Written by Yetunde Oyelami

Cameroon reportedly launched its own Big Brother show Biggy 237, according to the Cameroonians who posted pictures on Twitter. The show is a local iteration of the Big Brother franchise that has become universally popular, with the version Big Brother Naija vastly watched in Nigeria with a current new season. It’s easy to see why comparisons are being made between Biggy 237 and BBNaija. The former has a scrappy, cheap look while the latter has got space and little sophistication.

Someone on Twitter said that Cameroon’s show should be renamed ”Small Brother” because of the under-standard facilities. Biggy 237 has been the subject of ridicule by Nigerians, with pockets of pushback here and there by Cameroonians who are doing everything to defend their local product.

Biggy237 was launched by a group of Northwest region Cameroonians who pride themselves on “We Love Ndop.” Ndop is a small town in north-western region Ngoketunjia. For around four months, a pilot project tag, “Bigg Broda Ndop,” was operating. It concluded at Holiday Inn Limbe with the winner declared. Mboufoung Carine was the pilot project winner.

Founded in August 2019, Biggy237 is available to all Cameroonians living home or abroad. Despite public distrust, they are gradually gaining ground from all the distractions of social media. And like we all know, Nigerians on social media can be brutal. And although some Nigerians are showing support to Cameroonians during this time, others have turned the show into a full-on circus.

Interestingly, this was how Big Brother Naija started in 2006, a debut season that current host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu became an alumna from. If you view footage of that season, you will see how cheap-looking the production was. Granted, 2006 is a long time back, and a lot is expected from Biggy 237 in the context of decor and space because this is 2020.

And the publicity that the show has garnered is quite good for its debut season. No bad publicity right?

Op-Ed Editor