Reuben Abati's article on Big Brother Naija is filled with old arguments that offer nothing new.
Big Brother Naija was a big cultural experience. Pop critics might call it the biggest of the Big Brother editions so far.
48 hours after the finale, several people have come up with articles on the impact of the reality show. One of such people is the veteran journalist Reuben Abati.
In the article 'Big Brother Naija – Television As Madness', Abati pens his thoughts about the reality show. "Big Brother Naija reality television show promoted the ideas of choice and people power at the heart of democracy," he writes.
In his words "Efe won because of his humility. He is considered the poorest and the neediest of the contestants. Patrons of the programme chose to vote for the contestant who looked and sounded like he would need the money and the opportunity."
Reuben Abati's article quickly fell into the moral and patriotic pit holes that many plagues many conservative Nigerian writers. Mr Abati body shamed TBoss, said the reality show was immoral and it should have never been produced in South Africa. These are old tricks older Nigerian writers use to criticise anything new that challenges their way of life.
"I have seen better breasts TBOSS. I am not too sure those private jet owners will be excited by your fluffy, South-looking, slightly bigger than mangoes breasts. If the same men see bigger assets, I mean, those interesting Ojiakor-like ones that look like papayas, pineapples and watermelons, they will not send private jets, they will deploy submarines and fighter jets!"
These lines are cringe worthy and honestly disappointing. Why is he so fixated on her breasts in the first place? Someone as experienced and respected as Reuben Abati should not be shaming a woman's body parts and resort to gutter writing. Bashing the size of TBoss' breasts is sexist and unnecessary.
"Big Brother Naija and Big Brother Africa franchises seems committed to the promotion of base values, chiefly adultery, prostitution, love of money, nudity and sex. What just ended as Big Brother Naija 2017 was nothing other than the corralling of some human beings into a zoo, pressured to behave like nothing but animals. The organisers made money devaluing other human beings...TBOSS and the other girls kissed and got groped by the boys on live television putting their upbringing to shame."
This same old argument again. It seems some Nigerians have forgotten a little device called the remote control. If you do not like what is shown on TV, change the channel. The moral debate is old and tiring. This is 2017. People are free to watch whatever they want to watch. They are also free to do whatever they want to do. It is called free will. This boring argument reminds me of people who say porn is bad but stare at the TV screen for a few minutes before turning it off. If Big Brother Naija is immoral, then why watch it?
"BBNaija should not be hosted and staged in South Africa as has been the case."
Really? The Nigerian television industry cannot touch the hem of the industry in South Africa. As Nigerians, we always feel entitled but in truth, nobody owes them nothing.
Reuben Abati's article misses the mark. In a time like this, we need more progressive writers who don't play the moral and blind patriotic card every time.
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