2017 was an eventful year in the Nigerian entertainment industry and it has set us up for what we hope would be an awesome 2018.
Below is a list of the biggest stories and trends from the entertainment sector in 2017.
BIG BROTHER AFRICA
It was one of the most popular reality TV shows in Nigeria in 2017. It had 12 housemates competing for 25million Naira and an SUV. It was aired on DSTV Channel 198 and watched by many Nigerians. Almost every Nigerian had a favorite housemate with a popular hashtag to their names.
The major highlight of the show was the controversial story involving two house mates: Tboss and Kemen. Footage was shown where it seemed like Kemen was assaulting Tboss while she slept, the organizers of the show had to evict Kemen as it was against house rules. Though he denied all the allegations, he was stigmatized for a while. Kemen has now moved on from the scandal.
Efe, emerged as the winner of the show with the Grand prize of 25 million naira and an SUV, while popular comedienne and actress Bisola was the first runner up.
2. BOBRISKY
The flamboyant cross dresser whose real name is Idris Okunneye, had a rather intriguing 2017.
He gained the attention of many Nigerians with his popular slogan ‘oshey baddest’ and his antics with his former gateman Jacob. Despite being arrested and detained for a while, he remained relevant In the news cycle.
3. MOJI OLAIYA
She was a popular Yoruba actress and silver screen star with a sprawling CV including a popular stint as Ireti in Wale Adenuga’s Super Story. She was the daughter of Victor Olaiya, a popular highlife musician. She died two months after the birth of her second daughter in Canada due to cardiac arrest.
Her death caused a stir in the Nigerian entertainment industry, most especially when her body had to be transported to Nigeria, there were accusations thrown about people not contributing towards the process. She was finally laid to rest on the 7th of June 2017 at Ebony Vault in Victoria Island.
4. MERCY AIGBE
She is also a popular Yoruba actress and entrepreneur. Her marriage hit the rocks when she posted a photo of her bruised face on Instagram and accused her husband, Lanre Gentry of physically assaulting her on different occasions. Her story became an inspiration to many women who then started coming out and speaking about domestic violence in their marriages.
5. BAAD 2017
This was the popular hashtag used to represent the union of Nigeria’s ‘It’ couple: Bankole Wellington and Adesua Etomi who featured in the movie ‘The Wedding party’. Their love story blew up on social media after Banky W posted a story on how their love story evolved, how he proposed to her in February and how their friends and family had kept their relationship a secret.
People went ballistic after announcement with excitement levels at an all time high. Also, Banky W announced his battle with skin cancer weeks before their traditional wedding which was held in Lagos on the 19th of November 2017 and their white wedding was held a week after in South Africa. This led to even more interest as people were really rooting for them. The wedding itself was the talk of the town and it can be seen as perhaps the top celebrity wedding of the year.
That was 2017 in a nutshell, what was your favourite celebrity saga or story for the year?