In an interview on the Unpack podcast, Alex Unusual recounted the painful experiences of her past, including an incident where she was flogged by her aunt for giving pigs clean water instead of dirty water. She was also unfairly labeled as a thief and stubborn by her family and peers.
She described how she was punished and beaten for actions she didn’t commit, and how the constant abuse and bullying severely impacted her mental health.
“My aunty flogged me for giving their pigs clean water to drink instead of dirty water. How in the name of the Lord am I supposed to go and get dirty water for something that is living?” she questioned. “I literally washed the pig’s buckets and gave them clean water. Then these pigs refused to drink water all day. And when they came back, they accused me of trying to kill the pigs, saying it was intentional. That I knew what I was doing.”
She further recounted being falsely accused of theft: “The reason they were able to label me a thief was something they caused. They would punish me through the night and I would become the last person to leave the hostel the following morning. So when something is missing, it was me that they would hold. I went to class one day, and everybody started to beat me. They asked me, ‘Which biscuit did I eat in class today?’ I told them I had not even eaten all day. Everybody just landed on me. They now said somebody saw me eating biscuits in class.
“They opened my locker and found the provisions of one of the seniors in my corner. They started beating me that day, and I called my mother and told her I did not do what they accused me of.
“A friend even asked me if I had the sickness of people who steal without knowing. They said they needed to take me to church for prayers,” she shared.
Alex Unusual participated in season 3 of Big Brother Naija in 2018 and returned for the Big Brother Naija 8 All-Stars in 2023.
