₦85m to exchange hands as BBNaija 2020 goes live

As the BBNaija craze returns, is Nigeria ready for this? The widely-anticipated 2020 edition of the Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) reality TV show is set to off in a few hours.

The journey to the fifth edition of the show began on May 20, when Multichoice Nigeria announced online auditions for prospective housemates.

The prospective housemates were expected to meet five requirements to qualify for the exercise. The organisers would later reveal July 19, as the commencement date for the show. But the announcement had generated reactions.

On one hand, it raised hopes and piqued interests of fans. On the other, it generated concerns from people considering the fact that the reality show is holding at about the same time when the world is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

The organisers, however, addressed such concerns, revealing measures already put in place to protect housemates from the novel disease before and during the show. Now that the wait is almost over, what should fans look out for?

One of the headlining topics for this year’s edition of the reality show is the grand prize of N85 million. John Ugbe, chief executive officer at Multichoice Nigeria, had while announcing the record grand prize, said the move was to “ensure the show lives up to the premium entertainment especially during the current pandemic.”

It’s the biggest since the inception of the show in 2006 and guess what? It’s likely going to influence the show in many ways. We may witness more dramas than that of 2019 dominated with the seeming ‘feud’ between Mercy Eke and Tacha Akide, two former housemates.

As if this wasn’t enough, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, a media personality, has added gloss to the reality TV show since he started hosting it in 2017. And ahead of this year’s edition, he’s again in the spotlight, but not alone. Betway, a betting platform and leading sponsor of this year’s BBNaija, recently announced him and Don Jazzy, CEO of Mavin Records, as its ambassadors for the much-awaited show.

Their combination could yet make this year’s edition of the show interesting. The season five will be broadcast live and 24/7 on DStv channel 198 and GOtv Max and Jolli packages on channel 29. DStv viewers can also follow the drama this season with the DStv Now app on a smartphone, tablet or laptop.

As the battle for who emerges this year’s winner begins, the unanswered question on the mind of most remains who gets to win this year’s stack cash?