BOKISSONTHRONE

I dread poverty. Now, I’m rich forever –Uche Uwaezeapu, GUS winner

The fear of living and dying wretched has always haunted Uche Uwaezeapu, winner of the just concluded Gulder Ultimate Search reality TV show. To conquer this fear, the Ibuso, Delta State-born graduate of Economics vowed to get rich, not by any means, but through sheer hard work.

This was exactly what 21-year-old Uche did in Omodo Forest in Aagba, Osun State for 21 grueling days as he rigorously searched for the elusive Horn of Valour along with nine other contestants.
Now with a whopping N7.5 million cash resting in his bank account, a Ford Explorer jeep worth about N10 million to cruise the town, and other fringe benefits, Uche has certainly hit gold, biding poverty goodbye.



According to Uche, now that he’s a millionaire, he must remain a millionaire for life. “One of my greatest fears is not getting rich. Now that I am a millionaire, I have to remain a millionaire by tripling the money,” he told Blockbuster minutes after he was presented with his cheque and car in Ada, Osun State.Uche opens up on his life before hitting fame and fortune, his challenges in the jungle, love life and what he would do with his money. Enjoy.


Life in the jungle
I knew it wasn’t going to be easy when I entered the jungle. All I kept doing was encouraging myself that I could do it. I wasn’t ready to stop by the wayside. I wasn’t ready to concede an inch. Everything about the jungle was tough. It’s difficult to pinpoint the toughest task. You say this one is tough today, tomorrow you find another one tougher. At the end of the day, you get tired. To me, everything was tough. I don’t know who would have won if I didn’t win. But if we narrow it down to Melvin, obviously it would have been Melvin. But if not I don’t know who would have won if it’s not me.



Major threat
While in the forest, every contestant was a threat to me until the final day. But out of all the contestants, Wale was a very big threat to me. He was very strong and determined. Naturally, I was happy when not only Wale but also everyone was evicted. When everybody was evicted, it became an advantage for me. That doesn’t mean I underrated or looked down on anybody.

Not a stage-managed show

I don’t know why people think Gulder Ultimate Search is stage managed. I want to tell people that it is not pre-arranged. It’s real. We suffered for this thing. Take a look at me; you will see lots of scary marks all over my body. It was terrible in the jungle. It’s not a play thing. We stayed that long in the jungle and suffered so much. A whole lot of us would not want to think about it again. It’s an experience that we cannot forget in a hurry.

Greatest fear

I am going to invest in entertainment and other areas. I am going to invest in my singing talent. I want to get better in music. I sing R&B cum Afro hip hop. I want to release a single but everything about that is under wrap for now. I am going to do things that will make the money triple. One of my greatest fears is not getting rich. Now that I am a millionaire I have to remain a millionaire by tripling the money. What will change about me is that I am going to step up in every way. The way I talk and the way I carry myself will change because stardom will not allow me to do what I used to do before. So, I am going to step up in every aspect of my life. But before anything, I am going to pay my tithe.

Jungle Romance

I had no favourite among the girls. I was very close to all of them. I was friendly with all the girls in camp. I didn’t have anything to do with any of the girls because I wanted to be focused. I didn’t have time to be too close to any of the girls. And now that we are out of camp, I regard everybody as my friends. Right now, I have a woman in my life. I am into a relationship. I have a girlfriend. But I don’t know when I am going to settle down. It’s obviously not now. If the ladies come I will make them understand politely that I am into a relationship. I will deal with women in a nice way. For instance, an old girlfriend of mine was the first to call and congratulate me. We have not spoken for months. But she’s the first person to congratulate me. Right now, my fiancé is very excited about my winning the Gulder Ultimate Search. She has been screaming all day long.

My kind of woman

I love a woman who is good looking to a fault. My kind of woman should be presentable. She should have something upstairs. She should be able to talk and represent me anywhere because I like to talk with a high level of IQ. So, her level of IQ should be very high. She should be humble, God fearing and have self-control.

Back to jungle No,

I don’t think I would ever want to go back to the jungle. I have learnt all the lessons I needed to learn in the jungle. I am going to sit down and do a whole lot of thinking and planning. I am going to readjust and restructure my life because everything about me is going to be different from now on.

From Audi to SUV

I used to drive a Volkswagen Audi. Now I am going to kick that Audi to a corner and start driving the jeep.

Advice to young ones
The young ones should take a cue from what I did. They should be determined, persistent and consistent in everything they do. With this they will get whatever they want. If some one had told me four years ago that I would win Gulder Ultimate Search, I would say the person is a liar. But I have discovered that all what you need to succeed in life is consistency and determination.