Africans are really good Reality TV copycats!

Consumerism is one character trait that defines Africans. If the West starts up something, we will start our own version. Never mind the quality.

Reality TV in Africa is a good example. First came Big Brother Africa 1 in 2003; it was so successful that Big Brother Africa 2 was screened in 2007 and the third auditions are underway.

Big Brother is America and UK's idea of putting several strangers in one house with cameras 24 hours a day. As the contestants go about their lives, viewers are watching. Whoever withstands the invasion of privacy best, goes home with $100,000.

What has not caught on yet is the "Celebrity Big Brother". This version aired in the UK involves celebrities living in one house and playing along the same rules that apply to the original Big Brother. Imagine this in Africa!

Chameleone, Bobi Wine, Bebe Cool, Nameless, Juliana Kanyomozi, Iryn Namubiru and Phina Mugerwa in one house? Fire!

Likewise, Tusker Project Fame is the copycat version of American Pop Idols or Britain's XFactor. This is about singing talent; famous singers such as Will Young (Evergreen), Jordin Sparks (No Air) and Kelly Clarkson have been manufactured by such reality shows. The winner gets a recording contract with some big studio and a cash prize.

Okay, Coca Cola Pop Stars produced the Blu3 - or what is left of it - and this year's winner of Tusker Project Fame, Esther Nabaasa Mugizi, sounds very talented and promising. But what happened to the winner of Project Fame1, Valary? Did she ever record a song with the famed Gallo Records? How come it did not rock? The answer could be that the "talent" they discovered was not talent enough, after all.

Better yet, look at Idols Africa, the wannabe singers at early auditions had no inkling as to how to pronounce the stars' names they sought to mimic, let alone the titles of their songs.

There is this girl who astonished everyone when she announced she was singing "Ken lee" by "Malaya Caley" meaning Mariah Carey's Without You.

Another one preferred to sing "Noah" by "Shankez" meaning, No One by Alicia Keys. But then you cut the Africans some slack the moment you hear and see Onka Judge's bloopers during the XFactor auditions in the UK. The man sang - is it cried? - so badly, his hair-raising audition is one of the most viewed clips on YouTube.

Then there is The Apprentice Africa. This too has its origins in the US, where tycoon Donald Trump's version is very successful.

Those who follow The American Apprentice and have viewed the one in Nigeria have actually given the Nigerians the thumbs-up at quality Xeroxing.

NTV's Hot Steps and Game Venture are also no original projects, for these are similar to USA's So You Think You can Dance, Amazing Race and Boot Camp.

Michael Kasaija, who is behind the NTV shows must be one man who benches his TV!

That said, we haven't caught on yet with the West's sense of reality TV. Their sense of creativity is in hyper drive that some of the shows don't need just aping capacity, but stupidity and money. Lots of it.

Reality TV in the West comes in form of fidelity tests (Wife Swap, Temptation Island); TV matchmaking (The Bachelor, The Bachelorette); making dreams come true (Dream Wedding, Dream House, All You Need is Love) as well as perseverance tests (Survivor, now in its 15th season, where the ultimate survivor walks away with $1m).

Now, if these were brought to Africa, we would be treated to drama. We would be treated to all manners of voodoo, I bet, since money and love are on the line.

Imagine if Here Come the Newlyweds, came to Africa! Here, newlyweds are tested on how well they know their spouses. The men are asked about issues such as bra and panty sizes of their wives, while the women can be asked what shirt size their husbands wear. You should see how they stammer and fail to answer; now put your African couple in those shoes!

Judging from the speed at which we are aping these reality shows, it is just a matter of time before TV gets really interesting here.