able to accept responsibilities for his actions; whether good or bad. I don’t think I should have done anything differently or take anything back. I have always felt like everything I did in the house was done with the same sound mind. I don’t have any regrets about whatever happened in that house. I am so happy that for those 11 weeks I was in the house, I was myself.
While you were in the house, you were always trying to put people in check. You seemed to always want people to do things the right way. In fact, some people said you always wanted to appear as the most smartest and intelligent in the house. At a point, you were cautioned by Big Brother not to get its way in handling certain affairs in the house. Was that also part of your strategy?
I grew up as a man that had to be responsible very quickly. I had a younger sister to look out for because my mother passed away suddenly. I had to learn exponentially. As much as it was a show, there were times when people said certain things badly. I felt it was the right thing to do for people. What happened in the house was just me being myself. I have people that look up to me; sisters and brothers. It was not that I set out to do that; it was not a strategy. I never meant to appear as the most smartest or intelligent in the house.
I have observed how a few other ex-housemates have struggled with fame since they came out of the house. Some have managed to live up to the hype, while others have fallen below expectations. A number of them are still struggling to understand what they want to do with the fame and platform. For you, it is neither here nor there. Do you agree with this submission?
For me, the eventual goal is to be actively involved in politics. I want to, one day, be the governor of Ogun State. I understand that I have the same, the name and the brand. But, everything I have right now is not enough to run for an elective office. I might have the fame and name, but I would need more than that to realise the dream. I would imagine that for me to be actively involved in politics, I can’t be everywhere; I can’t visit certain places to make a fool of myself. So, in building a brand, you need to align yourself with the vision you have. It seems I am the only one who wants to be involved in politics, therefore, I can’t possibly do what others are doing. It is important for me to always remember that my actions today may not have as much impact like it would in the next five or seven years. If that is the case, why would I go everywhere? It is not me being proud. I am not saying I am better than those who that I see there now. I just don’t want to make a mess of myself because of the brand I am building for myself. With time, people will know why I am staying away from many places.
You want to become the governor of Ogun State; don’t you see that as a tall dream?
I may not have enough clout to pull that through now, but that is the goal for me and I am working towards it every day. Right now, I might need to serve in an appointment capacity for a while to garner enough experience that would help govern the people well at the right time. This is the goal.
Many people have said they want the Big Brother show banned. The argument they advanced was that the show promotes immorality. Reference was made to those moments when some housemates were seen making out in the bathroom. You were in the house and witnessed some of these things. Was anything about it real or it was just some people showing the other sides of them they never knew existed?
For me, everybody in that house was an adult. The youngest person in that house was 21. I would imagine that anybody that did anything in the house did it on his\her own accord. These people are adults and they chose to do whatever that wanted to do while millions of people were watching. As an adult, as long as you can accept responsibility for your actions, you are good to go. That said, it was not about me being upright. I am the same person before the show, during and after the show. It was not that I went there as a morally upright person; it was just me being myself all through.
How has fame changed you?
Most people think fame should change you. Fame is just supposed to make you better.
Let’s talk about you and Anto. There was the first and second coming. There was also the kissing moments that everybody saw. Was that kiss real? Or you were acting?
Acting? The only time I acted while in the house was one of those times when we had to carry out a particular task. People felt I acted because I may have been blessed to know how to use words. My experience in the media spanned over 10 years, where I am used to words day in day out. Apart from being in the media, I read a lot and I had to learn from people. I think people just finally got to see me on television as opposed to hearing my voice on radio. Whatever happened in that house was not an act. It was real from day one till I left.
You said you are keeping it real with Anto even after the show. What’s happening between two of you now?
As you well know, Anto is probably one of the busiest women in the world right now. She’s building a totally different brand from mine. What I can tell you is that both of us are very busy people. We talk a lot. We still talked before I got here. We are not in a relationship currently. In the event that we want to take it to the next level, I will be more than happy to tell you guys first.
With both of you pursuing different goals now, is it a threat to your relationship?
No. I feel if somebody is meant to be with you, irrespective of how long it takes, it will happen. It is not a priority right now; it’s an option. In the event that it becomes a priority, we would both sit down to take the next step together.
Going into the house, you must have had your goals. All the housemates had the same platform to express themselves with you being one of them. How are you coping with life after Big Brother?
It has been difficult. Many people felt because they watched you on television, they have the right to dictate how your life is run. They feel they own your life because they voted for you. Managing that alone with not just one person but millions of people is difficult. I have always had a clear-cut understanding of how I want to live my life and how to make my dreams come true. What I have always been waiting for is the platform to express myself, which Big Brother Naija provided for me. Managing life after Big Brother Naija is a daily process. The messages from women and the attention I get make it even harder, but I am taking every day as it comes with the same mentality-making every moment count. The truth is that if you have something to do with all of these people, what is left for you as a man? Currently, I have more than 300,000 followers on Instagram; over 5,000 messages in my DM. Without any disrespect, most of these people want the same thing from me. So, how do I deal with all these people at the same time? How do I satisfy them? Finding a balance between having to not come across to be snobbish, proud and still be as friendly as possible is the main challenge. Thank God there is no scandal so far.
Recently, we had the gist about Alex and Khloe having a big fight over Leo when he celebrated his birthday. In fact, we learnt that Khloe deleted Leo’s pictures on her instgram page afterwards. What exactly is going on between the two girls?
People just like blow things out of proportion. All the housemates are on the same Whatsapp group and we all talk regularly. There was never a time that this issue came up in the group. Alex and Khloe are in that group. Both of them talk in that group. It does not make any sense to me. People are very quick to add up one or two things to paint the picture they imagined. I won’t say they are best of friends, but they have mutual respect for each other. I don’t think there is any snatching of Leo gist anywhere.
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