Tuesday 3 September 2013

‘I made Nigeria Proud’ – Beverly Ada Osu

Beverly Osu

Beverly Osu made history by becoming the first BBA contestant that was never nominated for eviction since the inception of the African franchise of the television series in 2003
24 hours after she arrived Nigeria, BBA The Chase finalist Beverly Osu was rushed to Faith City Hospital, Oju Olobun Close, off Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The BBA star was admitted for treatment due to a sprain ankle she suffered in the BBA house, a day to the finale.
For 91 days, the video vixen entertained Africa with so many tales of her life experiences and of course, the widely condemned sexual encounter that resulted from an in-house affair between her and Angelo Collins

The one question everybody wanted to know was why she succumbed to her sexual urges and having sex with the South African while the entire continent watched.
I did not have sex in the house, I never had sex in the house. I had a relationship with Angelo Collins but we didn’t have sex. Nothing happened between me and Angelo. Though there were awkward moments, we never had sex. I know what happened then between us but we never got down to have sex’, she insists.
Rumour has it that Angelo has a girlfriend, but Beverly doesn’t seem to care. ‘I don’t want to talk about his so called girlfriend because I don’t know anything about her’.
Does she see a future in the relationship, she says, ‘We talk every day. He loves me and I still love him. I would get married to him if I had the chance.’
Of course on the issue of nudity she says, ‘all of us take our baths naked. So I shouldn’t be different because I went for a reality show. I shouldn’t be different from every other person, because I didn’t bring out my videos, Big Brother did so I should not be judged, and I represented Nigeria well’.
Particularly known for her fabulous stories: from abortion to rape to sleeping with men for money and dating musicians, she seems not to regret her actions at all. ‘I’m a very open person. Melvin knows, he stayed with me for 91 days. I say what’s on my mind, and for me to reveal myself to the world, it didn’t look like I was revealing myself to the world’, she said, ‘I was talking too much, maybe, but I’m on a reality show. I don’t regret saying the things that I said about me and my family, because if I have to be on this platform, people have to know the real me and what I’ve been through.’
As much as she discussed her mom’s ugly past on terrestrial television, her mom’s love was never lost from her side. ‘I can never go out of my way to disgrace and disappoint my mom intentionally. She has lectured me properly. And even if the whole world rejects me, my mom can’t reject me. I love my mom so much. I am her only daughter and last born. I’ve always been there for her and she’ll always be there for me.’
Her conduct in the house has been termed an embarrassment to Nigeria as a country, and Beverly apologises, ‘I don’t feel happy about it since this will be the first time I will be representing Nigeria… I’m sorry for embarrassing my country. I didn’t do it intentionally. My participation in the show was not to embarrass my country‘.
Was 2shotz the rapper boyfriend Beverly claimed was constantly abusing her? ‘No. I wasn’t referring to him. For me, 2shots is history. Thank you for reminding me about him.’

Beverly Osu and 2shotz on Dame Ft Funbi video
She may have lost out on the $300,000 prize money, but she made history by becoming the first BBA contestant that was never nominated for eviction since the inception of the African franchise of the television series in 2003 and for that she says,  ‘I broke a record… I made Nigeria proud’.
Beverly has come out of the show a celebrity, whether for the right reasons or the wrong, but she is hoping to roll on with the little fame she has achieved. ‘Before I left, I had a show called ‘Beverly Says’ and I’m back to push it. If you guys watched Big Brother, you would be very sure that I can act, so I’d go into movies, but then, I have to finish school because I’m in my 200 level.’
Beverly’s unconditional love and support from her mom
Beverly and her mum at the MMIA in Lagos. Photo: Victor Obot/NET
She may have acted inappropriately in the house and gave many embarrassing testimonies of her mom on TV, Beverly no less gets her mother’s support and love.
One of her closest friends, Charity Owoh had earlier explained how proud her mom is of her conduct in the house. ‘She (Beverly’s mom) has seen everything. There’s the good and bad, of course she’s a mother so she would feel the way mothers would feel but she’s very proud of her daughter and says she’s a queen’, Owoh told Encomium Weekly.
The 21-year-old told stories of how her mom was deported from a foreign country and how she took take care of her siblings because her mom was hardly ever there.
On her arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, both mom and daughter were over-whelmed with joy as they both shed a few tears and hugged and kissed. ‘She just wanted her daughter to come back home safe, every other thing didn’t matter’, a family friend told NET correspondent.
What’s next for Beverly?
Like she has rightly said, ‘I’d go into movies, but then, I have to finish school’. It is not as if her modeling and video vixen job was any great, and now she is considering movies. The funny thing with the Nigerian society is that, you may be celebrated one day, but if you slip up the next day, you are totally shoved aside.
One now wonders: Will her BBA image help her career in anyway or is it going to deter her from getting the much needed commercial endorsements and corporate patronage that could potentially lead her to financial independence?
Controversy, you may say sells, but will that phrase apply in Beverly’s case? She’s been condemned by many Nigerians, called so many unprintable names and branded an attention seeker and a confused kid. No doubt, she wants the fame and all its trappings, that much she’s made clear by her actions, but will her antecedents make room for her dreams to manifest given the hypocrisy of the Nigerian society.
Pasy Chikero, an author and media consultant feels that Beverly was not the best representation of the Nigerian woman. ‘In my opinion, she succeeded in battering the image of the Nigerian girl! When she stepped into the house, we thought she went in to represent us, but it turned out she went in to represent her pocket at the expense of the green, white, green flag she wrapped around her body’, Chikero said.
Will she settle for Afrocandy’s offer to start her acting career with a porn flick, Beverly says,”Thanks for the offer but No”

Where are the ex-contestants?
In the history of the reality show, it seems Nigerians always have a domineering role.  The odd thing is that except for Uti Nwachukwu and Karen Igho, they always seem to go into oblivion after leaving the show.
For instance, Nigeria’s first contestant in the show back in 2003, Bayo Okoh, has not been seen or heard from since his participation in the show. The same goes for 2007 first runner-up, Ofunneka Moloku-Anyanwu, 2009 winner, Kelvin Pam and 2012′s contestants, Ola and Chris.
Somehow, Uti has remained relevant for doing a few modeling, acting and show hosting jobs here and there.
On the secret to remaining relevant, Uti say, ‘I have learnt not to depend on what I have or who I am because all of that can go in one day. I work hard everyday so as not to lose it. I do not relax and think, Oh I have arrived. I work like I don’t have anything at all, so that when I’m old I can relax’
Condemnation for the show
A few years ago, Nigeria’s Nobel Laurette, Professor Wole Soyinka‘s described the BBA show as‘pervasive and debasing‘. This comment he made faulting the relevance of the show and its impact on the lives of the African youth. Film maker, Charles Novia Also condemned the show saying that it is totally contradictory to the culture and traditions of Africa. “Beverly Represents  a whoring Nigeria which seem to get nothing right but just allows itself to be screwed both by internal and external interest” , Novia said.
Some have argued that the whole premise of BBA is to have adults be their worst selves for our entertainment. ‘The show itself is for adults and not for children, and don’t expect adults not to behave like adults’, said an observer.
Uti who had come to Beverly’s defence stated, ‘That game is not easy at all. If you are a sexually active person and you like sex, three months is a long time to be celibate. Let’s not be hypocrites. If there were cameras in our homes, most of us won’t be able to show our faces in public.’
As much as many will condemn the show, the winners will however disagree and confirm the positive impact that the show has had on their lives. ‘Big Brother has contributed to what I am today, and I am an evidence of what they show can do for you’, 2011 winner, Karen Igho told NET.

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