From the onset, he had made up his mind that he was going to do everything to enhance himself, improve his skill and the service he offered. He is the first to professionalise comedy. In this interview, comedian, ALI BABA tells FUNKE OSAE-BROWN how he arrived at an unusual New Year menu
His Lekki office is shrouded in quietness as the midday sun shines brightly across the sandy landscape. The caricature portraitures of world renowned comedians like Whoopi Goldberg lined the wall that leads to the upper floor of the building. Right at the top of the staircase is an old picture of late Danjuma Mohammed, Okey Bakassi and the King of comedy himself, Ali Baba, hanging conspicuously on the white wall.
“That picture,” Ali Baba later tells me, “was taken by Tee A. That was in 1990.” Ali Baba has become an iconic figure in the Nigerian comedy industry. He laid the foundation for the kind of professionalism, technique and panache that the industry now boasts of.
What took me to his office that afternoon was a special feast with a rare menu list Ali Baba was planning for the year 2015. And for those who attended, the feast was actually rare with a three course meal. The main menu was comedy laced with a generous portion of laughter.
For those who have been following Ali Baba’s career, he is known to be a pioneer of many things in the comedy industry; little wonder he is rightly dubbed the King of comedy. Ali Baba, was named Atunyota Alleluya Akporobomerer. He has joked severally about the difficulty people encounter in pronouncing his name correctly. He was born in Warri, Delta State, on June 24th 1965 to the Royal Family of Agbarha Otor, Ughelli North Local Government Area. He was the first son after several girls. He spent the first eight years of his life in Warri before he arrived in Lagos to pursue a career in comedy as an adult.
He started his Three Kings show some years ago and this year, 2015, he introduced another first, Ali Baba January 1st Concert, a show he tells me has been in the making for ten years.
“I was in Abuja for COJA,” he says while narrating how he conceived the idea for the show, “and when COJA finished, I was telling somebody that do you know that when it is Christmas we would all travel out or come back for watch night services? All through the day of Christmas or New Year, we all sit at home or visit one friend or watch TV; some people would sleep or watch a movie not having a particular place to go to on the first day of the year.
“For the very religious ones, they start listening to prophecies and then go through New Year resolutions while some others use that day to dodge landlords who would knock on their doors for rent. Above all, it is usually uneventful because people just sit around and don’t do anything on New Year day. It is as a result of this, I decided to come up with the Ali Baba January 1st Concert.”
Explaining what the concert is meant to achieve, Ali Baba says: “It is to give a total platform for the recognition for the comedy act. It is to reinforce the fact that it has come to stay. We have gradually come from the last on the list as comedians when the entertainment industry is being discussed to being the first on the list.
“Sometimes when events are being planned, we come first on the list. Gone are the days when people say we don’t want a comedian or when they have small money they would say they want to get a comedian for their event. Today, we have become either the third most recognised art in entertainment industry. After actors and musicians, the next act that you think of is comedy and it wasn’t so before.”
The comedy industry did not get to where it is today without the contributions of Ali Baba who has been able to de-emphasis himself and encouraged upcoming or faceless comedians to grow. In his bid to create room for younger comedians to thrive, Ali Baba has not been holding shows yearly.
Putting it in his words: “The reason why I don’t have events every year has been because my guys are doing well enough and a lot of them are doing well nearly every other months. I have been opportune to perform at some events with some of them. I believe that the essence of having some of them is that for the audience who enjoy our jokes to have a feel of their performance.”
It is not a surprise that at the Ali Baba January 1st Concert which held at the Eko Hotel & Suites Expo Hall, the first two hours of the show was devoted to showcasing the raw talents of some young and upcoming comedians and musicians. This was like some kind of appertiser or to use a more formal word, Starters, before the main menu was served.
The event offered a good platform for comedians to meet and interact with guests. It was a different comedy show for people who understand what it means to enjoy the art of comedy on a level different from the usual. It will not be wrong to say Ali Baba is good at putting together what the French would call haute comedie meaning high comedy in English. He has put comedy on the same scale as high end fashion, haute couture. “We put the show together for those who want something that match their taste,” he explains.
“This is because we believe that we can package something that would be different from others but still be relevant to the society that we are in. This is why we came up with the act in two parts. The first part was a review of the year 2014 where we reviewed events that took place in the year.
“For instance, issues like the ASUU strike, the deadline for the new number plate, Dora Akunyili’s passing on, Ekiti election, Chibok girls, National Conference, the bulletproof cars with the former minister of aviation Stella Oduah, doctors strike, NFF Saga.
“Other issues included a vehicle carrying some people and dropped near the Onitsha bridge, the collapse of Synagogue Church, the ‘bouillon van’ airplane that landed in South Africa, Falcons’ win, Linda Ikeji’s blog shutdown, lawmakers climbing fences, Nigeria at the World Cup, Arsenal going to win the premiership.
“Now the idea was the comedians who performed introduced one month that they have been assigned. They talked about events that took place in that month. The essence was for us to give a funny look at things that have happened in 2014. Definitely, we still had newspapers that chronicled the event of the year, but at the January 1st Concert, we went beyond the chronicle. We milked every humour that we could find in the events.”
Furthermore, what made Ali Baba’s January 1st offering unique was the roast and toast section of the show. “It was interesting how comedians roast and toast to people. They roast and toast those that need to be toasted. They might roast people who didn’t do well and toast to people who gave their life for the safety of Nigerians like the late Dr Stella Adadevoh. We also toast to people who have committed their lives to saving us like the soldiers of the Nigerian army.”
Ali Baba says the show kicked off with Jaywon’s song because of the evocation it contains. “Many people will agree with me that for New Year there is no greater song to celebrate the New Year than a Jaywon’s song. The song is beyond a musical song but a prayer – ‘we’re making money this year’ and for a lot of people it is getting into the range of Happy Birthday to you because everybody sings it as a prayer. I believe that song is nearly three years old,” he explains.
The other big part of this show is that six people were given awards because for being first in their field of endeavour. “These are people who have done something for this country and in the history of Africa. One of them is Wole Soyinka, the first Nobel Laureate. It was a January 1st Concert hence we decided to give the first awards. We also gave an award to the first female justice, also the first chartered account, that is Akintola Williams. We gave an award to Chioma Ajuwon not only being the first to win a gold medal for the country but being the first female.
To this end, through is career, Ali Baba has shown how sacrifice and creative dynamism can change a life as he has carved a niche for himself as a comedian for both corporate and non-corporate events. He is highly sought after by corporate organisations and individuals who can afford him to be Master of Ceremony at their events.
As his online profile aptly captures him: “Ali Baba made the rules, broke them and sometimes even discarded them depending on how effective they were. These days no event is considered complete without a Comedian to MC that event.”