Reality TV Star, Chinenyenwa ‘Chichi’ Okoebor sits with Chude Jideonwo, host of #WithChude, to discuss how she grew up alone after her father passed, the fight at the Big Brother Reunion, how she had to go into stripping for survival, and the journey to forgiving her mother.
Chichi shared about defending herself at the reunion. “What people don’t know is that I grew up alone, and I literally raised myself. There is nothing that I have not faced in life before now, the worst things that could happen to a girl child happened to me and the last time I checked, I won. My mindset for coming to the reunion was to go and clear many things that were said about me. People have the mindset that I don’t mingle, but I think I am just overprotective and that is the part they have refused to see. Whenever I am vulnerable, they see me as the weak link they can poke on. Whenever this happens in the house, it is not because I cannot react, it is that I am scared of myself that if I react I am going to get disqualified. I saw the show as a pathway to upliftment, so I told myself, ‘Chi calm down’. People thought I was shy and, in my shell, but I was just protective of myself and of the show which was important”.
“After the reunion, I was depressed. For a very long time, I deactivated my socials. Even now sometimes I am on, and sometimes I am off. It is not easy for me, I manage every situation by myself. Sometimes I just want to sit back and take it one step at a time so I won’t lose my mind. I went for the reunion to clear things out and make peace. When I saw that they were just coming for me, I was like, ‘These people, you don’t know me o. I can stand up for myself, I can talk it out”, she added.
Speaking further on the fallout between her and Phyna, she shared, “The way Phyna came felt so scripted for me because she was asked a question, and she said, ‘your mama died, you have silicone on brain in your boobies’. Why did she have to go that far? Also, there is a difference between Silicon and BBL. I feel like she had already planned it. I was dumbfounded. She started saying things that weren’t true- saying things like I was married, and I had kids. People think because we were roomies one week before the lockdown, I told her all those things. First, we never had such a discussion, what we always discussed was what we were going to do on the show, how we were going to be besties and defend each other’. The other thing was that she asked if I got my body done that she would like to and all that. And I told her that we will discuss it after the show. Many people think that we were pallies or friends before the show, but it wasn’t true. I had met her but we have never said ‘hi’ to each other.”
On life before Big Brother Naija, Chi Chi shared, “Before I went on the show, I remember telling the organizers that I don’t know which of them picked me, but whoever that person is, God bless that person. I remember telling them that one of my reasons for going to the Big Brother Naija house was to make Nigerians know that stripping does not make you a whore. It’s just another means of making quick money. You don’t really have to sleep around to make money as a stripper or an exotic dancer. I wanted Nigerians to also relate with strippers and their lifestyle. I don’t know if I was able to achieve that, but I’m a homely girl. If you actually watch the show, you will understand that I’m not perfect. I can be a badass. I have never for once thought about what people will start saying. Because when I used to think of that, I was a nobody, until I started thinking less of that and started working hard. So, I wanted Nigerians to relate to my life and maybe at some point, the life of a stripper. To understand that this is actually a profession. Someone can be a stripper, and she can also make a good home.
Chichi also shared how she had suffered several mishaps as a girl child, and how she never felt loved. She mentioned that after her father passed at a young age, she moved in with her father’s best friend from where she had to run after a while. She also spoke about learning to forgive her mum, whom she said never really looked for her, and how that can be difficult whenever she imagined how life would have been different for her, if her mum was in the picture.
Watch the excerpt, here.
