KOFFI: HOW COMEDY CAN ALLEVIATE UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

Koffi

To the average person in contemporary Nigeria, at the mention of the name: Koffi, comedy, laughter, fun and more fun comes to mind. Until a recent encounter with him, like many people, one was oblivious of the fact that this gifted artiste knows far more than just stand-up comedy.

His voice filled the room as he started speaking. He could easily be shortlisted in any broadcast audition. With a business-like look he responded to questions in such a swift, eloquent yet calm manner that leave one truly convinced that this chap knows his onions and is fully abreast with happenings in the entertainment sector and beyond.

Born in Nigeria to a Nigerian dad and Togolese mom, Koffi Idowu-Nuel (AKA Koffi Tha Guru) in this exclusive chat spoke about his formative years, professional style, his works and more…

His introduction really show his versatility in the entertainment industry, a feat very few in contemporary Nigeria ca boast of.

“I am Nigeria’s most versatile comedian, actor, singer, producer, director and ‘Righter’ (like a human rights activist) I am a ‘righter’ of wrongs. Anything I see that is wrong, I talk about it in my own way, through comedy, through music, the things I write and on every platform I have. I am trying to see that this new generation does not entirely go astray because we are losing a lot of values in our society. That’s who I am.”

Koffi Tha Guru

Koffi tha Guru is a unique brand. Besides his usual laugh-laugh stuff, he comes a tinge of instruction laced with philosophy.

“Most comedians are seen as social commentator, some do it strictly just to entertain. But I am different. I make sure that by the time I leave the stage, I leave you with a message. I leave you with something to think about, something to reflect upon.”

He seemed so comfortable and happy with his comedy style that he compared it to teaching. “People always ask me what I would have been if not a comedian. I tell them I would have been a teacher. I like to use my medium to express responsible thoughts.”

As he spoke he continually displayed mien of a top executive, board room guru. The voice, the attention, body language, and movement. I was in actual sense sitting before a different Koffi. This one appeared so coordinated, very well-informed, blunt and a straight-to-the-point kind of Koffi. One could not but ask him if he had always known he would be a comedian?

“I didn’t know I was going to be a comedian. I think fate and life happened and this is God’s wish I am not a man who pursued a particular vocation. The only think I wished to be was to be a pharmacist. When I was in JSS 3, and preparing to write my junior secondary examination, I lost one of my aunts. I asked myself why someone should just die of tuberculosis. I felt it was my duty to grow up and right those wrongs. I need to be able to create an antidote. You when one are young he normally has a lot of pipe dreams.”

Albeit very good in the arts, he still wanted to be a pharmacist. Advice from parents fell on deaf hears as he proceeded to sciences. Professional destination was still Pharmacy but JAMB, the Nigerian university entrance examination was not as favorable as expected hence he got admitted to read Chemistry at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

As fate would have it, it was while studying Chemistry at UNILAG that the journey into the realms of entertainment commenced. “It was in the process of studying Chemistry that I discovered the stage and I joined “Theatre 15” in UNILAG. Here, I started grooming and learning the ropes of trying to be a better stage manager and master instead of doing it the normal ways I use to do it. You know, before school, I used to anchor small parties and events for my friends”.

All these while, people already knew him to be a jokester, a very funny guy. However, he didn’t foresee this was going to be a vocation. He just wanted to finish schooling and carry on with life. But before he graduated, he was already getting paid. He was already a made person. He just had to wait for the right time to blossom and that happened at the right time.

For Koffi, comedy started first. Shortly afterwards, he took interest in singing popular songs in funny ways. This also increased his fan base as they saw this act as an extension of his comedy.

