Happenings: Was that the real Melvin Oduah in the BBA reality show or a strategic behavior deployed by you?
Melvin: Yes, that was me. There is no way I would have gone in there and put up the same character for 90 days. I can’t go there and pretend to be someone else for 90 days because along the line you will break and your true character will come out. I went in there with no particular strategy. I’m just going to be me and I had this believe that my personality is good enough to take me till the end. So, the Melvin they saw in BBA is the same Melvin in reality, nothing different.
Happenings: Where you at any time attracted and in love with Dillish?
Melvin: Dillish is a pretty girl, attractive as well. She is someone that I just naturally cliqued with and vice versa. From the moment I was swapped from the Ruby house to the Diamond house up until the end; I and Dillish were so close. We did a lot of things together, we play all the time; so a lot of people now had that misconception but they forgot that when Dillish first came to the house she announced to everyone that “I have a man at home, we’ve been dating for four years, we’ve been through a lot of things together”, so she is not open for any relationships and I respect ladies decisions a lot; so I just knew that there was nothing there, let’s just be friends and all. So, I and Dillish were just friends. Then, people started saying things like “Melvin and Dillish, you guys are in love”, but no, that’s wasn’t true; we were just friends.
Happenings: If you had the opportunity, would you date Dillish?
Melvin: Maria and Dillish are very good friends. Maria opened up about the feelings she had for me, so how would that look? And don’t forget that Steve is there as well. Okay yes, probably if there was no Steve and if there was no Maria; maybe something could have taken place but that is a situation that we will never know because there will always be Steve and Maria, so we’ll never know.
Happenings: So, if Maria and Steve are not in the picture, would you have had sex with her?
Melvin: Sex, no. Not sex, it was a personal decision. I said I was not going to do that in the house.
Happenings: If you had the chance to change something between you and Dillish, what would it be?
Melvin: I wouldn’t change anything because everything happens for a reason. Whatever is happening is destined to happen, so who am I to now change it and what makes me think that if I change things, it is what I want that will happen? So, I’ll rather not change anything; let’s leave everything the way it is, let’s accept it and move on.
Happenings: So, are you saying you were never attracted to Dillish?
Melvin: No I can’t say that.Come on! Am I not a man? Don’t I have hormones? Dillish is a pretty girl and she is attractive, so of course, I was attracted to her definitely. But that is how life is; it is not every girl that you are attracted to that you get. We go out every day and we see a lot of fine girls but it is not every one that you can get; some are married, some are your friends, some are in a situation where you can’t have anything to do with them and that is Dillish’s case. She is in that situation where I can’t have anything to do with her. She is a fine girl and attractive but that setting was just what we had to accept that “this girl is awesome but she can only be my friend, she can’t be more than my friend”.
Happenings: You have accepted you were attracted to Dillish and she is attracted to you based on what we have seen; now based on the situation you presented to us; if you had the chance to change it would you?
Melvin: No! What makes me think that if I wish Dillish didn’t have Steve things would now pan out the way I want it to be? What makes me think that Dillish would not find another house mate that probably tickles her fancy more? Or along the line we’ll probably have a problem or something? So, I’ll rather just leave it the way it is, it was destined to happen. I’m not dating Dillish now don’t mean I can’t date someone who is as hot and fine as Dillish or hotter and finer than Dillish. So it is something that I have accepted, she has accepted and we have moved on with it.
Happenings: If you were to change something in the BBA game about yourself, what would it have been?
Melvin: Absolutely nothing. I told myself that I want to go into the BBA house and have a fulfilled experience in the house and that is exactly what I did. There is nothing I regret, though a lot of people say some negative things like “he was too gentle, he was too nice, that is not how a naija guy should be, etc” but I don’t care about all that. I was happy I was myself and with the reception I’ve been getting from outside, a lot of people appreciate me very well and they believe I made my country proud and I made Africa proud. And if I’m to go back there again, I will still behave the same way; be myself all through. So, there is nothing I will change.
Happenings: Were you confident that you will win the prize towards the end of the show?
Melvin: Yeah from day one, we all went there with the hope of winning. Nobody entered the house to just do one week or two, then leave. I mean, for you to be in that house in the first place, shows you have what it takes to go up to the end. So, yes I wanted to win, I thought I would win and as I was advancing everyday till the last day when it was just five of us. Everybody wanted to win and I’m not an exception, I thought I would win but you never can tell. I prepared my mind that I might or might not win it. I’ve been in that situation a couple of times, so I wanted to win but I didn’t win, so it’s still cool.
