By Timothy Ojo
His story is one of those classical zero-to-hero stories scripted in the never-never world of fiction. On Sunday, the classically ordinary took the form of the extraordinary and became a legend, and Olamilekan Moshood Agbelese, a.k.a. Laycon, became the toast of the world.
From a surfeit of stars, including a swashbuckling son of a billionaire, Laycon came from nowhere, demolished all obstacles and became the undisputed champion of Big Brother Naija Lockdown Season Five.
And the whole world is hailing and celebrating King Laycon.
Laycon emerged from being roundly scorned in his first day in the house because of his looks, to become fiercely loved by the same people who derided him and called him names. You couldn’t get better a plot than the story of Laycon. It is a story many Nollywood producers would itch to write. A typical “gory to glory” situation.
But as they say, “do not judge a book by its cover”. This is Laycon’s story!
Born and raised in Lagos on November 8, 1993, the 26 years old Ogun State indigene became fiercely popular as a result of his calm personality which he exhibited throughout his stay in the house.
Laycon had his secondary education in Lagos, before proceeding to study philosophy at the University of Lagos, where he bagged a second class upper degree.
As an undergraduate in the University of Lagos, Laycon interned as a personal assistant to the CEO and managing director of Latjum Global Nigeria Limited.
After his graduation, he made ends meet as a salesman at Bestman Games, Ikoyi , where he also doubled as a development personnel.
He further continued his journey into the corporate world where he became a personal assistant to the assistant director, welfare in administration and human resources of the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy. The lanky man also worked as a freelance writer.
Laycon identifies as a rapper as he has featured some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, such as Chinko Ekun and Reminisce, with an Extended Play (EP), consisting of three songs already released by him.
His song “Awa Fierce” has become a household song among both the young and old, as many say, they see themselves in the personality of Laycon.
On July 19, 2020, Laycon became the 19th housemate in the Big Brother Naija House, and his looks were met with mockery on social media, with jokes like “who brought this mechanic here?” “Big Brother, you have brought one housemate that is wanted by SARS”. Another Twitter user said “why is he looking like the definition of hunger?”
All these tirades, didn’t take long before they melted into intense love for the “haggard” looking Laycon.
In the space of almost three months, Laycon’s Twitter handle has 314, 000 followers from a mere 1000+ followers while his Instagram page underwent one of the fastest organic growth, from 5000+ followers to 1.2 million followers as at the time of filing this report. He became verified also on the app while he was in the house.
His is a typical grace-to-grace story. When asked why he came to the house, the calm looking Laycon said: “I just come promote my song o”. Not only has he promoted his song, he has also popularised the LAYCON BRAND. He has also galloped his popularity/fan base. He now has a huge fanbase that cuts across all ages. Now, the world can never resist loving King Laycon.
On Sunday, September 27, 2020, Laycon was announced as the winner of Big Brother Naija 2020, Lockdown Edition, Season Five, with a total of N85 million in prizes to boot.
With this staggering sum, the sky is not only the limit for King Laycon, it is the beginning.