Overtime, he seemed to have perfected the act of singing so well that Koffi Tha Guru have a music albums (called Ijinle – the 12^th commandment) to his credit. According to him, his next album, Collaborashun which promises to be a hit is a compilation of several songs he made with different people. The album will feature the likes of: Ali Baba Klint da Drunk, Stella Damasus, Ajasa, Nigga Raw Sound Sultan, Nomoloss, Bovi, Omobaba, Fatai Rollin’ Dollars, and so on. Collaborashun will be a 20 track compilation.

The artiste who will be 40 in the first quarter of 2017 believes “Music is an expression of fun and another medium to reach where comedy cannot reach. Comedy is language based and environment controlled. There is a limit to how I can handle comedy in Igbo-land. There is a limit to how I can handle comedy in Ghana but music crosses all barriers”. Drama also travels far. But comedy has limitations”.

Besides entertainment what else does he do? His response was quick and swift: “Nothing”. According to him he is almost always choked with things to do. “My companies run productions. We are involved in work day in day out. “If I am not doing my regular paid jobs (stand-up comedy, MC, etc) I will be involved in one form of production or another”.

His company, Workerman Entertainment, is on the verge of launching Nigeria’s first online comedy radio and television stations. They are also making serious efforts to open different platforms of entertainment in the country. One major achievement in this regards, is the monthly comedy show: Koffi Comedy Nite Live. This show comes up every last Saturday of the month at Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos by 6pm. Here, established and upcoming comedians are given the platform to express themselves.

Koffi believes that if well encouraged, comedy can be a major employer of Labour in Nigeria. “Comedy is the mainstay of a dead soul. If somebody is dying right now ad you give him the right doze of humour, he will come back alive. Doctors recognize the need of humour. It helps the body too pump blood. It help the rejuvenating processes. A man without laughter in his life is a dead man.

“If we encourage comedians in the right way, it will greatly solve the unemployment problem. I for instance produce a lot of programmes and I have the avenue to bring them out I will be able to produce more and enlighten people and give them much more. The more am able to do the more I will be able to employ. Wale Adenuga Production, for instance, how many people did they employ? A lot! With different programmes. So that’s what comedy can do.

“My company, Fun Media, is known for comedy content, we do anything that has to do with fun. So if we are encouraged, we would do, Ali Baba would do, Basket Mouth would do, Bovi would do, AY would do, Teju Baba Face would do. At this rate, do you know how many people we would be employing? So coed can actually alleviate some of the unemployment burden in the land just the same way Nollywood has done. Just the same way music has done. But no encouragement. We are still seen as sole entities because it is the same one guy that will come and crack all the jokes, sponsor himself, be the financier, be his own manager.

“In advanced countries the made comedians don’t even write their own jokes. They employ writers but here, a big shot comedian is stuck sometimes because in the process of running around for funds, venues, and everything, he is still the one to take care of his jokes”.

When asked to advise upcoming acts, Koffi gave a most unexpected response.

“I stopped advising upcoming people because at some point, I used to tell them don’t do this, don’t do that, but I now realized that I started sound like our fathers telling us don’t do this…, don’t do that… Rather you just need to encourage them to believe in that passion. Something you are saying is not right might be the vogue of the new age. For instance Baby Mama Syndrome is now acceptable. If you go out and start talking against it people will criticize you. Our fathers used to have several wives, we have just chosen not to. So the things you feel you should condemn is what society is celebrating. Nowadays, entertainment is for the mad, useless and crazy. They seem to celebrating stupid people more on social media than real people. So you don’t condemn anything anymore in the modern world.”

“I just tell every young person coming up, don’t try to be like Koffi. Aspire to be better than Koffi in that chosen field. Whatever I am doing that you are watching, do it better and let me learn from you again so that I can remain in business. We need to rub off on one another”.

He however, advised upcoming ones to apply the “P” principles:

Persevere-(You have to wait for your time)
Persistent-(You have to be resilient)
Prayer-(Put God first).

That’s the only way it can pay off. If you don’t do the first three “Ps” then you get another “P” that become a Problem. That‘s what I tell every young people. Follow these principles and everything will work well for you.