Top Ten Most Popular Big Brother Naija Housemates Of All Time

Big Brother holds the number one position on the list of Top Ten Nigerian Reality TV shows, a show that has millions of Nigerians glued to their screens daily to watch and support their fav.

Even tho each of these housemates has their eyes on the prize, their motivation for participating in the show sometimes isn’t just about the money as some come into the house in search of fame.

We have seen housemates over the years who didn’t end up as the winner and also those who were disqualified, ending up becoming more popular and successful than the actual winner at the year of their participation. The show has really democratized success/fame as each of the housemates gets a clear shot at fame and they get to determine how they optimize the opportunity.

In this post, we will be looking at the top ten most famous Big Brother Housemates of all time.

(1) Ebuka

Chukwuebuka Obi-Uchendu who is popularly known as Ebuka is definitely the most successful housemates the Big Brother has ever produced. Ebuka was one of the 16 housemates at the 2006 edition of the show which was the first edition and even tho he didn’t emerge the winner as took the 8th position, he went on to do greater things with the opportunity and platform the show gave him.

Ebuka is currently one of the most successful TV hosts in Nigeria and has been the host of the show since its return in 2017. Ebuka currently boasts of over 2.5 million followers on Instagram and is unarguably the most popular Big Brother housemate of all time. His intelligent engagements during interviews, presentation, and questioning, outstanding dressing style, and huge love from fans have had him enjoy endorsement deals from big brands in Nigeria over the years.

(2) Tacha

Despite her controversial stay in the house and disqualification from the show, Natacha Ibinabo Akide who is well known as Tacha went on to build a formidable fanbase for herself during and after the show and they are collectively known as Titans.

Before entering the Big Brother House, Tacha already had quite a sizeable fanbase as she was always serving controversial relationship advice on Instagram and she is categorized as one of the housemates who went to the house to chase clout.

After her exit from the show, she went on to secure multiple million Naira endorsement deals, launched her own fashion brand which she named ‘Everything Tacha’ a collection which comprises of pink lip kit, new and improved eyelashes, face mask (glow tacha) titians trident necklace and NLNT Hoodie. Four days after she introduced her product to the public, it was sold out, she later introduced her own wireless charging power bank which sold out real fast.

Tacha currently boasts of over 1.4 million followers on Instagram and she is still in the news every now and then.

(3) Mercy Eke

Mercy Eke popularly known as Lambo or simply Mercy is the first female to win the Big Brother Naija reality show and she is currently the only female that has won the show.

Before entering the house she has featured in some Nigerian music videos as a vixen and also after leaving the house. She was in the videos “Baby Mama” by Ichaba featuring Davido, “Nawo Nawo” by Airboy, “Ije Ego” by MC Galaxy, “Take It” by Rudeboy, and also made her Nollywood debut in the movie ‘Fate Of Alakada’. She was known as the Queen of Highlights due to her endowed backside.

After the show, Mercy went on to sign several endorsement deals and also started her own show ‘Mercy & Ike’ with her boyfriend Ike who was also a contestant in the Big Brother Show.

(4) Laycon

Right from the first day the show started, Laycon trended till the very last day. Some people called it grace while some others called it Sympathy. Due to his looks on the first day, Nigerians on Twitter said he was just a ‘Tout’ who luckily/mistakenly got into the show but with a proper introduction from Laycon we got to know that he is an artist who even have a song with Reminisce and Chinko Ekun and the narrative changed and the love for Laycon continued to wax stronger throughout the show.

Celebrities began to show public support for him, social media influencers like Tunde Ednut and many others took it upon themselves to make sure he emerged as the winner and at the end of the show, Laycon won the show by a margin that hasn’t been seen since the history of the show.

(5) Cee-C

Two Years after her stay in the Big Brother Naija house, Cynthia Nwadiora who is Cee-C still remains relevant and has the backing and support of her fans who are collectively known as ‘Spartans’.

Despite her rude and badly behaved manner in the house and the bad blood between her and Tobi which led to hours of insults, her fans still overlooked all that and kept her in the house and she ended up as the 1st runner-up in the show.

After the show, Cee-C went on to defy critics who said brands wouldn’t want to work with her because of her character as she has since signed several endorsement deals since then and even in 2020, she is still getting endorsement deals as she just signed an ambassadorial deal for Payporte. Cee-C currently boasts of over 2.6 million followers on Instagram.

(6) Bisola

Even before entering the house, Bisola was quite a public figure as she has participated in the 2008 edition of the MTN Project a West Africa music, and was the third runner-up. She also auditioned for the Big Brother show 8 times (Big Brother Africa and Big Brother Naija) before she finally got accepted.

After the show, she attended the 72nd United Nations General Assembly which was held in New York, she has featured in Nigerian movies, has also released a couple of songs, and bagged endorsements deal of companies like Baileys, Indomie Nigeria, Power Oil, WAPIC, Sterling Bank, Jumia, Samsung, Google, and others.

(7) Tobi Bakre

Prior to entering the Big Brother Naija house, he was an investment banker and also a photographer during his spare time, the banking job took care of his bills properly at the time but he was tired of the regular and repetitive routine of the job and realized he wasn’t reaching his full potential and decided to enroll for the reality TV show.

He eventually got shortlisted for the show and ended up as a finalist on Big Brother Naija ‘Double Wahala’ in 2018. His social media followership increased by 450% during and after the show and he got endorsement deals from companies like Unilever, Amstel Malta, and Jumia.

Tobi has also featured in a couple of Nigerian movies, he starred in Fix Us, Sugar Rush, Makalik and also appeared on TV series like Jenifa’s Diary where he played the role of ‘George’, Lara of Lagos where he played the role of ‘Femi’, Phases where he played the role of ‘Jeje’.

(8) Ifu Ennada

For Ifu Ennada, the Big Brother Naija was the silver bullet for her career and she has never shied away from admitting how Big Brother Naija changed her life for the better. Before entering the Big Brother House she was an upcoming actress, writer, fashion designer, content producer, and TV presenter.

Despite not emerging the winner of the show, after her exit from the house, her commercial value as an actress and MC increased exponentially and she also set up a beauty business ‘beautIFU Ennada’ pioneered by her HairCare Line with distributors all over Africa and the United States. When asked how the Big Brother Naija platform helped in actualizing her dreams and goals, Ifu Ennada said “Big Brother Naija platform is indeed a blessing to those who know how to use it and I am very proud of everything I’ve done this far.’’ She currently has over 1.4 million followers on Instagram.

(9) Mike Edwards

Before the house, Mike had already created a name for himself as a professional high jump athlete and the owner of Britain’s first black-owned Cigar line, ‘Aireyys’. He, however, became famous after his time in the 2019 edition of the show.

Since he appeared on Big Brother, he has continued to grow his influence and currently has 359,878 followers on Twitter. The social media ranking app, Social Cred ranks him as a ‘Big Shot’. He has an original tweet vs retweet ratio of 2:3, an engagement rate of 0.42%, and his tweets receive an average 48% positive response, 42% neutral, and a 10% negative response.

On Instagram, Mike’s page littered with perfect fashion shots, workout videos, and glimpses into his private life has given him 1,419,509 followers. Social Cred ranks him as ‘Trendsetter’, and he has an engagement rate of 2.68%, alongside a total of 12,924,885 million likes.