Is it really Entertainment??

Entertainment is the action of producing or being provided with amusement or an event performance or activity designed to entertain others (google)

Recently most of our television screens have been showing the popular reality TV show BBnaija Double Wahala 2018, and it has continued to gather storm.  It is one of the widely watched reality TV show in Nigeria and Africa. Whether you believe it or not it has captivated the attention of both the young and old and created quite a buzz but  I have asked myself severally, has this show really been entertaining ?  A lot of people have given it names that they feel is deserving for it like soft porn, devils alternative and so on and so forth. But for whatever name that it has been called I still think we should all have an idea of what the show is all about if I can speak on it with authority, because truth be told I have never been a fan of it.  But I see the younger generation all around me talk about it so how do I correct or encourage them from it if I don’t watch it or even understand it. Do you know that the age bracket of those inside the house is between the ages of 21 to 35 which represent the productive age of any nation?  Since it is trending find out what it is all about you will be at an advantage when you know your enemies strategy correct me if am wrong.

Now to the crux of the matter, while it might be totally wrong to crush another person’s initiative it might also be wrong not to point out or criticize the short coming of such work. I will try to enumerate the good side of the show as I have seen.  The show has showcased few housemates with some potentials in acting, music, comedy but maybe it is meant to hunt for talent in the entertainment industry. The show might also have helped some of the housemates discover themselves, gained more confidence and become more expressive though I would not be able to say if this confidence is negatively or positively portrayed.  It should also have thought the housemates that it is possible to do away with your phones for a while, focus and think as against what this generation believes.   I also commend some task given to them because it teaches them patience and perseverance which is greatly lacking in the younger generation. Few of their presentations have been educative and show cased our culture and of course some of them have become a little richer from the prize money won from winning games by different sponsors. Eventually,one of them will be richer with the overall winner’s prize money while the organizers smile to their banks.Those of them are smart but did not win any monetary prizes will use the platform to enhance their career into the entertainment world. Ultimately, everyone is happy commercially at the end of the show.

But the no no to me is that the show is being hosted outside Nigeria even though it is called BBnaija so we as a country have lost revenue that should have come to this country and the short time employment/technology transfer it would have created, typical of Nigerians.  I am led to ask what happened to our Obudu cattle ranch and all the resort centersscattered in various cities in Nigeria. Why can’t the so called rich build such studios here in Nigeria? Please the organizers should endeavor to approach investors next time or better still invest what they have made to build such studios for the game except changing of environment and climate is key to making the show entertaining.  But I do not see how that is possible because they are always in the building.

If part of the reason for this show is to hunt for talents, why are the hunting for talents found only in the entertainment industry?  I guess viewers will be happier to see young people thinking out of the box and enhancing their entrepreneurial abilities, scientist taking the time to manufacture new thingsthat will solve an existing problem in the society. These products could even go through a test-run in the market and funded by the organizers thereby creating products which help cut down on the menace of unemployment and in our country today.  And the contestants can also equip themselves to be self-reliant when they come out of the house.

Are the housemates selected to be those who are quite comfortable in exposing their nakedness and of loose morals, does nakedness, heavy make-ups define today’s beauty? Does this represent the different characterization of our younger generation, if yes, then our society is gradually falling into a deep shit.

Is the essence of the show largely to bring out the dirty and ugly sides of the housemates? The constant display of anger, bitterness, manipulative tendencies, toxicity in their exhaustive relationships, defamatory and offensive way of speaking, their reckless sexual relationships, the vulgar dance steps and display of drunkenness, the inability to hold a decent conversation as compared to the displaying of talents.  Does this exaggerated bogus character show that most of our younger generation today have lost it?

I see young troubled people who have lost hope and trust in the society and have taken an offensive way of existing in the name of entertainment.  Most of them are disturbed, emotionally, physically and mentally hence the reason for the display of toxic and manipulative relationships displayed.  Sexual and amoral relationships replace decent dating and loving relationship. These things can be improved if serious mentoringand counseling becomes part of the show. This is because most of them believe that they are being real themselves and do not care how their behavior affects the others and even those who are watching.  So,I ask, is this entertainment in its entirety meant to entertain us or to exhaust us. How about the sponsors and organizer giving a prize money for the second and third runner up because it is not fair when you have only one winner?

In as much as I have enumerated all these, the organizers still have the right to create a show the way they desire it to be and they may either be opened to improvement or not.  The onus still lies on us all, both the Christians, Muslims, Moralist, politicians, Businessmen, Career people and all those in Youth Ministriesthat might not want their brand associated with such shows to conceptualize and produce an alternative to what they believe in as against what is presently available.