When housemates leave the Big Brother House, they move onto become top guys in whichever hustle they had been selling during their stay in the house. With Pokello, it was fashion and shoes. With Elikem, it was tailoring bespoke outfits. Dilish came through looking cute at all times so, it was no surprise when she went on, after winning, to own a makeup line. Even Uti displayed serious multiple personalities in the house! Look at him pulling off acting and hosting gigs like its nothing.
Saidat Balogun, also known as Avala, says she feels there is a stigma attached to her now as she was the first housemate to leave the house, in the first eviction of the “pepper dem” season.
The single mother has been in the music industry for some time now but she decided to take it a step further, using the Big Brother Naija reality TV show as a platform to launch into popularity.
She says, “My music career was alright but it wasn’t moving as fast as I wanted it to because I didn’t have enough money to ‘push’ it. That’s why I felt BBN would be a great platform to expose me to sponsors or a record label. Being a woman in the industry, it was harder for me because it is a man’s world. One must be careful about running to men who have the power to help one. Many of them could have ulterior motives. Those were some of the things I was facing in my music career and I needed the respect, so that if I wanted to work with anybody, it would be much easier to make a name for myself.”
Avala regrets not getting the chance to show off her skills and parts of her personality to the show’s viewers, and her fans. She went on to say that she felt it was unfair to have been evicted so early in the game.
“I think being evicted really early wasn’t quite fair as I didn’t have the chance to get people to vote and support me the way I know they would have wanted to. I also didn’t get the chance to fully show the world more about me. One week wasn’t enough at all.
I am glad to be home but I miss the competition and I wish I was able to stay longer so I could have had a fair chance of winning the prize money”, she said.
Despite feeling like she might be jinxed, she believes she has a long way to go and is ready to put in some serious work to get to the ‘cheddah’.
She shared, “I feel like there is a stigma on me, being the first to enter the house and the first to be evicted. I was there for only a week and that had never happened before. This time, I want to prove to people that just stepping into the house was all I needed. I am ready to pursue my music and do some collaboration. I’d like to work with Burna Boy, Davido, Wizkid, Nonso Amadi and a couple of international stars. I’ll also like to open my foundation for battered women and hopefully, I’d be able to help give women a safe place to come to when things are hard for them. I’ll also like to sign endorsements deals, try new business ventures and make money.”
But would she enter into the BBNaija competition again? Definitely!
“I’d definitely do it again if I have the chance because I’ve got so much love and support from my fans. It’s rather interesting that I got fans from just a week of my stay in the house. I feel blessed to have been a part of the show”, she stated.
