Doyin: I was real at BBN house | The Guardian Nigeria News

Doyinsola Anuoluwapo David, popularly known as Doyin, is one of the evicted housemates from the Big Brother Naija, All Stars Show. The former, Level Up housemate, who hails from Ondo State, is a radiographer by profession. Following her exit from the show, she speaks to IJEOMA THOMAS-ODIA about the misconceptions about her while participating in the show and the misunderstanding she had with other housemates especially Ilebaye, among other issues.

How has your life changed since leaving the Big Brother House compared to the first time you left the house?
I don’t think there’s any change. I have a stronger impression of people. I don’t want to say people like me more. I just know that I have a stronger impression on people. I don’t think anything has changed.

Did you put up a strategy before getting into the house?
I never had a strategy going into that house. I think that you can’t build a strategy when you have not seen the personalities you are going to be sharing the house with. The fact that Mercy Eke is coming does not mean that her personality would be what I imagined it to be. I had to get into the house and get to know people’s personalities to know how I would move in the game. I don’t think I had a strategy.

I was living my day-to-day life in that house. I was just reacting based on everything I was feeling in the house. For me, it was like living my life. It wasn’t something that I sat down to write a script on; I couldn’t have done that because I didn’t even expect the house to play out the way it did. So, that was just me living my life and reacting to situations.

You are the first person to say you lived your real life in the house. Do you think you stood out from the rest of the housemates in the house?
Oh, absolutely! Before I went on the show, I never thought there was anything different in my personality from any other person’s personality. I figured out that I’m a lot more extreme than a lot of people. I think it made me not build as many friendships or as many relationships as I would have built because a lot of people misunderstood me.

But I don’t think I would have changed it. I would have still been the same person because I don’t think I can be less than this; especially not for the sake of getting to know more people. I’m very confident and I understand why some people might think it’s arrogance. If you spend some time with me, you will know for a fact that I’m the farthest thing from arrogance. I have no arrogant bone in me.

Do you feel that your being opinionated threatened the housemates in a way or made them behave a certain way towards you?
Absolutely! I agree with your statement; I think because I’m very opinionated. And I’m very strong-willed. So, this is my opinion and it’s very easy for people to be taken aback. Maybe that contributed; I think it contributed. Yes, I agree.

What was your relationship with Ilebaye in the beginning?
We met in the house; we were in the same season but we never lived together. We weren’t particularly close even after the season ended. But for this season, we met again in the house and automatically for me it was a no-brainer; we were the only Level Up girls in the house. We started a friendship and honestly, she felt like a younger sister but then things happened.

What do you think led to the falling out between you and Ilebaye?
I guess it didn’t work out, and I’m hoping that when she comes out we could sit and resolve it. But if that doesn’t happen, I wish her all the best and I love her regardless. I would say that I don’t think either Ilebaye or I can even really say this was exactly what caused the final fallout. I think it was just a lot of different things.

I had some feelings towards the way she behaved or the way I perceived her behavior and she also had certain feelings towards the way she perceived my behavior. What I think we could have done better though is communicate better. And that was something I always asked for in our friendship.

But you know, I understand that we are all growing and learning how to communicate better. So, I wish we communicated better and resolved issues better. I think we just let little things blow out of proportion, but I cannot say this is the exact thing that caused the fallout; it is just a pile of things. I mean, once she gets out we’ll see how things go.

From my end, I have no ill intentions towards her. I just wanted to be by myself in the house. So, it’s not like I have anything in particular against her. If she’s willing to sit and have a conversation with me, for sure we will resolve things. But if she’s not, I wish her all the best and I love her regardless.

You had a lot of things to say to the housemates to their faces. Do you regret anything you said? Is there anything you would change regarding what you said?
There’s nothing I said to anybody in that house that I will take back. Everything I said I meant every word. Yes, I said what I said and I don’t regret anything I said to anybody in the house.

Do you think the number of people invited from each set affected your chances of winning?
Yes. I think being very few from Level Up and the fact that we were reserved was a factor. So, if we were more, say six Level Up housemates, then we have a bigger circle to build an alliance hoping that most people would cooperate just like the ‘Pepper Dem’ and ‘Shine Your Eye’ housemates because they have the numbers.

The higher the number you have, the more people you can convince to nominate another person or put another person up for pardon. So, we didn’t have the number. We lost from the beginning, to be honest, but I do believe that somebody from Level Up can win.

For you, what was the challenging part of being on the show?
I think the most challenging part was feeling like I was alone. A lot of times I felt like I didn’t have a friend like I didn’t have anybody and I think it just reminded me of how important relationships and friendships are. In that house, I felt I didn’t have anybody to fight my own battle so I always felt the need to stand up for myself.

I always felt the need to repeat things over again because I wanted to feel heard. I felt like nobody would stand up for me. You know, there were so many times it weighed me down. But I’m also the type of person who only really needs myself. I have moments where I wish I had someone but then again, for the most part, I’m good by myself; so I just brush it off.

Who are you rooting for to win N120 million?
I am rooting for two people, Ilebaye and Ceec. Any of them that wins I won’t have a problem with it.

What should we look forward to from you?
I had a podcast before I went on the show called Doyin’s Corner. The second will be out soon and it’s called, Let’s Have A Conversation. So, I’m hoping that long term I’m able to get a talk show on TV where I have an actual audience and we come and discuss real issues.