Last night, fans of the Big Brother Naija show were hit with the most surprising twist the show has provided so far. They were hit with the eviction of a supposed fan-favorite: Maria.

Given how much she trends online, how loud her fans are on social media and how much of a BBN architype Maria seemed, no one would have guessed that she would leave the house this early, but alas, the fans have voted, and last week they refused to vote to keep her in.

The reason fans decided not to vote for her has been an interesting subject of discussion. Fans and even housemates, since last night have been weighing in on last night’s eviction and a number of theories have come up. Some more likely than others.

Two of the housemates who weighed in on Maria’s eviction were Yousef and Michael. In the kitchen last night, they discussed how Queen was able to oust Maria in the game because of her more friendly and relatable personality. Michael alluded to Queen being more friendly and relatable as reason why he feels the fans voted for her.

“I feel like queen made more of an impact on the audience than Maria. She seems more relatable,” he said.

Yousef agreed, and added that Maria was not exactly considerate of other people’s feelings when she spoke. His point was that, she said what she felt like regardless of how it may be interpreted. “Maria’s jokes have different effect on different guys,” he said.

Michael continued with his point about Queen making a much more profound impact on the audience. He pointed out that Queen seemed more honest and open and that’s something fans will always gravitate to.

“Queen made a big impact because she is sincere. If you’re honest people will relate to you more than if you have a strategy. The people that will last in this game are those that are honest,” he said.

Both men agreed with the fact that Queen survived because of her vulnerability and honesty. “If Queen is upset, she will let you know,” Yousef added. “But’s hard to predict Maria, because she always likes to catch cruise,” he concluded.

Their theory may have been spot on if another variable was not in the equation. Head to head, it may be reasonable to think this way. While Maria slowly descended from grace in the eyes of the audience, Queen ascended. And like Michael and Yousef pointed out, it seems like her honesty played a key role in that. The other variable to consider however, is the fact that she is closely affiliated to the most loved housemate in the house; White Money.

One of the more popular theories on why Queen beat Maria on the polls is because while Maria made a rival of White Money, Queen became very cozy with him. As a result, the votes that should have gone to Maria, if she had maintained her friendship with White Money went to Queen, who is not exactly friends with Maria.

Other theories suggest that Maria’s attitude of gossip and her seemingly pompous persona were reasons why fans did not vote for her. Refusing to equate gossip or malice to content fans did not want a situation were negativity becomes currency for the BBN housemates to use in buying a fanbase.

There are all sorts of discussion online and in the house about Maria’s eviction, and this turn of events could as well make for a masterclass in what to do and what to avoid if one makes it to the Big Brother Naija game show,

Chinedu Okafor

For Chinedu Okafor, its all about making an impact with words,  creating a profound impression on the audience with the intended narrative.