Yes. I believe I did. For me, it was about showing my gifts and talents. I was a major contributing force to all the wager presentations, the drama, the dance sequences, the poetry, the songwriting. I was behind all of that.
Of course, there were collaborations here and there with my fellow housemates, but for the most part, that’s where I found a way to express myself as much as possible, and that’s what I came into the house to do. So yeah, I would say I did that.
What would you say was the biggest challenge of being a housemate?
Just finding where to draw the line between genuine friendship and strategy. You never really know who’s for you, who’s against you, who’s plotting and who’s not. So it’s a challenge because you don’t know. Sometimes the conversations can be so good, you’re almost tricked into believing that you can confide in a person or say certain things, but oftentimes, they’re just going to use it against you later on. So, it was a battle of knowing how much to say and what not to say.
The relationship you had in the house started and also ended very fast. Do you think it was because you were in the house, or you just realised that shipping was not on the table for you at that moment?
I mean, it was a little bit of both. It was partly the house because of the speed at which we got together. But on her own, she’s a pretty great person (Kamsy). We had good conversations. She’s very light. I don’t know how to put it; she doesn’t seem to carry a lot of bad energy.
But again, the house being the house, you hear a lot of talk, different people telling you different things, trying to mess with you. At that time, I didn’t really show myself like I did in week four and five.
I didn’t want to just be recognised for being part of a ship. I wanted to be recognised for other things as well, and I didn’t feel like I had done that yet. So, I felt like the relationship, as much as it was a great story and all, was not exactly what I came into the house to do. And that’s what ultimately ended it.
Now that you are both outside the house, do you think it’s something you will pursue?
I already touched base with her. We’re on good terms. We’re good. Regardless of everything that’s going on on the internet, we are okay.
The house was the house. Back in the real world, it’s up in the air. It’s 50/50. I don’t know, she doesn’t know. You guys will find out if anything happens. But right now, we’re just friends.
You already have the Big Brother Naija platform to give yourself publicity and push your brand. So what’s next for Gerard?
I want to go into acting. I’m already acting. I was already acting before I entered the house.
But now, because of the bigger publicity, I’m hoping that there are more, more roles, more screen time, better quality movies overall, the big screen, the whole thing.
Also, TV hosting, presenting, and public speaking – I’m good at all those as well. Being an OAP, fashion, and modeller, I’m trying to go into that as well. Brand deals, ambassadorship, the whole thing. I’m pretty good at a lot of things. I just want to do all of that as much as possible. But acting remains the main focus.
You’ve admitted that there was a diary session where you said you became more careful about what you said and the comments you made so they would not be twisted. Was there a specific conversation, or now that you’re out, is there anything you wish you had said in the house before you held back?
I think the thing I said when I was talking to her at the time, people just misconstrued my intentions there. I was trying to say it was dark magic or whatever, which is funny. For me, I was just exaggerating the fact that I got into a ship that fast with somebody that quick.
That’s what the house does when you are in a confined space with somebody and you don’t have anything else to do but have conversations. Feelings tend to quickly increase at a rate that is not natural in the real world. That’s where I think maybe I shouldn’t have even mentioned it because some people are taking it the wrong way. But you know, it is what it is.
Knowing the information that you have now, do you think you would have handled the Kamsi situation differently?
I think I would have been slower from the very beginning, slower to just make it so deep. I think it would have been better to be friends for a while before doing all of that. But for me, there’s no point in looking back because there’s nothing you can do about it. While I understand the question and looking back in hindsight, ultimately, who knows what different set of problems might have happened if we took different choices?
There’s always looking back and thinking, ‘Ah, I could have done better.’ But it is what it is at the moment.
Another thing you mentioned in the house was the house politics. Right now, the house is basically divided into Team Tram and Team Sheba, even if nobody claims to be on the team. Do you think the politics and maneuvering have overshadowed genuine connections in the house?
I agree. I think that’s one of the reasons I was pulled out at the time I was, because I think I was just leading from a place of genuine attention and authenticity. But will everybody be playing the game? I don’t know. I think it’s great for entertainment, what the house is right now, my season.
But I think sometimes it affects even real-world connections, because if these same people come out of the house and see what the other person said about them outside, it’s like sacrificing future friendships for a present game.
And while, of course, some part of it is the point, it just feels like strategy over friendship is ultimately going to be not so beneficial in the long run.
Was it particularly important for you that, amidst all the chaos happening in the house, you genuinely made friends?
You guys are the ones watching me from the outside. So even though I think I made a friend, you guys probably don’t know what he was saying in that recession.
But from the way I saw it in the house and my perspective, I think Araga was a good friend for me. Bluetopia is also another friendship I would like to continue outside. Not necessarily with anything romantic. I just feel like she has a vibe that I’ve connected with more, if not for the dynamics of the house.
Yes, just both of them. Yusuf already is my friend, so that’s a given. But the rest of them, we’ll wait to see.
One thing fans kept wondering about was your contribution to the wager. In such a high-pressure environment, how would you come up with scripts off the bat? How did you manage to do that in such a short time, considering that you didn’t have as many resources? What was it like for you?
I think the fact that I had been without my phone for some time was helpful because it cleared up a lot of noise. My head was free. So, once I was able to just sit by myself for a few hours to think, the ideas just came.
But, I cannot take credit for the work. I just had the idea. I just happened to be the one that put it down on paper. So even when people ask me, ‘How did you do that?’ I just tell them, ‘It just came.’
There’s a certain level of writing I didn’t even know I had because I’d never written a script prior to that. But yeah, that’s what it was. The responsibility fell into my hands, and I just tried to make the best of it. I’m as surprised as everybody else that it made the kind of impact it did.
Before you came on Big Brother Naija, you were already an on-air personality, content creator and actor, which means you’re a competitive entertainer. With that experience, what did you expect going into the house? What do you think happened? Let’s talk about the fans. What do you think knocked you off with the fans?
To be honest, I don’t know. Maybe it was an expectation. I’ve said it before that we all have an idea of who we want to be or what we want to represent when we get into the house. But when you actually enter the house, the situations that you are met with are out of your control.
And it’s your ability to navigate and go through it. For me, while I was in the house, I was thinking that my own gameplay was to be as active as I could, just to deliver the entertainment that I know I could deliver through that.
But while I was in the house, I honestly was just trying to lead with authenticity, to be me, for real. I thought that was enough. Genuinely, I’m being very honest with you. So, even the Kamsy thing, everything that is part of my journey in the house, none was actually strategic. I got to week six literally just doing me. I mean, of course, looking back, should I have been a little bit more strategic? Should I have done this or done that? Yes. But I’m here now, so there’s not really much to do about it.
Who will you be supporting or rooting for to win this season?
I said my favourite to win is Aikuo. I’m rooting for him because I like him as a person in the house. But I also said that the most likely is between Tram or Sheba.