It has been described as the best, the biggest and funniest comedy shows to hit the Nigerian shore in 2013. In fact, in scale, novelty and razzmatazz, there has been nothing like it in Africa. Yes, it was a new definition in showbiz as telecoms giant, Globacom kept fun lovers laughing and giggling to hilarious jokes dished out by the best comedians on the continent
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Traversing 10 cities across the country, the comedy train kicked off from Lagos and moved to Abuja, Benin, Calabar, Uyo, Port Harcourt, Abakaliki, Enugu, Asaba, and then anchored in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State for the last dosage of comedic entertainment. Complimenting the best of comedy was music from Nigeria’s biggest stars that kept the audiences at the different venues on their feet for hours.
Globacom, which prides itself as the network of stars, had in September 2013 announced plans to hold the biggest comedy show in Africa as part of its 10th anniversary celebration. And true to its promise, top Nigerian stand-up comedians led four of their counterparts from America, two from South Africa, and one from East Africa to perform at the Glo Laffta Fest show tagged: ‘Invasion LOL’.
The expectation was, therefore, high and the excitement palpable. But then, Glo did not disappoint as it lived up to its rating by serenading Nigerians at the maiden edition in Lagos on October 19, 2013. The crowd that gathered at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos venue of the show was mammoth. As early as 2pm., fun lovers started trooping in for the event billed to commence at 6pm and this prompted the organizers to open the gates earlier than scheduled.
Flag off
At exactly 6.10pm, Nigeria’s leading comedian, Basketmouth, mounted the beautiful and glittering stage to make history by flagging off the biggest comedy show on the continent. By the time the curtain was drawn on the show, 20 powerful Nigerian and international artistes had rocked the Africa’s biggest comedy platform. The American quartet of Donnivin Jordan, Robert Powell, Deray Davis and Tony Robbers featured alongside the duo of Ndumiso Lindi and David Kau of South Africa as well as the best merchant of jokes from Uganda, Salvador. 11 Nigerian comedians and two musicians including Wande Coal and the masked man, Lagbaja joined the international artistes at the evening of fun.
With DJ Jimmy Jatt manning the jukebox and Basketmouth coordinating the proceedings, legendary Alli Baba, Okey Bakassi and Julius Agwu performed alongside equally talented youngsters like Bovi, Buchi, Gandoki, Akpororo, Funny Bone, Senator and Osama, all dishing out jokes on contemporary issues and day-to- day activities of the common man.
The spontaneity of the jokes by the Nigerians was well matched by the dramatization of American, South African and East African experiences of the foreign artistes. Ugandan sensation, Salvado, recounted the notoriety of a village rascal in his native Ugbokolo village, named Ladeja, who played pranks on his teachers. The Nigerian audience drew inference from there with the common rascality of Akpos.
The Americans praised Globacom for bringing them to Nigeria nay Africa for the first time in their career while the South Africans thanked the company for providing them with a huge platform to showcase their talent. According to Salvador, he was meeting real Americans for the first time “as all I have been seeing back in Uganda is having my fellow countrymen traveling to America for a few weeks and coming back home with Indian accent.”
Unforgettable
With the curtain drawn on Lagos, the show moved to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and literally set it on fire as Globacom unleashed on the city undiluted Afropop tunes from ‘Bottom Belle’ exponent, Omawumi, who performed alongside rapper MI, and sensational twins, Peter and Paul Okoye of P-Square fame.
Yet unforgettable were cities such as Owerri, Port Harcourt, Benin, Abakaliki, Enugu, Uyo, Asaba and Ibadan, which were held spellbound by the delivery of the artistes and the aesthetics of the set. In Abakaliki, Bovi’s comparison of the typical Nigerian political rally with that of the United States and the flawless Barak Obama inflection were the highlights of the night as the crowd cheered endlessly, wondering if he was playing a pre-recorded Obama rhetoric.
The audience could not have bargained for more as they were given the opportunity of watching their idols such as Flavour, Waje, Chee The Voice, Bez, Burna Boy, Naeto C, D’banj, Lagbaja, P-Square, Omawumi, MI and Lynxx perform live free of charge. Scratch box masters like DJ XGee, DJ Tops and Jimmy Jatt dished out different lyrics to spice up the shows.
Glorious end
Glo Laffta Fest came to a glorious end in Ibadan, and for the residents, it was an entertaining Christmas as Globacom locked down the city with a bumper show that paraded 17 Nigerian and international artistes in one single swoop.
