Adaja Damilare and Christiana Nsolo have carted home N1 million each as star prizes after emerging winners at the grand finale of Big Dream Nigeria Talent Show on Tuesday night.
The reality show is geared toward discovering and developing young talents in acting and music.
The youngsters were announced winners at the grand finale of the maiden edition of the show which held in Abuja.
The duo beat 12 other budding talents who made it to the final day of the 5-week-long event to clinch the highly coveted grand prizes.
Damilare, Ondo State-born model and upcoming singer, won the grand prize for the music category of the contest, while 22-year-old Christiana from Delta State clinched the grand prize for acting.
According to the organizers of the show, the two best winners are to receive a plot of land each in the Federal Capital Territory as part of the star prizes.
The organizers also announced a plot of land each for the first and second runners-up in both music and acting categories of the show.
Amb. Kingsley Amafibe, CEO of Peace Ambassador Agency and Principal Executive of the Big Dreams project, told NAN on the sidelines of the grand finale that contestants were selected from a nationwide audition held at the beginning of the year.
He explained that 30 housemates started the show and that the number of contestants kept reducing in a weekly eviction process until the last two persons were announced winners.
According to him, the Big Dream Nigeria talent show initiative is àimed at offering talented and passionate youth a platform to express themselves and to be discovered in the creative industry.
He said that movies and music produced by housemates in the course of the show had been premiered and that all participants would be recommended to relevant stakeholders for music and movie roles.
“The reality show is aimed at building the next generation of talented Nigerians in the areas of music and acting.
“During their stay in the house, contestants were coached and mentored by seasoned filmmakers, actors, singers, and even leadership experts.
“They produced a movie and a song titled ‘9JA Go Beta’, which is to commemorate Nigeria’s 60 years of independence,” he said.
Amafibe said that the housemates were earlier quarantined in preparation for the premiere and commencement of the contest because of the coronavirus pandemic.
He called on relevant stakeholders, especially government at all levels to support initiatives such as the talent show in order to empower and gainfully engage teeming talented Nigerian youth.
“Our youths are talented but they need to be given platforms to express themselves, and that is why we want everybody to support this project so that we can get our youth off the streets.
“The entertainment industry can create the much-needed jobs for our youth, especially as the country faces economic challenges,” he said.
Speaking with NAN, Christiana, a 300-level student of Architecture at the University of Benin, who won the star prize in Acting, expressed gratitude to the organisers.
She described the show às the kind of veritable platform talented and passionate young Nigerians needed for mentorship and direction in pursuit of their dreams.
