kareN liFe StorY

For 91 days, the whole of Africa had its eyes on the
Big Brother Amplified TV reality show: the fights, the
kisses, the shower scenes, the gossips which all
tallied up to give a creative and power packed show
made up of 26 contestants from around the
continent.
Reports from the Big Brother Amplified website
suggest that this year’s edition was the most viewed
from cable television; also recording the most
followership online. But most will agree that one of
the Nigerian contestants, the notoriousKaren Igho
was the most prominent as she stood out right from
the beginning of the show to the very end.And oh
yea, she also won and walked away with N32M!
Let’s do a quick survey: Facebooksuggests that
Karen has about 9500 ‘Likes’ on her fan page. The
closest to that isWezawith 7000 plus. Karen
managed to summon all the controversies around her
into one big punch and convincingly knocked out any
other contestants who stood in her way.
Karen’s strategy was simple – she says ‘I was just
myself’.
We might have seen Karen’s down to earth
mannerisms and her sometimes over-the-top
tantrums in the house but we knew little about her
personal life. Most viewers who had either praised or
chastised her didn’t knowKaren’s story.
She claims that her 45-year-old mother was a
gangster and she (Karen) worked as a stripper in
Europe before coming back to Nigeria to participate
in theNext Movie Starreality show. It’s been a
rough one for the light skinned lady, little wonder
why she wears a tough skin.
And on her father, she says ‘I don’t really know my
father. He married my mother at a very young age
but now he is dead. He died of HIV AIDS. I am not
ashamed to say it. I wish I saw him to ask him
questions, to ask him why he blamed me for things I
didn’t do. I didn’t get the chance to tell him I loved
him.’
Speaking at a press conference organized by MNET
Nigeriaat Planet One, Lagos on her return last
week, Karen poured out her heart out in an
interactive ‘Question and Answer’ session.
‘The journey wasn’t an easy one. Whatever anyone
said about me, good or bad, I thank you and I say one
love. I had no strategy unlike what most people think.
I was just myself.’
As per being a role model, Karen says we shouldn’t
expect her to change from the character she
portrayed in the house. ‘It’s real life in there and out
here, so I won’t stop anything’.
Who would agree that most men watched the BBA
show because of Karen’s boob job? A lot of guys
won’t deny too, they outrightly sat in front of their TV
sets waiting for her to gesticulate just to grab a
glimpse of her ‘endowment’. Others have criticised
and frowned at her ‘enhancement’, but Karen says
there’s a reason behind it. ‘My boobs were never a
strategy, when I discovered I had lumps in my
breasts, I had removed them and had the boob job
done to prevent any further occurrence. It’s funny
how my mother got to hear on the show. My 17-year-
old sister recently discovered lumps in her breasts
too’.
Now, she ‘wants to create awareness. I want people
to know that the disease is real. I am going to use
part of my winnings to do a massive campaign about
this disease.’
Talking about her winning BBA6, Karen said ‘I didn’t
know I was going to win even though I didn’t see
anybody as my competitor. My head was straight. I
saw everybody as potential winner. That is why we
were in the house in the first place. Anyways, we are
all stars.’
And when asked if she would ever go back to the
house (maybe for a BBA all winners edition), she
responded ‘Of course I will, so Africa will vote for me
again!’ She also added ‘As per the money, I will think
of what to do with it later on. But I will keep to my
words. I will give some to my friends in the house like
I said I would.’