CELEBRITY LIFE IS CHALLENGING, ILEBAYE

Ilebaye Odiniya, 22-year-old winner of the just concluded season eight of Big Brother Naija reality TV show, tagged the All-Stars edition, has said that coming out of the show, life as a celebrity has been interesting and challenging.

She made this comment as housemates expressed gratitude to one of Africa’s leading digital financial services provider, Moniepoint Inc, over its lead sponsorship and the curation of exciting touchpoints to engage and experience the brand during the show.

At a meet and greet session for the All-Stars which was  held in Lagos, they stated their admiration for Moniepoint’s fast, easy, and reliable services that they had experienced on the personal and business banking platforms since leaving the show, adding that this was a true reflection of consistency and a brand that works to ensure that everything is on point.

Receiving the BBN All Stars contingent at its office, Tobi Amira Senior Vice President, Business Loans and Salary Advance took the housemates on a brief session about Moniepoint.

“We are a digital financial services provider for businesses and most recently individuals. We have built a very reliable system and provide our services at very affordable rates leveraging technology to ensure that we can continue to push the government’s financial inclusion agenda. As one of Africa’s largest fintechs, we saw mutual synergies which spurred us to sponsor this season of Big Brother Nigeria which is without doubt, one of the biggest reality and entertainment intellectual property in Africa. We are excited at what the future holds as we double down on powering dreams for businesses and individuals.”

The All Stars Housemates who made the trip include: Gen Z baddie and winner of the All Stars show, Ilebaye Odiniya, Pere Egbi, Adekunle Olopade, Cynthia “Cee-C” Nwadiora, Ikechukwu “Cross” Okonkwo, Chukwuemeka “Frodd” Okoye, Season Six winner Hazel “Whitemoney” Oyeze, Seyi Awolowo, Doyinsola David, Ike Onyema, Somadina Anyama and Prince Nelson

Group Chief Executive Officer, Moniepoint Inc. Tosin Eniolorunda, who briefly joined the event virtually, noted that the Housemates were all worthy ambassadors and should be proud of their time on the show.

“Well done to BBN All Stars for all the excitement and entertainment they gave to Nigerians and Africans over the course of 90 days. Thank you for doing the work that you do and we are happy that you enjoyed every encounter with the Moniepoint brand throughout your stay on the show. BBN has helped to birth the dreams of a lot of young Nigerians over the past 8 seasons, Moniepoint is doing the same across the financial services landscape. We are passionate about including many people in the financial net – empowering them to live better lives and we hope that you’ll partner with us to do fantastic work in this regard.”

The BBN All Stars edition brought back fan favourites from the last six seasons which saw Ilebaye win the coveted N120 million prize money with 30.08 percent of the votes cast, over Mercy Eke with 23.48 percent and Cee-C with 23.41 percent. According to Multichoice, the All-Stars edition recorded 1.53 billion votes cast throughout the season which is the largest ever in the show’s history.

During a diary session styled side event hosted by Director, Content Marketing, Moniepoint, Obinna Okerekeocha, the housemates revealed some interesting facts about their time on the show. Check out these few excerpts:

Ilebaye

I had so much fun during the Moniepoint Thursday games. Even though I would have loved any of the contestants to win, if I had to make a pick, I’d choose Doyin if I didn’t win.  Life as a winner and celebrity coming out of the house hasn’t been easy being the youngest multimillionaire. It’s been stressful on social media and everywhere especially the media rounds. But it’s been all love and light from my fans. I haven’t seen hate. If you drag me, my fans will drag you back. I am trying to get adjusted to this new me and I am working on creating a better version of myself.

Prince Nelson

One part of me that many people didn’t get to see on the screen is that fact that I am a nerd. I studied Pure Physics in school and when I am not doing entertainment, you’d find me digging into Science, Astronomy and Astrology as I’d always wanted to be an astronaut while growing up. So, in my spare time, I am studying the stars, ancient African religions and history.

Cee-C

When I heard that I had been selected for this edition, I had mixed feelings. Obviously, I was worried and scared.  Because it’s one thing to go and be yourself and the misunderstanding that could arise but then I was excited because it was going to afford me the opportunity to meet new people which are something that I love to do.

Frodd

Being an All-Stars season, having to see a lot of people whom I call my friends outside the house coming into the game was kind of a motivation for me. Besides the fact that we were all close, I saw them play the game with a bit of maturity, I saw us all go out trying to be calm even if the chaos tried to overtake us but I had a very great feeling coming back to the House.

Ike

My favourite housemate, first it’s got to be Cee-C. How can I forget her. But I also liked the action that Pere was giving me.

Doyin

My mom has been the most influential person in my life. She’s imparted everything that I am today. I am quite a quality person and it takes someone who’s got quality to raise someone like me and that’s my mom for you.

Adekunle

My favourite TV series is Game of Thrones. If you have seen it, then you’d understand my choice. My character of choice in the series is Tyrion Lannister and that’s because he’s the most intelligent person in the GoTverse. There are parallels that can be drawn, Tyrion survived till the very end as one character people didn’t think will make it through, I have been on BBNaija twice and on both counts I made it till the very end.

The Housemates also used the engagement session to express their willingness in partnering with Moniepoint to power more dreams across the nation. Adding that they’d be looking forward to more innovative and value-added services from the organization.

Moniepoint Inc was recently listed by CB Insights among the top 100 fintech companies of 2023 while the reputable Financial Times of London in 2022 listed the organization as Africa’s second fastest-growing company, servicing over 1.8 million businesses and individuals, and helping them process over $100 billion in 2022.