By Rita Okoye
After a nine-year hiatus, former Big Brother Africa housemate, Akintayo Faniran, returned to the screen as ‘Ninolowo’ in the riveting crime drama, Gangs of Lagos.
Faniran, a runner-up in the 9th season of the Big Brother Africa reality show, has been off the screen for a while.
A crime thriller capturing the reality of Isale Eko in Lagos Island, Faniran stars in Gangs of Lagos alongside other cast members like Tobi Bakare, Pasuma, Zlatan, Iyabo Ojo, Yhemo Lee, Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Bimbo Ademoye, and Chike.
Speaking on how he snagged a role in the crime thriller, Faniran, who is also a model, said: “It’s not easy to have it one time, and then it slips off your hands. I have been there but then… I have been living in South Africa since 2008, and that was home for me. I just wanted to go back, and I left Nigeria when I was hot, and it just looked like I vanished.”
According to Faniran, as a star, he expected the perks of fame to follow him around and bring him a fortune, but he wildly misjudged things.
“Even though, I didn’t think it would be like that, Big Brother’s fame would make you feel like they would look for you. I thought I was on the same level with Davido and Wizkid,” he quipped.
However, fate smiled at Faniran when Jade Osiberu came with a role in Gangs of Lagos, thus giving him a second shot at fame.