By Moses Nosike

Winners emerged at Empire Villa Reality TV Show after an intensive talent training competition held in Lagos. For the winner, Filani Oreoluwa Grace, aka Gracy , it was a day of joy as she told newsmen, “Words cannot explain how I feel. There were bigger contestants in the house that had always challenged me. Although, I put in my best as being the Head of the House. I promised myself that I was going to take it and by the grace of God, I took it. That achievement alone was enough winning that I needed. I had already closed my mind because I knew that I was going to come out from the house. I knew that I was going to excel whether I win or not. But winning the grand prize, I will say thank you to all my fans. I am humbled and blessed”.

Discussing her experience, she said, “My experience in the house was challenging, creating relationships with people from different backgrounds. They had strong personalities that I was not used to and most times, it created conflicts between me and them, but at the end of the day, it went fine. This is my first time participating in a television reality show. I almost did not come for the competition because I had programmes. I had to choose between maintaining my office or coming into the competition to show what I have with my talents. I was into selling wristwatches, diamonds, jewelries and gold and I have a school where I train Chinese children on poetry, drama and arts.

It has really impacted my career in terms of confidence. Coming into the house, I needed a lot of talent but this show brought them all out. From the first day of the competition, I didn’t think I was going to measure up because I met other contestants with bigger talents but as time went and the advice that the management always gave to me, I summoned courage and began to work on it. Winning the competition has given me a lot of visibility within and outside the country. It has really boosted my business.

I will use part of the money to invest in the less privileged in society like orphans and widows and also invest the money into my school. I also intend not to use the money for myself alone, I will use it to support the community of people that voted for me. There were 37 other contestants that participated in the show and we stayed for four weeks in the house”.

1st Runner-Up, Peace Jackson Udoh aka Lopizzy, a musical artist said, “I thank God for keeping me in good health, his provision and security upon my life. I extend my gratitude to the management of this show for providing such a platform for the youths to showcase their talents and skills. I am grateful for the opportunity given to me. I met wonderful people with talents and I learnt a lot during the competition. I thank my fans for their endless support that they gave to me.

I am a graduate of Mathematics Science, I am a musical artiste and I aspire to be an actor and so delighted to meet the team on the reality show that has taken my career to a new level. I am from Cross River State”.

2nd Runner-Up, Uzochukwu Chidera Hector, aka Hexznation, said, “I never imagined that I would emerge as the 2nd Runner-Up because there were better contestants during the show. I was just being positive and that was how I was able to scale through during the competition. I was focused, and being the second runner up was actually a good thing to me. It was part of winning for me. I know that with this 3rd position, it can take me places and I am very happy for my family, well wishers and fans for their support”.

Before participating in this competition, I was into business, a songwriter and artiste and my major profession is music and by God’s grace, I believe that I will get to the limelight.

My take home from this programme are many. It has actually changed my personality with a lot of ideas, skills that I never thought that I had found. Thanks to organizers of the show and organisations that supported me during the show”.

In addition, Camp Director, Lucky Alex, Nollywood actor, said, “My interactions with the housemates was not too challenging because I have related with a lot of people in the past and the contestants are good in listening and I was able to impart knowledge into their lives. My message to all the contestants is that no matter what it is, this is a game and it doesn’t define who they are but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. They should remain humble, accommodating and friendly and treat people as brothers and sisters”.