Veteran stand-up comedian, Atunyota Akpobome, aka Ali Baba, has stated that when he learnt that his wife was expecting triplets, he felt a mix of emotions.
In an interview with Saturday Beats, he said, “I felt indifferent, but I was also happy.”
Expressing concern over the exclusion of the entertainment and creative industry from a five-year forecast of the Nigerian economy by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group two years ago, Alibaba said, “A booklet of about 200 pages containing a forecast of the Nigerian economy was done and the creative industry was not considered. I think the people who were in the Nigerian Economic Summit Group then were badly advised. But, they have started setting up sub-committees to look into it. It was a great oversight that should not have been allowed. And, it is because many of the sectors are overlooked. (How can) you overlook a sector that makes more money than some insurance companies, and advertising agencies? Even advertising agencies are part of the creative industry. It’s sad, but I believe all that is being corrected.”
The funnyman also noted that corruption was a far more serious issue in Nigeria compared to the moral controversies raised by skit makers and content creators. He said, “The thing is that your moral yardstick is not gauged by skit makers or content creators. It is based on parental control, government policies, and the educational systems. It is what the society does that is mirrored. For instance, the boy who is making skits about prostitution is not the one who caused it. That does not mean they should promote it all the time though. But, when you have people surviving in corruption and nothing is done to them, have any of those things being banned? No! But, morality is now the big issue when corruption is a bigger problem. Is the girl who is dancing naked on social media worse than the man who is stealing N2bn in office?”
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