By Aminata Phidelia Allie
Sierra Leone has finally been shown the door out of the reality show, Big Brother Africa: The Chase.
The second and last Sierra Leonean contestant, Michael Bassey, arrived in the country two weeks after his co-contender, Bolt had been bolted out.
Speaking at his homecoming press conference in Freetown, Bassey said his eviction didn’t come as surprise as “I knew it and was braced for it”. He said he had somehow dreamt about it but “it’s hard to explain”.
He said he was however touched by the way people across the continent reacted to his eviction, adding: “I have suddenly turned from being a nobody into somebody – a celebrity”.
Basey said he got his greatest motivation into the House from his mother and sister who had always wanted him to be in the Big Brother contest.
“I was a teenager then but would always tell my friends that I would one day become a celebrity”, Bassey said, and advised other young people to “never give up in life as I got into the House at my second attempt”.
Outgoing commercial director of Airtel Sierra Leone, admonished Bassey to “remain rooted and continue to be you”. Keith Tukei observed that Bassey had indeed become a celebrity not just in Sierra Leonean but also on the African stage.
“Being a celebrity comes with a lot of expectations and responsibilities as people would be looking up to you because of what you have”, Mr. Tukei noted.
He said the Airtel/DSTV partnership was a clear sign of unity on the continent as “Airtel has a history in sponsoring the entertainment and arts industry”.
The Chief Executive Officer of Transnational, Adonis Aboud, said Sierra Leone had made it clear to the rest of the continent and the world that “we are alive and have people that are capable of excelling in all works of life”.
He noted that Bassey had been loved by the outer world more than even Sierra Leone. “It was one message after the other when he was announced ‘evicted’”, adding that though we couldn’t win the star prize, “we are still winners, Sierra Leone is a winner”.
© Politico 30/07/13
