20th March, 2024
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Big Brother Naija reality star Chinenyenwa Desire Okoebor, popularly known as Chichi has announced her retirement from exotic dancing.
In a video shared via her Instagram story, Chichi revealed that she is now retired.
She disclosed this while bragging to her hair stylist after she rejected her offer to give her a free lap dance.
She said, “Let me give you a lap dance. Stay na. Free lap dance” to which the stylist replied, “I don’t want.”
Chichi fumed, “When I was an exotic dancer do you know how much I charge?”
Chichi revealed in an interview last year that being a stripper saved her life.
She tearfully recounted her story during an interview with media personality, Chude Jideonwo. Chichi narrated that she arrived in Lagos State at 18 years old despite not knowing anyone or having anywhere to stay. She noted that a good Samaritan connected her to someone who gave her a place to stay, she paid ₦8,000 a week for accommodation.
Upon her arrival in Lagos, Chichi did not have any money and was unable to pay the weekly dues. At the apartment, she met a lingerie-selling vendor who helped her by connecting her to the manager of a club.
Chichi tearfully noted that when she met the manager of the club, he did not believe that she was 18 years old because of her petite stature and she almost lost the gig. The reality star also noted that she broke down in tears the first time she had to strip because she was in disbelief of what her life had become.
“I remember the first time I climbed that stage as a stripper, holding that pole I was shaking and crying. I didn’t know how to use the pole and I can remember how many times I fell on that stage and the shoes were so high. They gave me a week to learn how to use the pole and my shoes,” she said.
The 23-year-old went further to say she learned within that week and was able to rent an apartment within a month of working. She also stressed that she is not ashamed of her past because stripping saved her from her struggles. She is in fact thankful for her experience as an exotic dancer.
She stated that one of the reasons she went on the Big Brother Naija show was to “let Nigerians know that stripping does not make you a h*e. It is just another way of making quick money. You don’t really have to sleep around to make money as a stripper. It’s actually a profession.”