In an interview with The Nation’s Joe Agbro Jr., second runner-up in the just concluded Big Brother Naija Reality TV show, TBoss (real n...
In an interview with The Nation’s Joe Agbro Jr., second runner-up in the just concluded Big Brother Naija Reality TV show, TBoss (real name Tokunbo Idowu) talks about her time in the house, Reuben Abati‘s controversial article and more.
See excerpts:
A lot of people were rooting for you. And on the last day, while you were dressing, you wore a crown. How did it feel that you didn’t emerge winner?
I really appreciate the efforts they put in. I’ve heard some of the supports… I appreciate and I say to them all, thanks. I did not get the grand prize but I am a winner. I am absolutely a winner and I am an absolute queen. I went there as Tokunbo Idowu, just a simple girl, but right now I’m a queen. And that crown, that’s my crown, it’s befitting of how I feel right now. So, Efe is the grand prize winner but I’m also a winner. Bisola is a winner, everybody is a winner. So, I don’t feel bad at all.
You made it to the top three despite several challenges. Before going into the house, did you have a strategy to win, to get votes?
Absolutely not. Before I went into the house, I did a little bit of research with the limited time I had…to go through some previous winners and see, maybe, what it is they did that made them likable, what strategy they applied.
Just before I went into the house, I’m like, ‘abeg, it’s too much for me, I cannot.’ The only thing I know how to do is to be myself. I will be nice. I will get angry. I will scream. I will cry. I will laugh. I just went in there and I was myself. That was my only strategy…..who loved me loves me, who hates me… I have seen some of the comments and it’s sad.
Now that you’ve come out and you’ve seen the comments. Which of those comments have pained you the most?
None.
Of the housemates, who is your favourite?
I don’t have favourites per say. but the person that I would say I really connected with and really bonded the most with would be Debie-Rise because she stayed to the end with me. But off and on, I like everyone.
Could boredom have been responsible for some of the crazy moments that happened in the house?
What is crazy moment in your opinion?
Like the moments when you exposed your breasts, about twice… were they intentional?
I was showering. Did I come to the living room? Where did I expose my breasts?
The first time, you were in the dressing room and you took off your top
So, I was in the bathroom…
You were not in the bathroom
I was in the private area. Was I in the lounge?
You were in a place that was being recorded. There were videos out there capturing those moments …
I actually saw videos of us in the bathroom but not shower hour.
There were two instances that the internet has captured that you took off your top. Weren’t you aware of what you were doing then?
See, the Big Brother house is a place where you showcase yourself. You’re free to be TBoss. Whoever TBoss is, you show the world who T-Boss is. And in my own life, in my normal day-to-day life, I don’t like to wear clothes when I’m walking around in my house. I like to be free, here (pointing from her waist downwards), covered here (pointing upwards from her waist), what’s the point? Or I’ll just wear one small blouse. The Big Brother house was like my house at a point.
So, I would just be very very very free. I didn’t do it out of boredom. No, I was just being myself and walking around without clothes… I didn’t go to the kitchen, you know, because, then, that is like really seeking attention or go out into the garden or to the arena. No, I didn’t do that.
A columnist, Reuben Abati, wrote a piece where he said you could have won, and were the most worthy to represent Big Brother Naija brand but you lost because of your arrogance. What’s your response to that?
I do not feel I’m an arrogant person. I’m sorry he has that opinion of me. I read the comments. My people actually were afraid that I would get emotional and sad about it. But I’m not. I was actually quite amused when I read his comments about the ‘mango’ part. It was actually quite comical.
Also during the show, some of the housemates described you as ‘manipulative’ and some commentators also used that word and called you a ‘white witch’.
I heard now… Oh, what do I have to say to that? I don’t know. (Asking another person) ‘Oga, was I manipulative?’ You (to the interviewer), do you think I was manipulative? Those were the comments of people
I don’t know. If they saw me like that, it’s sad. I’m not a manipulative person. And I’m definitely not a witch. Oh my God. And my bed is really not cursed.
The issue of Kemen sleeping on the same bed with you led him to being disqualified from the house. Kemen has said what happened under the sheets wasn’t what viewers thought. He said when you come out, you’ll be able to talk about it. What really happened?
Well, since he is saying that, he should just go ahead and actually say what really happened.
Kemen said he was just trying to pull a duvet apart, that both of you usually sleep into each other? And that was what he was trying to do…
(Making faces)… See, since I got back (from South Africa), I haven’t slept. I had one hour sleep last night. My head is full with media interviews and so much running around. The last thing I want to think about now is the Kemen issue. I didn’t like it and to be very honest, Kemen was a good friend. But I really do not want to comment about this right now. I am not ready. When I’m ready, I will speak about it.
It was only after leaving the house that some truths about the housemates, like TTT being married and Gifty being married too, came to the surface. Since coming out of the Big Brother House, have you discovered any surprise about your fellow housemates?
Oh, really, she (Gifty) was once married and she did not know.
Well, that was established after she left the house
OK. So far, nothing has surprised me. About ThinTallTony, I always said it, Tony is a married man. He looks like a married man. He carries himself as someone’s father. I have always been saying that in the house. About this Gifty, actually, I’m not thinking much about that right now. So far, I haven’t heard anything that I would say is surprising.
So, did you just have a relationship with Miyonse and Jon in the house to pass time?
I knew Miyonse from Abuja when we went for the auditions. He was the only person that was familiar to me. I kind of like leaned into him. He was funny. We get along, you know. Jon also was really nice.
Jon is a really, really sweet guy. Was I passing away time?
Big Brother house is a very strange place. But I like both of them. I have the utmost respect for both of them. They were really nice to me in the house. What else am I supposed to comment about them? Was it a romantic? Miyonse told me he was in a relationship. At the end of the day, he was there fighting for the money to go and spend on his girlfriend, not on me. And Jon, well, he’s not ready for a relationship, so, that’s all.
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