Indications that the show would be the talk of the town for months to come emerged in the afternoon as the audience started trooping into the venue in large numbers. By 5pm, the expansive hall of the famous Kakanfo Inn had been packed to the brim, and not sparing the perimeter foyers, just as thousands who could not get a space in the hall made use of the large screen mounted outside and beaming the show live.
The side attractions came from the dancing competition which was not limited to any age or sex just as the sensational and energetic choreography by the Quba Dancing Company provided a needed tonic to animate the cheering crowd. Jimmy Jatt was simply on fire as he scratched and blended the hottest vibes in a manner that got virtually everybody in the hall rocking and grooving.
The Ibadan leg of the show anchored by Baskemouth also paraded other stars like Gbenga Adeyinka, Bovi, Seyi Law, Bash, Akpororo, Osama, Akapella, Odogwu, Omobaba and Ajebaba. All the acts found an object of interest peculiar to Ibadan to peg their comedy sessions while the crowd were amazed to see Warri boy, Akpororo thrilling them in flawless Yoruba.
The ancient city equally had the opportunity of enjoying good jokes from Ugandan comedian, Salvador, who entertained the audiences with the nuances of the people in his native Ugbokolo village. A comic character, Lagbeja, was again the hero of his jokes. Thought to be a dullard, Lagbeja sometimes threw punch lines that bewildered his teachers and colleagues. At the end of his segment, Salvador thanked Globacom for making 2013 the most memorable in his career by featuring him in all the Laffta Fest shows. The comedian had won the silverware when Nigerians adjudged him as the best among the foreigners that performed.
The trio of Lynxx, Burna Boy and MI, aided by the dexterity of Jimmy Jatt and DJ Lambo, turned the venue into a dance hall. And the crowd rocked with them. Burna Boy particularly had a great show as he won the overwhelming sentiment of the crowd. He brought down the roof when he sang, ‘Ni Ibadan Ni Won Bi Mi Si O’. It was like a clarion call. Almost everybody in the hall got up and sang with him till he ended his session.
Blazoning pyrotechnics, triggered simultaneously with a blizzard of confetti, heralded MI on stage as the last act of the night, and of course, the 10-week sensational show. Basketmouth and the cast of comedians joined MI as he did the last song, took a bow and thanked the crowd for making the evening and the entire Glo Laffta Fest a huge success
Traversing 10 cities across the country, the comedy train kicked off from Lagos and moved to Abuja, Benin, Calabar, Uyo, Port Harcourt, Abakaliki, Enugu, Asaba, and then anchored in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State for the last dosage of comedic entertainment. Complimenting the best of comedy was music from Nigeria’s biggest stars that kept the audiences at the different venues on their feet for hours.
Globacom, which prides itself as the network of stars, had in September 2013 announced plans to hold the biggest comedy show in Africa as part of its 10th anniversary celebration. And true to its promise, top Nigerian stand-up comedians led four of their counterparts from America, two from South Africa, and one from East Africa to perform at the Glo Laffta Fest show tagged: ‘Invasion LOL’.
The expectation was, therefore, high and the excitement palpable. But then, Glo did not disappoint as it lived up to its rating by serenading Nigerians at the maiden edition in Lagos on October 19, 2013. The crowd that gathered at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos venue of the show was mammoth. As early as 2pm., fun lovers started trooping in for the event billed to commence at 6pm and this prompted the organizers to open the gates earlier than scheduled.
Flag off
At exactly 6.10pm, Nigeria’s leading comedian, Basketmouth, mounted the beautiful and glittering stage to make history by flagging off the biggest comedy show on the continent. By the time the curtain was drawn on the show, 20 powerful Nigerian and international artistes had rocked the Africa’s biggest comedy platform. The American quartet of Donnivin Jordan, Robert Powell, Deray Davis and Tony Robbers featured alongside the duo of Ndumiso Lindi and David Kau of South Africa as well as the best merchant of jokes from Uganda, Salvador. 11 Nigerian comedians and two musicians including Wande Coal and the masked man, Lagbaja joined the international artistes at the evening of fun.
With DJ Jimmy Jatt manning the jukebox and Basketmouth coordinating the proceedings, legendary Alli Baba, Okey Bakassi and Julius Agwu performed alongside equally talented youngsters like Bovi, Buchi, Gandoki, Akpororo, Funny Bone, Senator and Osama, all dishing out jokes on contemporary issues and day-to- day activities of the common man.
