In just the last 24 hours, Maria has been able to give fans of the Big Brother Naija show more content than some of the Housemates combined, have been able to, in one week. It would have been an easy deduction to say that the decisions she made yesterday, which had social media buzzing were as a result of Ebuka’s advice on Sunday, when he told them to up their game. But in reality, Maria has always been an interesting and seemingly unpredictable figure, with the way she was able to play the role of wildcard perfectly. So it’s safe to say that yesterday, the opportunity to prove just how well suited for Big Brother Naija show is presented itself, and she took full advantage.

Last night, Maria was the center of two major controversies in the House. The first was that she nominated someone who we believed was a close friend to her for nomination; White Money. It’s no secret that White Money and Maria developed a friendship for each other right from the onset, and more than any other male Housemate, Maria seems to be close to White Money. So it was quite interesting or rather perplexing that of the 20 Housemates in the House, a good number of them which she barely speaks to, she choose to nominate a close friend.

The second reason she trended online last night, was because she flat out rejected Pere, after he had told her how he felt about her. A conversation between the two ended with Maria telling Pere that she simply didn’t have feelings for him, and just like that, in one night, she was able to stir up the most drama in the House so far without any form of violence or malice.

However, the question still remains ‘why.’ Why did she put up White Money for eviction? A strategic decision perhaps? Maybe she is smart enough to realize White Money is an actual threat? Which would not be far fetched. Maria has shown some level of intelligence and intuition, so maybe she has figured that a guy as charming as White Money, may have won a lot of fans over, and will continue to if he is left in the House. Or maybe an emotional decision. Maybe she was still mad at him for giving her the cold shoulder of late.

Also, why did she reject Pere. Does she want him to work hard for her? Which in reality makes for great content, and would be a very strategic decision. Or did the fact that Pere choosing to kiss Beatrice during the truth or dare game last night rubbed her off the wrong way.

If her goal is to make Pere work, then her success would be dependent on how patient Pere is. If he simply gives up and goes for another girl, or just chooses to focus on the game, he would shift the advantage to his side, taking away a lot of the power she could have as the show progresses.

So between these three, White Money, Pere, and Maria, it would truly be interesting to see who plays this game perfectly. Both guys have a good sample size to learn from. They must have seen what happened to the likes of Frood, Tobi Bakre, and Ozo, when they choose to obsess over a woman during pervious seasons.

Chinedu Okafor

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