Baba De Baba, in this exclusive interview with Nigeriafilms.com, told us what he feels about not getting endorsement deals at the moment and other issues.
Why have been active on social media than events?
People think you do nothing when they don’t see you at events, but that does not mean such person is not making money underground. We don’t make money by going to red carpet events. So, if you have not been seeing my face at events, it means I am making money somewhere else.
What else do you do aside comedy?
I’m an MC, I am also into event management and I have an artiste right now under me that I manage, which is why my face has been scarce. I have been very busy trying to promote the artiste named Melody H. We just shot his video.
People have wondered why comedians repeat jokes; any reason for that?
If you talk about comedians recycling jokes, there are comedians who don’t have jokes and what they do is to listen to people’s jokes just the way you have live bands. Recently, it was all over the news that I fought with a guy for recycling jokes. Now, it is left for you journalists to keep writing and talking about it because some of them think people don’t care but we know people care.
I know of a company I would have worked for, but they declined working with me because of issue of recycling jokes they had with others before me. In fact, they stopped using comedians for their jobs. It is affecting the business. It is now the duty of journalists to keep questioning why these jokes are being recycled. This will push comedians to be creative.
But why don’t you have endorsement deals?
Endorsement deals? How many comedians have been endorsed? We have over one thousand comedians in Nigeria and those that boast of such deals are not up to five. Now this is it, people were not really appreciating comedy until now. We just have to be original to get these things. Initially, it started with acting then to music and now it is comedy. I just believe with time, we will get more comedians getting endorsement deals.
What did you actually study in school?
I studied Computer Science and I am also a trained journalist. I went to Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) to study Journalism.
So why comedy?
I have actually wanted to be an entertainer, especially an actor because I used to be very funny in church. At a point, the drama group leader became envious of me because I was very popular in my church. I was then known as Chidi. Most times, he asked me to act the role of an evil spirit so that I mask my face for people not to see me. But when I mount the stage and speak, people start to shout my name. Though I tried going into acting, but I was duped at auditions. It was the frustration that led me into comedy and within a short time, I appeared on television.
Is comedy paying off now?
By God’s grace.
When was your first romantic relationship?
I had my first girlfriend in 2004, when my mum died. I met the lady at the mortuary, where I was supposed to be crying, but I was admiring somebody (laughs). She came with my mother’s relations to condole with me. We dated for like two years, but I never slept with her. We did not even have time for each other because she was staying at Obalanle while I was living at Maryland as a house help. So, there was no way we could see except when my boss was not around.
In the instances where we met, I stole money to visit her. When I get to her place, we just stay outside to talk.
When did you now first sleep with a woman?
(Laughs), well, I’m not supposed to discuss this, but it was in 2007. However, the lady said I did not do it well, but to me, I did it with all my heart. I did not even initially know where to insert my ‘thing’.
So, who have actually worked as a house boy before!
Yes, that was what brought me to Lagos.
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