The spontaneity of the jokes by the Nigerians was well matched by the dramatization of American, South African and East African experiences of the foreign artistes. Ugandan sensation, Salvado, recounted the notoriety of a village rascal in his native Ugbokolo village, named Ladeja, who played pranks on his teachers. The Nigerian audience drew inference from there with the common rascality of Akpos.
The Americans praised Globacom for bringing them to Nigeria nay Africa for the first time in their career while the South Africans thanked the company for providing them with a huge platform to showcase their talent. According to Salvador, he was meeting real Americans for the first time “as all I have been seeing back in Uganda is having my fellow countrymen traveling to America for a few weeks and coming back home with Indian accent.”
Unforgettable
With the curtain drawn on Lagos, the show moved to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and literally set it on fire as Globacom unleashed on the city undiluted Afropop tunes from ‘Bottom Belle’ exponent, Omawumi, who performed alongside rapper MI, and sensational twins, Peter and Paul Okoye of P-Square fame.
Yet unforgettable were cities such as Owerri, Port Harcourt, Benin, Abakaliki, Enugu, Uyo, Asaba and Ibadan, which were held spellbound by the delivery of the artistes and the aesthetics of the set. In Abakaliki, Bovi’s comparison of the typical Nigerian political rally with that of the United States and the flawless Barak Obama inflection were the highlights of the night as the crowd cheered endlessly, wondering if he was playing a pre-recorded Obama rhetoric.
The audience could not have bargained for more as they were given the opportunity of watching their idols such as Flavour, Waje, Chee The Voice, Bez, Burna Boy, Naeto C, D’banj, Lagbaja, P-Square, Omawumi, MI and Lynxx perform live free of charge. Scratch box masters like DJ XGee, DJ Tops and Jimmy Jatt dished out different lyrics to spice up the shows.
Glorious end
Glo Laffta Fest came to a glorious end in Ibadan, and for the residents, it was an entertaining Christmas as Globacom locked down the city with a bumper show that paraded 17 Nigerian and international artistes in one single swoop.
Indications that the show would be the talk of the town for months to come emerged in the afternoon as the audience started trooping into the venue in large numbers. By 5pm, the expansive hall of the famous Kakanfo Inn had been packed to the brim, and not sparing the perimeter foyers, just as thousands who could not get a space in the hall made use of the large screen mounted outside and beaming the show live.
The side attractions came from the dancing competition which was not limited to any age or sex just as the sensational and energetic choreography by the Quba Dancing Company provided a needed tonic to animate the cheering crowd. Jimmy Jatt was simply on fire as he scratched and blended the hottest vibes in a manner that got virtually everybody in the hall rocking and grooving.
The Ibadan leg of the show anchored by Baskemouth also paraded other stars like Gbenga Adeyinka, Bovi, Seyi Law, Bash, Akpororo, Osama, Akapella, Odogwu, Omobaba and Ajebaba. All the acts found an object of interest peculiar to Ibadan to peg their comedy sessions while the crowd were amazed to see Warri boy, Akpororo thrilling them in flawless Yoruba.
The ancient city equally had the opportunity of enjoying good jokes from Ugandan comedian, Salvador, who entertained the audiences with the nuances of the people in his native Ugbokolo village. A comic character, Lagbeja, was again the hero of his jokes. Thought to be a dullard, Lagbeja sometimes threw punch lines that bewildered his teachers and colleagues. At the end of his segment, Salvador thanked Globacom for making 2013 the most memorable in his career by featuring him in all the Laffta Fest shows. The comedian had won the silverware when Nigerians adjudged him as the best among the foreigners that performed.
The trio of Lynxx, Burna Boy and MI, aided by the dexterity of Jimmy Jatt and DJ Lambo, turned the venue into a dance hall. And the crowd rocked with them. Burna Boy particularly had a great show as he won the overwhelming sentiment of the crowd. He brought down the roof when he sang, ‘Ni Ibadan Ni Won Bi Mi Si O’. It was like a clarion call. Almost everybody in the hall got up and sang with him till he ended his session.
Blazoning pyrotechnics, triggered simultaneously with a blizzard of confetti, heralded MI on stage as the last act of the night, and of course, the 10-week sensational show. Basketmouth and the cast of comedians joined MI as he did the last song, took a bow and thanked the crowd for making the evening and the entire Glo Laffta Fest a huge success
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