- Saga reveals BBNaija was a strategic launchpad for his creative career.
- Former offshore engineer says colleagues pressured him to audition.
- Reality star highlights the synergy between engineering and artistic vision.
Adeoluwa Okusaga, a former housemate of the Big Brother Naija “Shine Ya Eye” season, has revealed that his participation in the reality television show was a calculated move to pivot from his career as an offshore engineer into the creative arts.
Eko Hot Blog reports that Saga explained in a recent interview that the platform served as a necessary “explosion” of visibility to help him reclaim an artistic identity that had been sidelined by years of technical study and professional engineering work.
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According to him, the decision to enter the Big Brother house was less about a quest for fame and more about a strategic career transition that would allow him to finally pursue his passions for art, fitness, and acting on a full-time basis.
Reflecting on his life before the limelight, Saga disclosed that he spent a significant portion of his early adulthood immersed in the rigors of the Oil and Gas sector.
Having earned a degree in engineering, he found himself working demanding shifts on offshore rigs, where the environment was far removed from the creative world he felt he belonged to.
He admitted that during his university days, the intensity of his coursework meant he had to virtually “kill” his artistic side to survive academically.
While he was known among his peers for his technical drawing skills, a prerequisite for his field, many were unaware that he possessed a profound talent for fine art and a deep-seated desire to be in the entertainment industry.
Interestingly, Saga noted that he was not an active follower of the Big Brother Naija show before he became a contestant.
The impetus for his audition actually came from his professional colleagues in the engineering field. He revealed that his co-workers, who witnessed his charismatic personality and artistic sketches during breaks on the rig, were the ones who encouraged him to seek a larger stage.
He noted that they practically insisted he audition, recognizing that his talents were being underutilized in the rigid, calculation-heavy world of offshore engineering.
For Saga, the show represented the most efficient way to bridge the gap between his technical background and the entertainment sector, providing him with a “launchpad” that would have taken years to build through traditional means.
Beyond the fame, the multi-talented artist also shared a philosophical perspective on how his engineering background informs his current creative pursuits.
He challenged the popular notion that science and art are mutually exclusive, citing historical figures like Leonardo da Vinci as evidence that the two disciplines can coexist within one individual.
Saga argued that the “imagination” required to visualize complex engineering structures is the same mental faculty he uses when acting or creating a new painting.
He believes that his technical training gives him a unique, structured approach to his art, allowing him to visualize results with a level of precision that adds depth to his work.
Since his exit from the show, Saga has successfully established himself as a prominent figure in the Nigerian creative space.
He has featured in major cinematic productions, including Kunle Afolayan’s “Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre,” and has held successful art exhibitions to showcase his paintings.
Despite the well-documented financial pressures and the high cost of maintaining a celebrity lifestyle in Lagos, Saga maintains that the risk of leaving a stable engineering career for the unpredictable world of entertainment was worth it.
