Still on the 50th birthday of Nigeria’s comedy king, Alibaba, who has been receiving lovely encomiums and good wishes for his innovations and contributions to the comedy game.
There is a new twist to the wishes as Bovi, one of the protégés of the legendary comedian, has penned the evil Alibaba did in his glorious career.
Bovi like many others told of the impact Alibaba had on his career and how he encouraged him to be a better performer. According to him:
“OCT 30th, 2005…. Around 10pm; Alibaba walked up to me and said
“you’re funny. You should do standup comedy. You’re funnier than many of
the guys already out there. You even funny pass *************” . Well,
it wasn’t until 2008 I chose to make the very bold move. 3 years later.
“In those three years I had had trouble sleeping each night I
watched other comedians. And his words echoed repeatedly in my head.
The night he saw me, it was at an arts exhibition. The mc was doing a
bad job. There was an interlude. But there was nothing to fill the
space. So I grabbed the mic, blood rushing to my head and started to
blurt out the few jokes I knew. It was the first audience in Lagos I had
ever faced as a standup comedian (save for a private party in December
2004).
“The audience stared at me, either out of pity or curiosity. But not out of interest. The jokes were funny but I wasn’t. However the bespectacled Alibaba looked on with his hand to his chin and a permanent smile. He was the only source of encouragement in this firing squad. Soon it was over and just as the event rounded off and guests made their way outside, he walked up to me and said those words I will never forget . “You’re funny….”
“The audience stared at me, either out of pity or curiosity. But not out of interest. The jokes were funny but I wasn’t. However the bespectacled Alibaba looked on with his hand to his chin and a permanent smile. He was the only source of encouragement in this firing squad. Soon it was over and just as the event rounded off and guests made their way outside, he walked up to me and said those words I will never forget . “You’re funny….”
Having commended him as the source of inspiration he then
highlighted the evil Alibaba did in the comedy business. According to
him:
“THE EVIL ALI BABA DID. …. It’s @alibabagcfr 50th birthday so I guess anything goes. Alibaba is not one to shy away from encouraging you. He always sees the cup as half full. Many of the classic jokes that are evergreen in the minds of average Nigerians are Alibabas creations. Some have been retold in a shameless manner by less creative forces and audiences still laugh. Some have been refurbished and improved upon. But the source of these materials are still Alibaba”.
“Now this is where Alibaba did wrong. Alibaba once told me a joke. He said check out this material. I died of laughter. I had barely finished when he said “you can have it”. I froze in shock. “Bros make I take am””?” He nodded with assurance. I arrived the next comedy gig with an air. I had an ace up my sleeve. I was going to bomb this show with my new joke. The audience will die with laughter and they will be buried with memories of the joke and their remembrance will feature my picture and my voice. In loving memory of the joke that Bovi killed the audience with.
“I had barely finished planning this obituary when I heard the audience already dying with laughter. The comedian on stage was saying something I had heard before. Wait, he was saying my joke. My new joke. Where did he hear me say it? But I hadn’t said it before.
“It was only a few minutes before I discovered the distress in the face of two other comedians. I thought it was something else until the comedian came off the stage leaving a trail of blood from an audience murdered with laughter. He was confronted by three of us with “oh boy why you crack my joke”. “Which joke?” We chorused again.. “The last joke”. He retorted “but na my joke: bros Ali naim give me”. And a mild argument ensued. I quietly withdrew and went to rework my set. Phew!!!!! I was deflated.
“In no time I confronted Alibaba. He laughed so hard, I couldn’t figure what was funny. But that was until he spoke. ‘Make Una dey wait make I dey write give Una. Which one me go come talk if I dash out all, one by one ‘. I got d message clearly. If you don’t create your own material, the audience will kill you. From that day till today when Alibabas offers a joke, I run. And he laughs.
The veteran comedian also had a private pre-party gig before his birthday, Check out the highlights.
“THE EVIL ALI BABA DID. …. It’s @alibabagcfr 50th birthday so I guess anything goes. Alibaba is not one to shy away from encouraging you. He always sees the cup as half full. Many of the classic jokes that are evergreen in the minds of average Nigerians are Alibabas creations. Some have been retold in a shameless manner by less creative forces and audiences still laugh. Some have been refurbished and improved upon. But the source of these materials are still Alibaba”.
“Now this is where Alibaba did wrong. Alibaba once told me a joke. He said check out this material. I died of laughter. I had barely finished when he said “you can have it”. I froze in shock. “Bros make I take am””?” He nodded with assurance. I arrived the next comedy gig with an air. I had an ace up my sleeve. I was going to bomb this show with my new joke. The audience will die with laughter and they will be buried with memories of the joke and their remembrance will feature my picture and my voice. In loving memory of the joke that Bovi killed the audience with.
“I had barely finished planning this obituary when I heard the audience already dying with laughter. The comedian on stage was saying something I had heard before. Wait, he was saying my joke. My new joke. Where did he hear me say it? But I hadn’t said it before.
“It was only a few minutes before I discovered the distress in the face of two other comedians. I thought it was something else until the comedian came off the stage leaving a trail of blood from an audience murdered with laughter. He was confronted by three of us with “oh boy why you crack my joke”. “Which joke?” We chorused again.. “The last joke”. He retorted “but na my joke: bros Ali naim give me”. And a mild argument ensued. I quietly withdrew and went to rework my set. Phew!!!!! I was deflated.
“In no time I confronted Alibaba. He laughed so hard, I couldn’t figure what was funny. But that was until he spoke. ‘Make Una dey wait make I dey write give Una. Which one me go come talk if I dash out all, one by one ‘. I got d message clearly. If you don’t create your own material, the audience will kill you. From that day till today when Alibabas offers a joke, I run. And he laughs.
The veteran comedian also had a private pre-party gig before his birthday, Check out the highlights.
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