The entertainment industry in Nigeria can never be complete without a mention of the Stand-Up comedy industry. Humour merchandise has proven in the last two decades or thereabout that it has all it takes to rival other industries in the entertainment sector of our economy. Nigerian stand-up comedians stand tall among their peers on the continent and no one can dispute the fact that the practitioners of this profession are enviably successful.
Truly, the definition of success you may argue is subjective, but yet there are some generally acceptable indices of a successful life. In this age and in this our contemporary society you will agree with me that good houses, luxurious rides, beautiful spouses, wonderful children, fame, popular brands, booming business, globetrotting are all indices of a successful life. That is one of the reasons I can safely conclude that Nigerian Comedians are a bunch of successful men and women. A little wonder you go on facebook and search for comedian or MC and you will be shocked at the overwhelming number of men and women, both young and old, trying to make a living from the comedy industry.
Every successful trade or booming business has its secret, and I can bare you a firsthand witness on some of the reasons why stand-up comedy is very attractive. From personal experience I know stand-up comedy costs little or nothing to start, in terms of finance. When I made up my mind to be a man of my own, being a young lad without any tenable certificate back then, except for my O’level result. I knew my goal was only achievable if I could use my talent and passion. Entertainment was the only option then, so I decided to do music, but my meager monthly allowance then as an undergraduate could not sustain my musical dream. No money to make a demo, buy blings and do the necessaries. But all I needed to get started in the comedy business were my skills and a connected microphone, which was not even my duty to provide.
Another top secret that makes the stand-up comedy more attractive to matured minds is the fact that unlike other entertainers, Nigerian Comedians have a relatively stable marital life. That has made some people in some quarters to argue that there is more to these comedians than what meets the eye. Apart from this special grace to keep a family together, another trait that makes some people to be suspicious of these comedians is how they manage to capture and steal the heart of drop-dead gorgeous beauty queens and keep them perpetually through marriage. This feat may seem ordinary to young minds that are yet to experience the marriage institution, who have constantly been deceived by Nollywood movies where a rich kid, Genevieve Nnaji will fall in love with poor fine boy, Ramsey Noah and they will live happily ever after. But in reality I have listened to married men discuss that a pretty woman is a liability. Marrying a pretty woman means you have to keep fighting to keep her, even when you are dead and no more. So if you see a man happily married to a pretty woman, much more so a self reliant beauty queen, he is not an ordinary man. He is a brave man and a dogged fighter.
Recently, the comedian of the moment, Bowoto Jephta, better known as Akpororo unconsciously sold out his colleagues when he confirmed that Nigerian Comedians even the so called ‘gospel comedians’ like himself are fetish. Unknown to many comedy fans in Nigeria, comedians go the extra mile to deliver punch lines on stage and in reality. I can confidently say at least 95 percent of every successful comedian you know is guilty of resorting to the supernatural to achieve feats the rich and the famous, the handsome and the well dressed find quite challenging or difficult to achieve. Or how could you explain how a short Teju Baby Face, a brief Julius Agwu, big eyed Basketmouth and Bovi, an unstable klint da drunk, a “6 packless” Elenu and Lafup, a long necked I go dye, a black mamba like Seyi Law, a pot bellied Gbenga Adeyinka, white bearded Mc Abbey, crutches grabbing Babah kay among others can all boast of beautiful gorgeous wives. To now confirm all these suspicions, pure black Akpororo proposed to a beautiful, pretty girl during a church service of recent and surprisingly she said yes. It was so unbelievable that Akpororo had to re-propose for the second time with a novelty football match, and to his eternal delight, she said yes again. Then I was fully convinced that these comedians “dey use jazz.”
In case you want to know their ‘jazz,’ their talisman is one and the same. It now becomes a glad tiding when you know the ‘jazz’ is something within reach, in fact it’s something you also have within you. It is called humour. You must have heard of the saying “if you can get her to laugh, you can have her”, but this magical kind of humour is more than just being able to make people laugh. This kind of humour has a second leg which is better known as sense of humour, while the former is active this latter part is passive. It is the ability to comfortably be at the receiving end of jokes, humble yourself and relate freely with people. People who possess this kind of magic, this ‘jazz’ are superb communicators and their human relation is well above average. Every relationship expert or marriage counselor will tell you the importance of humour in a relationship. Ability to make her laugh will get you her attention and her admiration, internalized humour which reflects in your communication, your sincerity and your reaction to issues will earn you her heart, no matter what you look like, in as much as you can provide the basics. I will be guilty of lying if I tell you my Nigerian sisters will give you their heart just because you can make them laugh. With them, first things come first, do well to provide them the basics of life, cloth it with the ability to make them laugh and crown it with sincerity, responsibility and faithfulness. Then, the prettiest of my sisters will gladly spend the rest of her days in your arms.
So before you quit a frustrating relationship or quit trying to get that your dream girl, try humour and your testimony is guaranteed. Then you can thank me later. Congratulations to Akpororo and all the Comedians of the Federal Republic of Nigerian, myself inclusive. Una do well!
Quoting from the online Urban Dictionary, the word ‘Fetish’ means an object thought to have magical, especially magically sexual powers.
Written on the 1st of September, 2015
KAYODE ADENIYI ESQ. (AFOUDA SAMUEL)
(Legal Practitioner, OAP, Entertainment Practitioner & Humour Advocate)
afoudalafta@gmail.com
08162746129
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