By Nehru Odeh
Six weeks still left to go, it’s definitely too early to call. Still, the handwriting is already on the wall and the signs are clear. This is Ilebaye’s season and the gods are conspiring to make that happen.
This indeed is the intriguing but astonishing story of Ilebaye Odiniya, better known as Ilebaye or Baye for short, the 22-year-old female housemate in the ongoing BBNaija All Star reality show, whom not only the gods have favoured but the other housemates are doing their bidding to make sure that she grabs the N120 million at the end of the season.
Grab the N120 million at the end of the season? Sure. From all indications, the current Biggie’s house is star-studded, as it is rightly named. It is made up of housemates, including two past winners, who had once once been in the house and are veterans in the game.
The current housemates are adepts at playing the game. They are possessed of all the skills, stategies and wiles needed to win the game. They are in the know of what it takes to win the game. Still, there is more to it than meets the eye.
Still, Ilebaye’s case is intriguing. When the season started, she was a dark horse. Nobody ever gave her a chance. Nobody thought she would even go this far. But at the moment she is a top contender and well on her way to winning the highly coveted prize-money.
The questions then are: What is responsible for this volte-face, this change, this transformation, this twist of fate? Why is this season different from the other ones? Why the difference? What has Ilebaye brought to the table, as they say, that has made all the difference? What has changed? What is she doing now that she didn’t do in her first outing?
The truth is, Ilebaye is a different kettle of fish this season. Since she is a product of the BBNaija Level Up season, she has leveled up and has come to this season, bringing quite a different personality and a unique game plan.
She has come to the BBNaija All Stars reality show, prepared and, as the slang goes, ‘tooched up’. She has touched up herself. She is singing a different kind of song, wielding and pushing a new narrative based on her youthfulness, being the youngest housemate in the house.
And that is what she has been leveraging on. Little wonder at the slightest opportunity, she prides herself on the fact that she belongs (in her voice) to the ‘Gen Z beddie’ generation, meaning the Gen Z baddie generation. That is what you will also find on her Twitter handle
And she is making huge social capital from it, as the youths are queuing up solidly behind her, giving her the much-needed support and rooting for her. Everywhere you turn to on social media, you are likely to encounter Ilebaye and her Gen Z Baddie generation and have a whiff of the support she is garnering day by day.
In a conversation with Adekunle, CeeC, Ike and Cross, Ilebaye was quoted as saying she was still a virgin at 22 – a premise which Ike countered, given the tattoos on Ilebaye’s body and he was supported by CeeC.
Smartly, Ilebaye defended herself by saying: “No, no, no, I’m fighting for my fellow virgins outside. Even if you are a virgin, you can still do some certain things. You can still party, you can still have a chat, you can still kiss.”
One can imagine that freedom, that free spirit, that naturalness she epitomises. little wonder almost everybody, both virgin and non-virgin alike, is rooting for her.
Another thing that stands her in good stead is her young age, her vulnerability, her naturalness. She is acting her age, little wonders she easily gets emotional and shed a few tears. Still, despite her young age, her vulnerability, she is still smart, intelligent and capable of holding her own. That indeed is the reason fans are ready to stick their necks for her.
And then the gang-up. The other older housemates seeing the weight she is pulling in and outside the house, her smartness and intelligence, now see her as a threat. They are not just weary of her presence, they are ganging up against her and making sure she doesn’t get to the grand finale.
Little wonder, they do everything possible to bully, provoke and trigger her. Her fight with CeeC, and her altercation with Doyin, which led to her earning two strikes are clear examples.
And then the most recent conspiracy and plot that Pere instigated, backed by Kiddwaya, Seyi, Cross and carried out by Ike who thrashed Ilebaye’s clothes across the toilet floor so as to trigger her so she could react and get the third strike and eventual disqualification is a case in point.
The question again is: Who’s afraid of Ilebaye? Still, ironically, the more the older housemates bully her and gang up against her, the more she gets more support and sympathy votes.The more they try to trigger her the more she gets closer to winning the N120million. As I aforesaid, with the way the older housemates, it seems they are doing the bidding of the gods to make Ilebaye win.
Still, another question is: What and who can stop Ilebaye from winning the show? The only person that can stop Ilebaye from winning the show is Ilebaye herself. And the other housemates are aware of that, knowing her weaknesses, especially her love for liquour, her combustible nature, her vulnerability given her age, which has endeared her to so many fans.
Doyin, another female housemate in the house has been doing her best to protect her friend Ilebaye from taking too much alcohol, from being triggered, and from being bullied. But Ilebaye doesn’t trust her because of her relationship with Cross and that could be her undoing.
It is clear that Doyin is a housemate like her and another competitor in the house, but she is the closest person to her and mean mean well for her more than any other housemate.
Ilebaye should be weary of alcohol, avoid being triggered and getting into arguments with other housemates. She already has two strikes, which means she is walking a tightrope. If she gets another strike, that will lead to her disqualification.
Ilebaye should also be weary of Cross, who is playing a very dangerous game with her. But she seems unable to wean herself from Cross. Cross had already told the other housemates that he doesn’t have any feelings for her and that he is just catching cruise. But Ilebaye can’t read the handwriting on the wall. She still has emotional attachment for Cross.
Still, the question keeps popping up. What can stop Ilebaye from winning the show this season. As I have aforesaid, and I repeat, it is only Ilebaye that can stop herself from winning the N120 million. She already has the strategy and the support of the fans, which continues to grow. The ball, as the saying goes, is now in her court. It depends on she plays it.
Still, the question remains: Can she control herself for six more weeks. During her stay in the Level Up house, Ilebaye was evicted alongside Khalid in the third week, which was indeed so early. But now she has everything in her to stay the course of the game and clinch the N120 million.
Recall that in her post-eviction interview with BBNaija host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu she rightly predicted that Phyna may likely emerge the winner of the show
Ilebaye said: “Phyna may win this year only if she does not get distracted.”
And Phyna went on to win the show. Unknown to Ilebaye she time-travelled to 2023 and was talking to herself. Two years on, she is already a top contender and may win the show this time around if, like Phyna, she does not get distracted. A word,they say, is enough for the wise. But sadly she may not get to read this.