The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live, interact and see the world. As the pandemic swept through the world and began to spread, measures were taken by governments of different countries including Nigeria, to slow down the spread of the virus by locking down major cities and sometimes the whole country.
The lockdown had unprecedented effects on everyone. Social distancing and quarantining became a part of our lives. People were disconnected from friends and family and forced to stay indoors. Anxiety, depression, loneliness, economic hardship are some of the things that people had to grapple with during the over two months lockdown in cities across Nigeria.
The world was sick, people were dying, there wasn’t much for anyone to do but sit still which had its complications.
The lockdown in Nigeria has been lifted, but there are still restrictions in place to safeguard the lives of citizens. Life has not returned to normal and probably wouldn’t for a long time, the COVID-19 statistics keep rising daily, human beings are behind those figures.
It has become paramount that people protect their mental health as well as their physical health. Reach out to their friends and family, stay connected to the world, consume entertainment, have fun at home, and laugh out loud because it is important. And therefore, the announcement of the fifth season of BBNaija was welcome news.
The show, which is the biggest reality TV show in Nigeria and the rest of Africa, is undeniably premium entertainment. This 24 hours, 7 days a week show sees housemates compete for a designated prize money (30 million Naira in the last edition) as well as the love of their audience has always been able to unite youths across Nigeria. BBNaija has a history of creating powerful fandoms for housemates, thereby creating a community of people that are banded over a cause.
The activities and drama between housemates within the house have always been addictive and exciting to watch, as well as usually becoming long running topics of discussion on social media.
Given the difficulty and hardship the world has gone through and is still going through with the fight to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to laugh and ‘forget your sorrows’ is indeed a gift.
Studies have shown that there is a correlation between how we spend our time during the pandemic and the state of our mental health. Research has also revealed that humor is cathartic and can give an outlet for stress, fears, and anxiety.
Psychologist, Faith M. Sproul speaking on the importance of feel good content to the human mind says, “Right now, it’s really important for people to keep their spirits up, because we are being inundated with extremely serious content, comedy and feel-good shows can provide the humor we need to offer us some balance in our daily lives.”
BBNaija comes as a gift to TV audiences to forget, however momentarily, the pressing issues that the world has to face. It creates a renewed sense of belonging, new people to love and fight for and to remind ourselves that we’re human and there’s more to life than lockdowns, isolations, social distancing and nose masks.
We can’t wait for a new BBNaija journey to start!
