BBNaija 2020: Laycon & Africa Magic's point of view, an agenda that must agend? [Opinion]

Overnight, the narrative of a delightful Saturday night party became an action drama complete with a damsel in distress, villain, hero and a scripted story.

Saturday nights in Big Brother's house are set aside for uninhibited souls which is why viewers tune in.

While the culture did not see many changes amid this peculiar season of the reality show, a recent dramatic turn of events has the show organizers at the mercy of ruthless social media judge and jury.

Season five has seen more love triangles in three weeks than the organizer' recently concluded love themed reality show, 'Ultimate Love'. One can almost believe that the housemates are more interested in catching feelings, having cuddle buddies on cold nights than actually competing for the 85 million Naira at stake.

Erica [Twitter]

Laycon, a fan-favourite tactical player recently joined the Romeo circus a few days ago. Through the week, the singer housemate tirelessly poured his heart out to one of the fairest maidens in the house.

Unfortunately, Erica, his soul mate, had developed an attachment to Kiddwaya.

Kiddwaya [Multichoice]

The better part of the week leading to the housemates' Saturday night party, saw Laycon carry on like a lost puppy while strategizing on more ways to be more than just a mental attraction to his sweetheart.

Laycon [Twitter/@bbnaija]

Let us speed that up to the infamous party. Erica had opted to drink herself to stupor. While under the influence, she danced to her heart's content with every male housemate including her mental and physical attractions.

twitter.com

After the party, Laycon gave an unsolicited, alcohol influenced speech to Praise about his need to keep Erica away from Kiddwaya based on her directive.

twitter.com

Fans of Laycon went berserk on Twitter, hailing the housemate for his acts of nobility. Surprisingly, the show's organizers jumped on the wagon and dropped an article that canonized Laycon and vilified Kiddwaya.

An excerpt of the piece reads, "Take a look at the man Erica chose to give her heart to, Kiddwaya. He has been a serial flirt and though Erica was one of his targets, she wasn't his first choice like she was for Laycon... When it comes to respecting boundaries, they don't come any better than Laycon. While most other men would have forced a kiss, Laycon's patient manner, and calm demeanour has shown that in the race to win Erica's heart, he's a marathon runner, not a sprinter".

Without a doubt, the article was as misleading as they come. From the organizers and supposed omniscient eye, this hero versus villain storyline only leaves room for the questioning of agendas. Is Laycon the man of the year? Is this dramatic strategy to be a close-to-reality narration of the year's predominant conversation surrounding sexual harassment? Taking that narrative also raises eyebrows as to if the housemates are given specific scripts as conspiracy theorists claim. Sadly, we might never get to know.

Also, in pushing the sexual harassment narrative, we may be turning a blind eye to the role women should be playing. Erica, a 26-year-old, can not claim to not know when she may be exceeding her limits with alcohol. Yet, she heaped the responsibility of her safety on equally intoxicated housemates who are now being dragged to the slaughterhouse for the very same offence she was caught on camera committing.

Ultimately, a competition should at all times be devoid of favouritism or narratives that sway sympathy as it expunges fairness. Just let the best man or woman win.