Happenings: How would you describe your emotions at that moment when you were evicted?
Melvin: It was not a good feeling. I mean nobody wants to be evicted but when they called my name I was like “mehn, I’ve been evicted o, they’ve called my name, and so I didn’t win this thing”. It was just about acceptance and I accepted mine well because I was prepared for it. I felt like “this was where I was destined to get to, no problem, let’s just go”
Happenings: But towards the end of the show Africans felt you would win and we felt you knew that too, especially when you were saved after placing yourself for eviction when you could save yourself. We thought that boosted your confidence that you will win but you didn’t, didn’t you feel cheated?
Melvin: I think I placed myself for eviction in the 7th or 8th week, but you know the game advances. The fact that I did that and was saved did not assure me that yes, “Melvin you are going for the title”. A lot of other house mates were saved by Africa as well, some were saved four, five, six times. I was saved just once, so how would I then believe that yes, I’m there. And the game advanced, Africa might save you today and in the next two or three weeks, they’ll like someone better or like you less. So you can’t just give yourself that assurance that it is you that will win the game. Yes, the self believe is there, the confidence is there, you want to go all the way to the end but the fact that someone else wins shouldn’t make you feel cheated. I think it is all about accepting it and I accepted it quite well.
Happenings: How did you see Beverly’s actions in the house?
Melvin: I keep saying one thing “who didn’t go there wouldn’t know how it is to be there” and a lot of people judge Beverly based on the fact that she is inside and they are outside. And I think that is wrong because in as much as they didn’t like some of the things she did, they shouldn’t just go ahead and judge her. It is a personal thing, I mean we all came in individually; so everybody had the right to make any decision he or she wants to make. She said that “people are criticizing her because she did what a lot of them do but just that her own was in front of the camera and theirs is behind the camera”. I can’t judge Beverly and say “she messed up or that she fucked up”; it is all a personal decision. We are all matured, she made hers and I made mine, so nobody should criticize her for whatever she has done.
Happenings: Was there any time in the house you felt she was stepping out of line?
Melvin: No, everybody is entitled to their own decision and I can’t make decision for someone else. So, I can’t say she was stepping out of line; after all she was there till the end. She broke a record, she was never nominated and never swapped; why don’t people look at the positive side and why must it always be the negative side. She is out now and she is doing really well.
Happenings: We’ve not been seeing you at events, red carpet, etc.; is that your strategy to stay wanted and relevant?
Melvin: I’ve been going to a lot of events; in fact I barely rest these days. I’m always up and about for one function of the other, I’m surprised you’ve not been seeing me. I’m barely in Lagos these days and I’ll even be making more trips outside the country this weekend.
Happenings: Any endorsement plans or deals we should know of?
Melvin: Yes, by the grace of God we are pushing some of them and hopefully they will surface very soon.
Happenings: Do we get to have a hint?
Melvin: No, you know I wouldn’t tell you that yet come on. But very soon you will see some by the grace of God.
Happenings: You are on a movie set at the moment; tell us a bit about your acting career?
Melvin: I was an actor even before I went for the BBA, so being in the house only elevated my career as an actor. It is a very huge platform for my career. I’ve been getting a lot of calls from producers and directors to do movie with them and that is exactly what I wanted. The fact that I didn’t win doesn’t mean my career is crashing, No. It is the other way round; in fact it is actually elevating seriously. So, yes, I’m on set now for a movie and this is going to be the first from the many ones you will be watching.
Happenings: Tell us about the new movie, what should we be expecting?
Melvin: I would not want to expose too much but I will just say it is a very nice script. I will give you a hint; it is about my girlfriend not treating me right and she has a house maid that I have a soft spot for. I started seeing the house maid, then we started dating until… that’s how much I can tell you for now, you will see what happens in the end when you get the movie.
Happenings: If you and Beverly were to act in a movie, who do you think would play the lead?
Melvin: It depends on the characters, it depends on the script, and it depends on so many things. So, there is no way I can give you a direct answer for that. The script might need Beverly to be the lead, it might need me to be the lead; it might need both of us to be the lead. So, I can’t say.
Happenings: Are you in a relationship?
Melvin: Let’s say I’m not searching. There might be something coming up but it can’t be tagged a relationship yet. You can say I’m single but I’m not searching because there is a lead and something might just come up very soon.
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