In the space of just five years, a young Nigerian woman dared the odds to acquire a brand name. And she succeeded. She went into the Big Brother Naija house with a bold and indignant stance; she fought through 89 days before stepping out. She is the perfect definition of
‘No Guts, No Glory’. That person is none other than Natacha Akide, better known as Tacha (or Symply Tacha).
She was one of the most controversial housemates that ever stepped into the reality show. She was adjudged rude and aggressive, and called all kinds of names. But she came out and made it big, not bothering to ever mess around again with her past connections at Big Brother Naija. Tacha is several times bigger in reputation and achievement now than she was, before stepping into Big Brother Naija Show in 2019. In all fairness to her, she no longer needs any special exposure anymore. Today Tacha is a successful On-Air Personality, entrepreneur, Instagram influencer, YouTube Vlogger, make-up artist, and reality TV star (in more than one instance).
About Tacha: Her Background
Born in December 1995, Anita Natacha Akide hails from Rivers State, in the Niger Delta (South-South) region of Nigeria. She fondly calls herself ‘Port Harcourt’s first daughter’; and she currently lives in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital. Tacha is one of two daughters in a family of four. Her father is a Rivers state-born Nigerian; while her mother is a Ghanaian.
Tacha undertook both her primary and secondary school education in Rivers State. She proceeded to the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in Port Harcourt. From there, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language (in 2016).
Tacha, who grew up in Port Harcourt, recounted in a later interview how she had always wanted to be a radio broadcaster from childhood. She narrated how as a teenager, she returned from school each day to listen to the radio. She was so passionate about radio work, that she was fond of mimicking the On-Air personalities while they spoke.
A year after graduation (in 2017), Tacha applied to get a job at Cool FM Port Harcourt, but was rejected. Several years later in 2023 and with a soaring reputation, she was finally given the job of her dreams. And in the same radio station. It was almost on a platter of gold.
Tacha’s Sojourn Into Big Brother Naija
Tacha was already a Vlogger and social media influencer with some fairly significant fan base, before going into the Big Brother Naija house.
In 2019, Tacha was one of the contestants that participated in the Big Brother Naija Season 4 Pepper Dem Gang reality show. She ended up the most controversial and talked-about housemate, because she was aggressive all the way. After 89 days in the house and several fights with her colleagues, she was evicted from the house. She was amongst the last six contestants in the house. And no – she had no flings.
Certain BBNaija fans insinuated that Tacha was attempting to follow in the footsteps of Cee-C – another fierce ex-housemate of BBNaija. Tacha swiftly debunked the claim on leaving the reality TV show. It is interesting to note that both Tacha and Cee-C, in spite of the controversies that surrounded them, are very successful today. Again, each of them have an unbelievably huge fan base on social media.
If for no other reason, their simply refusing to have any serious romantic partnership in the house was somewhat praiseworthy. Because there is high tendency of getting emotionally entangled in the house, living physically close to both sexes. Some of the relationships led to successful real-life marriages. But the majority of them led nowhere.
Yet again, Tacha reportedly has a bold tattoo of DMW (one of singer Davido’s trademarks) on her chest. She claims it is her own way of showing loyalty to the singer, of whom she is a fan. She is definitely not afraid to court controversy here and there (if only to level up her celebrity status).
Tacha In Another Reality TV Show
Following her exit from 2019 Big Brother Naija, Tacha has participated in another reality show even bigger in reputation. In 2021, Tacha was in the first 3 episodes of the MTV The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies (37th season), which was hosted in the United States of America. According to her, The Challenge involved a lot of daring, fearsome physical challenges. She recounted having to jump off a cliff into an ocean. In another instance, she was in a moving airplane up in the sky, with other contestants. They were required to throw objects into a car (on the ground).
Tacha: Life and Career After Big Brother Naija
Tacha’s participation in two popular reality TV shows boosted her brand in a big way. She debuted as a Nollywood actress in 2022, in the movie Tiger’s Tail. Again in 2023, she featured in another Nollywood movie titled Onyeegwu.
Sometime around August/September 2023, Tacha achieved her childhood dream of being recruited as a radio On-Air Personality in Cool FM station, Port Harcourt. She is the first ever reality TV star to be recruited as an On-Air Personality in a Nigerian radio station. Tacha currently works as the host of The Big Friday Show with Tacha, which holds every Friday on Cool FM Port Harcourt.
She has had the opportunity to interview several celebrities. They include social media influencers and skit makers, music artists, and other reality TV stars. The Big Friday Show with Tacha is proudly sponsored by two big brands: Smirnoff and Schweppes (with more to join them hopefully soon).
Tacha is also an entrepreneur. She currently owns two stores: Everything Tacha and NLNT 89. Everything Tacha was opened in 2017 – an online store that provides home and office essentials for men and women. While NLNT 89 (‘No Leave, No Transfer 89’) is a clothing, fashion accessories and other essentials store. NLNT 89 was a slogan created by Tacha as a reminder of her stint in Big Brother Naija.
Tacha: Juicy Endorsements
Tacha has also been a brand ambassador of several notable brands, both past and present. They include GetFitNg, House of Lunettes, RealTech Company, Royal Hairs, OxfordBuildBay, and Ciroc. She even created her own Tacha Fierce brand of limited-edition Ciroc beverages.
Tacha’s Net Worth (2024)
Tacha is currently estimated to have a net worth of at least 200,000 US Dollars (as of 2024).
Tacha: Notable Awards
Her courage, zeal for creating exciting content, and entrepreneurship spirit, has earned the reality TV star a good number of entertainment industry awards. Tacha has received the following entertainment awards to date:
- 2019 STAZZ Award: Emerging Celebrity of the Year
- 2020 SCREAM Awards: Brand Influencer of the Year; Fashion Brand of the Year; Social Media Influencer of the Year
- 2020 Africa Choice Awards: Brand Influencer of the Year; Female Personality of the Year
- 2020 AV Awards: Social Media Influencer of the Year; Brand of the Year – Titans Collection
- 2020 LaMode Awards: Celebrity Entrepreneur of the Year
- 2020 AURACOOL Awards: Most popular Female Naija Celeb
- 2020 Net Honours Award: Most Popular BB Naija Star
- 2021 Net Honours Award: Most Popular Person
- 2021 TrendUpp Africa Awards: Force of Twitter
Tacha: Her Philanthropy
Tacha is the owner of Natacha Akide Foundation (NAF), which was set up in 2020 to help the underprivileged ones. She also initiated the Action Against Hunger campaign during the Covid-19 period, in order to help families facing the risk of hunger. Yet again, she initiated the Pad For Every Girl (PEG) campaign as a platform to educate girls about female hygiene.
