Posted by Biodun Kupoluyi on
Ifeoma Dike was the last woman standing at the recently concluded Gulder Ultimate Search 2. Her performance has not only earned her a million naira from Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State, she's also enjoying media presence.
Ifeoma Dike was the last woman standing at the recently concluded Gulder Ultimate Search 2. Her performance has not only earned her a million naira from Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State, she's also enjoying media presence. In this interview, she bares her view on her experience, life and relationshi with other searchers in the Fort MAX camp.
Did you expect to get to the stage you got to in the programme?
I was surprised to hear that I had been selected because I didn't take it seriously at all. But then I got this conviction in my spirit, even my mum said it, that I was going to make it to the last 10. And while the game was on, there was a time I sprained my knee (when we had to cross the beam and opponents were throwing bags at us). So, before it was time for elimination, my knee was healing and I guess luck and God was on my side. After the fourth eviction, I began to have that confidence again that definitely I was going to go far.
How did you feel when Anita was eliminated and you became the last woman standing?
Her elimination was a shock to me, because I hadn't really recovered from my knee injury and I felt she was stronger because she's much older and more vocal than me.
When it was only three of you left, did it at any point, occur to you that you could find the Golden Helmet and win the competition?
Honestly, I didn't believe that I actually could make the last three. It came as a shock to me. But then, I became encouraged by the development. I began to nurse the ambition that I might eventually discover the treasure and win the competition. Unfortunately, God had other plans, so the best man had to win.
Now that you have won N2 million for yourself. I mean N1m for being the last woman standing and the other N1m for being the second runner-up, how do you plan to spend your N2 million?
N2 million may seem like a lot of money, but with our economy these days, you'll agree with me that it's not much. But first of all, I'll pay my 10% tithe, that is N200,000 gone. I'm left with N1.8m. I'm definitely going to give a larger share of it to my mum to help me invest it. I'll also invest in Nigerian Breweries Plc shares. Then I'll take my friends out, change my wardrobe and maybe, buy a car (laughs).
Vaughan seemed to be the closest to you at Fort Max base Camp, do you like him?
Uh! Vaughan seemed, I love the word 'seemed", 'seemed to be close to me", but I don't think there was anything. Yeah! He was really close to me, but nothing more, nothing less.
So, no emotional attachment to him, especially the way you felt when he was evicted?
No! The reaction I had at his eviction was because I had this thought and feeling that the final search for the treasure was actually going to be among three men. I didn't know where I got that notion from, but it was just in my head. So when he was evicted and I was now left with two men, I couldn't believe it, because in my head, I had this notion that it was three men, may be because I watched the programme last year. So, I had this notion that three men were going to search for the treasure at the final stage. His eviction came to me as a shock, because I was expecting that I would be the next person to go, considering the fact that we were four left, that I had to go. As to my liking Vaughan or Vaughan liking me, the true of the issue is, as Vaughan said in one of his interviews, he said he had a crunch on me initially, but now he had gotten over his crunch. All the while he had the crunch on me, I told him that he's not my kind of guy. So, there can't really be anything between us. He's just my friend, and that's all he can be or get to. I told him that he can't be anything more than my friend, because he doesn't have the qualities I want in a man.
So, what are the qualities you want in a man?
He has to be handsome, not too handsome, but he has to have potentials. He has to be intelligent. He has to be tolerant, because sometimes I could really be a trouble maker. He has to be somebody that understands me. And most important of all, he has to be God fearing and has to love for me and not for anything else.
So, if you didn't have any special feelings for Vaughan, why did you vote Lucan out and not Martin or even yourself the night you had the opportunity to vote somebody out?
The truth of the matter is, then, I really didn't know who they were. I didn't know if they were portraying their true behaviour or not. So, I had to use what I could see, which was their performance in the tasks we'd done so far. If you consider the tasks we undertook before then, Lucan was not performing well. The first one he didn't get the riddle. Secondly, when we had to do the water fight, he came out with the highest point, which means he was the least contestant. So, putting these two together, I felt that maybe, he was beginning to lose concentration and he was beginning to lag behind. So, I voted him out.
But there is reason to believe that Vaughan told you to vote against Lucan, should the opportunity arise?
That's not true. Even if it is, remember that I have a mind and a will of my own. I'm a very strong-willed person. I don't let anybody influence my decision.
Also, there is this belief that your disagreement with Lucan about your washing his plate or his accusation that you're lazy prompted you to vote against him?
Just like I told you earlier, I voted against Lucan because he was the least performed among the four of us in the last two tasks.No more no less.
You were not seen playing significant role in the kitchen like Chichi and Anita, why?
You need to remember that apart from the fact that I was the youngest in Camp, I was also the youngest female contestant. Initially, Chichi was doing the cooking, because she was older and she took it upon herself to be the mother figure. After her eviction, Anita took over because Esther was evicted almost immediately. I was always supporting Anita in the kitchen. If we were going to cook yam, for instance, I always peeled and cut the yam and washed it, all she did was to cook it by putting ingredients. So, my reason for not being in the kitchen most of the time was because of my age. They always took it upon themselves to act as mother figures and I couldn't dispute that, considering the fact that I was the youngest. But if you noticed, immediately after Anita was evicted, I started doing all the cooking, and even the boys can attest to it that sometimes they would say ‘Ifeoma, we don't know that you could cook this well.'
So, what would you say you learnt from Gulder Ultimate Search 2?
I didn't know I would be this tolerant. I didn't know I was this strong, because for me to have lasted 20 days, it's not 20 minutes, neither is it 20 seconds. I have learnt that the sky is the limit to anything we want to do. We are the ones inhibiting ourselves. I learnt how to interact with people and to give everybody opportunity to express themselves. These, and many more, are some of the things I learnt in Fort Max.
Who was your closest pal at Fort Max base Camp?
Do I have a close pal? I was close to Anita and Vaughan. I would have said Esther, but she didn't stay too long.
Who would you have expected to win the competition?
Vaughan. But his 'gra-gra" was too much. He was too aggressive. If he had just collected himself and been calmer, I think he would have won the competition, but he was always too forward. He was always picking quarrels with everybody, trying to be controversial and that led him into trouble. It's not easy for six people to come and vote one person out. We were four remaining; I was thinking they would vote me out, being the only girl left. That showed you the height of the level of conflict he caused in the Camp.
How many are you in your family?
We are just three: my mum, my younger brother and I.
What about your dad?
My dad is late.
Sorry about that. When did he die?
He died 17 years ago.
And your mum did not remarry?
She didn't.
You are studying Psychology at the University of Lagos, what level are you?
I'm in my first year.
How do you hope to cope with the lectures you have missed after one month of Gulder Ultimate Search?
Thank God that I have a very good friend who will help me with notes and arrange one or two things. My school was on strike, we resumed just before we went for the Search. I know that I still have time to catch up before exams begin. Thank God for the intellect and brain that God has given me. I have the ability to assimilate things very quickly. So I don't think there'll be much problem for me.
Sunday Punch, June 19, 2005