Florence Uwaeme
Monday night’s are Head of House nights in the Big Brother Naija House, a weekly contest when the Housemates compete for the coveted Head of House position, a post that comes with access to the luxurious Head of House Room, some fancy bling and – most importantly – the power to veto any Housemate’s Nomination and put one’s own choice in his or her place. First was Peace, then came Boma, and tonight, it happens to be Pere’s turn.
As reigning Head of House, Boma was required to sit this one out and help Big Brother rearrange the play area after each of the Housemates had their go. It must be hard, watching from the sidelines, knowing that your time at the top is up. For Boma, there must have been some added pressure – as the first (and so far, only) Head of House to have exercised his veto power, he really must have been nervous that Yousef might win. On the other hand, being free of Head of House responsibilities might give him a bit more freedom to spend some time with Queen, the brand-new Housemate who seems to be a recent apple of his eye.
It started with the obligatory reading of the rules of the game; yes, we’ve heard them before, but it never hurts to make sure everybody remembers, and there are new Housemates, remember? Anyway, it’s just something we need to endure, so we do – perhaps a little less than gracefully. I want this Game to start, already!
Cross kicked off the festivities, and subsequently proved that probability is a fickle thing – pure chance would suggest that he would have thrown a six (starting him down the course) way earlier than he actually did. But no; it was obvious he was not going to be the next Head of House.
Whitemoney was the first to get started within a reasonably-short amount of time, giving him an early lead, but that was followed by an early exit, when he landed on the 15th space… It was “game over”.
Nini threw a six on her first attempt, moving on the course after no time at all, finishing on the 13th space, and taking the lead. Jackie B… managed to roll a 6. And that’s it. It took her so long to get off the blocks, that the buzzer rang before she could actually progress. Sammie took a while to get off the blocks, but then through two 6’s in a row, followed by a five, which would put him on 11… which means “start over”, then the time ran out, which means… Sammie got zilch.
Cross… didn’t fair much differently: “start over”, then the buzzer. May as well have stayed seated. Liquorose threw a six on her first attempt, getting an early move onto the course. Unfortunately, she immediately had to get past a tiresome obstacle, but she ended her run on the 14th space and in the lead.
Yousef then started his attempt… and got nowhere. Literally. He totally failed to roll a six and get off the starting block. Boma breathes easy.
Pere then blew it out the park – a quick start, some lucky throws, missed all the obstacles, and ran like blazes. His last roll of the die went out of bounds, leaving people unsure of whether or not it would count, but just right then, it didn’t matter – he had taken the lead, no matter what.
Saskay had an alright time of it, until right after her attempt, when Biggie reminded her that she had been told she was not allowed to wear shoes during the Head of House Game, and her score was set to zero. Her nervous laughter had Biggie ask her to, “kindly share the joke.” The laughter ended, chop-chop.
Tega had her score reduced to zero, too – not her fault. It was punishment for moving the marker incorrectly, but she had only been listening to her fellow Housemates, who were also given a stern rebuke by Biggie. Oooh… lot’s of people getting into wahala, tonight!
Pere was given his staff of office – a bling chain that is worn by all head of head as he joyfully chose Maria as his deputy.
Shippers are already excited that the pending ship between Pere and Maria will sail, finally. What do you think?