I’m strongly of the opinion that the Nigerian comedy industry is just as woefully unimaginative as Nollywood. But, unlike movies, comedy is relatively accessible and made even more ubiquitous via the platform of social media. It’s not uncommon for Nigerian stand-up comedians to craft sexist, ableist, misogynistic, homophobic jokes during their live sets, so when Chisom Paula posted an AY Live Lagos video from 2014 on her Instagram, showing the comedian spewing vile homophobia masquerading as comedy, I wasn’t really surprised.
Paula, who identifies as a social media manager and consultant, was returning from Lagos to Owerri when she saw the homophobic video playing in the bus she was travelling in. And had to write an open letter to AY Makun on Instagram, using the hashtags #LoveIsLove, #HumanEquality, #NoHate.
The video is extremely vile, promoting violence against an already marginalised, dehumanised LGBTQ group in Nigeria. I couldn’t watch it to the end. Bearing in mind that most Nigerian comics don’t churn out intelligent, thought-provoking material, or even attempt to elevate the craft, Makun is somewhat of a misnomer. There’s the vast public opinion that he is unfunny, and rightfully so. Makun can’t crack a joke to save his life.
Marginalised communities in Nigeria have long been a rich comedic resource, go-to tropes for the talentless bunch of comics. Like Nollywood, Nigerian comedy is still a joke (pun intended).
When Bernard Dayo isn’t writing about pop culture, he’s watching horror movies and reading comics and trying to pretend his addiction to Netflix isn’t a serious condition.
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