A former contestant of Big Brother Naija, Natacha Akide, widely recognized as Tacha, has expressed that certain influencers and celebrities depend on affluent men to maintain their extravagant lifestyles.
In a discussion with UK-based media figure, Madame Joyce, she stated that she does not hold any resentment towards women who engage in such practices due to societal expectations.
She said, “The thing with Naija is, when you now want to follow the men that will give you in excess, then you have to be on all of the blogs—‘oh, you’re following this and that man.’ But you expect public figures to look good while your brands are not paying well. What do you expect?”
When further questioned about whether women derive their income from men, she responded, “Yes! Some girls are making their money from following men. I don’t know the percentage, but I’m not going to blame anybody for nothing, because, at the end of the day, you need to look good.”
Additionally, she disclosed that her move to the UK was prompted by the declining compensation for influencer roles in Nigeria.
“I Have conquered the whole of the Nigerian market. For me, being in the UK, I am already representing Nigeria. Relocating to the UK doesn’t mean I won’t do Naija deals. If you reach out to me and the money is good, fine—why not? I will be there, yeah.”
“With the influencing scene in Nigeria, it just looks so beautiful. But behind the scenes, it’s not as beautiful as it seems. The money is nothing to write home about. Imagine wanting to pay you N6m, that’s around $3,000, for six months to influence and post two videos a month?”