#BBNaija TBoss: I’m Not A Witch

Taking time off her schedule, Tokunbo Idowu, aka T-Boss, 2nd-runner of Big Brother Naija reality show who generated so much buzz and controversy, speaks to The Nation's Joe Agbro Jr. about her experience and relationships in the house and other issues.

Two months in the Big Brother Naija house. How does it feel being outside?

Actually, it was almost three months. It feels amazing. It’s still very unreal and the love I’ve been getting so far is absolutely humbling. I mean, people came to wait for me, receive me at the airport and they were wearing my face on their T-shirts. And it was so… these people love me and waited there for me. It was really humbling. It’s been very good so far.

A lot of people were rooting for you. And on the last day, while you were dressing, you wore a crown. How did it feel that you didn’t emerge winner? 

I really appreciate the efforts they put in. I’ve heard some of the supports… I appreciate and I say to them all, thanks. I did not get the grand prize but I am a winner. I am absolutely a winner and I am an absolute queen. I went there as Tokunbo Idowu, just a simple girl, but right now I’m a queen. And that crown, that’s my crown, it’s befitting of how I feel right now. So, Efe is the grand prize winner but I’m also a winner. Bisola is a winner, everybody is a winner. So, I don’t feel bad at all.

You made it to the top three despite several challenges. Before going into the house, did you have a strategy to win, to get votes? 

Absolutely not. Before I went into the house, I did a little bit of research with the limited time I had…to go through some previous winners and see, maybe, what it is they did that made them likable, what strategy they applied.

Just before I went into the house, I’m like, ‘abeg, it’s too much for me, I cannot.’ The only thing I know how to do is to be myself. I will be nice. I will get angry. I will scream. I will cry. I will laugh. I just went in there and I was myself. That was my only strategy…..who loved me loves me, who hates me… I have seen some of the comments and it’s sad.

Now that you’ve come out and you’ve seen the comments. Which of those comments have pained you the most? 

None.

You also received the most nominations for eviction from fellow housemates. How do you feel towards them for getting that title of being the most nominated housemate for eviction? 

It was a game. People need to understand that it was a game. Everyone went in there fighting for themselves to get that prize money. It was a game. But truth of the matter is, being enclosed with people, you’re forced to live with them, cry with them, laugh, eat, shout with them, fight with them, doing our tasks, you start bonding with them and you start liking them.

Okay, every week it changes. Today, I like you, tomorrow, I don’t like you too much. It happens. Husband and wife, they fight every day. But I don’t have any bad energy or bad feelings towards any of them. They did what they felt they should do under the circumstances. And it’s fine. I love them all. They’re all talented, crazy people but I love them all.

Of the housemates, who is your favourite? 

I don’t have favourites per se. but the person that I would say I really connected with and really bonded the most with would be Debie-Rise because she stayed to the end with me. But off and on, I like everyone.

Could boredom have been responsible for some of the crazy moments in the house? 

What is crazy moment in your opinion?

Like the moments when you exposed your breasts, about twice… were they intentional? 

I was showering. Did I come to the living room? Where did I expose my breasts?

The first time, you were in the dressing room and you took off your top. 

So, I was in the bathroom…

You were not in the bathroom. 

I was in the private area. Was I in the lounge?

You were in a place that was being recorded. There were videos capturing those moments... 

I actually saw videos of us in the bathroom but not shower hour.

There were two instances that the internet has captured that you took off your top. Weren’t you aware of what you were doing then? 

See, the Big Brother house is a place where you showcase yourself. You’re free to be T-Boss. Whoever T-Boss is, you show the world who T-Boss is. And in my own life, in my normal day-to-day life, I don’t like to wear clothes when I’m walking around in my house. I like to be free, here (pointing from her waist downwards), covered here (pointing upwards from her waist), what’s the point? Or I’ll just wear one small blouse. The Big Brother house was like my house at a point.

So, I would just be very very very free. I didn’t do it out of boredom. No, I was just being myself and walking around without clothes… I didn’t go to the kitchen, you know, because, then, that is like really seeking attention or go out into the garden or to the arena. No, I didn’t do that.

Those actions really created a buzz. 

Everything creates a buzz. Even when I burb, it creates a buzz. People want to judge, people want to comment. And it’s fine, you know. Just don’t read too much into it.

A columnist, Reuben Abati, wrote a piece where he said you could have won, and were the most worthy to represent Big Brother Naija brand but you lost because of your arrogance. What’s your response to that? 

I do not feel I’m an arrogant person. I’m sorry he has that opinion of me. I read the comments. My people actually were afraid that I would get emotional and sad about it. But I’m not. I was actually quite amused when I read his comments about the ‘mango’ part. It was actually quite comical.

Also during the show, some of the housemates described you as ‘manipulative’ and some commentators also used that word and called you a ‘white witch’. 

I heard now… Oh, what do I have to say to that? I don’t know. (Asking another person) ‘Oga, was I manipulative?’ You (to the interviewer), do you think I was manipulative? Those were the comments of people

I don’t know. If they saw me like that, it’s sad. I’m not a manipulative person. And I’m definitely not a witch. Oh my God. And my bed is really not cursed.