Koffi: Jack of one trade, master of all

[SunNews]

By DAMIETE BRAIDE and RACHAEL AGUNTA

He is a man of many parts – a comedian, musician, master of ceremony, writer, producer and director, all rolled into one. Like he described himself, Koffi Idowu Nuel is indeed "a Jack of one trade, master of all". The first child of a Togolese mother and Nigerian father, Kofi, who studied Chemistry at University of Lagos, opened up to TS Weekend on his life, family and career. Enjoy it.

 

How would you describe yourself, a comedian, musician or actor? 

I am an entertainer. I ply my trade through comedy and music. I am also an actor; I write, produce and direct movies, that qualifies me as an all round entertainer. In fact, I am Jack of one trade –entertainment – and master of all the different departments.

 

You studied Chemistry, what has Chemistry got to do with comedy?

Well, as it is, talents abound and sometimes you get to make do with it and excel at it. I was studying Chemistry and at the same time, was in Theatre 15 in UNILAG where I was learning the rudiments of stage. From there, it occurred to everyone around that I was a comedian who could trade with it. Even before I joined Theatre 15, I used to do MC at little gigs for friends. But then, it started getting serious from my third year and by fourth year, I was already getting paid as a comedian and master of ceremony. By the time I finished school, there was no time going into the labs as a chemist. I just took to comedy and entertainment as a full trade.

 

So, how has life been generally?

Life has been splendid, unique and fantastic. I have no complains nor regrets. I have no looking over the shoulder moments. I am as fulfilled as I want to be. For me, I hold three things very dear and they are: God, family and my work. To be honest, I feel much fulfilled in all these areas and that is enough for me.

 

Stand up comedy seems to be the fastest means of expression among comedians nowadays...? 

Back in the day, you have to do a lot of drama sketches and sitcoms to express humour. Masters of ceremonies were known to be short, snappy and straight to the point, but now, it has all changed because comedy has evolved into compeering and mastering ceremonies, so it has joined both worlds.

For you to be a comedian you must have etiquettes and good use of language, so standup comedy for me still has a long way to go. We still need to really understand the use of English in modern times. Although, we speak a lot of Pidgin English in Nigeria but the clientele that we service sometimes expect us to be more eloquent than just Pidgin English. In those areas, we need to do a lot more so that we can be at par with international comedians.

 

Stealing of jokes is rampart among comedians, have you ever stolen somebody's jokes?

Stealing jokes is not synonymous with Kofi and everybody knows because I have been in the forefront of fighting against the infringement of people's intellectual property by using their jokes consistently like the jokes belong to them. It is not wrong if you go to a private function and you find a reference material to use. Great people and great minds quote ideas but when you sit on somebody's intellectual property like it belongs to you, I find it very wrong, especially when you perform it at big galleries, even in the presence of the owner. You must have something in mind before going on the stage, so I find it very annoying when that happens. Based on that, I have never and I can stand and state categorically that I have never stolen anybody's jokes and I will never steal anybody's jokes.

 

Has anybody stolen yours?

I have been through a lot of that in recent times but it is not a big deal. God always gives and replenishes so that we are able to produce a lot more.  I have been trying to curb it but I find it difficult and I have left it. I have noticed that the audiences are beginning to notice it and are feeling a bit unhappy about it. Initially, it used to be us complaining but now, the audiences are now complaining.

 

If you are not into comedy what else would you have done?

I would have been a teacher. I like to teach and impart knowledge. I like to transfer ideas and talents. If I hadn't turned out to be an entertainer, if I were to come out of school and start looking for jobs, I would have opened a private lesson center and be teaching kids in the neighborhood. It may sound funny but I would have been so contented with it.

 

Did you take after your father or mother?

My mum is a very serious person. My dad is a bit easy. I grew up with my dad and he was very strict. He had an aristocratic behavior. It is now that I am older that I realized that it was just to keep me in check. My parents are quite easy people. It came as a shock to them that I turned out to be an entertainer. I was naughty as a child but they never saw me becoming an entertainer. They saw me in the creative way because I was always trying to fix things. I was fixing everything in the house. I did a lot of bad things as a child. I was always doing the things my parents asked me not to do.

 

So, you played a lot of pranks as a kid?

I went for crab hunting and once got bitten by crabs. I also went to play football when I didn't know how to and I got wounds all over my legs. That day, my mum used hot water to dab the wounds. There was also one time I went fishing, I got little fishes and when I got home, my mum beat the hell out of me and asked me to eat the fish. I have at one time or the other gone to catch worms. To be honest, I did nasty things that when I look back now, I laugh.

 

What was your parents' reaction to your choice of career?

Initially, when I was doing drama in school, my mum was worried. She was in the campus but she didn't know what I was doing but her colleagues were telling her about me. We never agreed. At a time, my grades started dropping and she came to the department to ask what was happening and one lecturer told her not to worry that I knew what I was doing. I kept on at it and by the time I finished I had an extra semester. I waited to do the carry over only for me to fail the same course again. All that time, God was preparing me for this. By the time I was doing the second extra, I was making money from gigs. I had saved money to buy a camera and I shot my first video.

When I got my NYSC letter, my mum was the first to dissuade me from going to serve. She said I already had a job so I should not waste my time serving. That is an irony of life. Initially, she was not happy but later, she supported me fully. Before you knew it, I rented my own house, bought a car while my mates were still trying to find their feet. My dad from the onset said I should do whatever I wanted to do with my life. My father suffered a lot so he understood that the tide of life takes a man to wherever it deems fit.

 

You are also an actor and producer, how many movies have you done?

My first movie was The Two Black Birds, the second was Mumu and Nanny is my third movie where I played the role of nanny. Nanny is about a young man who is trying to make ends meet by all means possible and he finds an avenue to get a job. If he takes up the job and disguises himself as a woman, he is assured that he would have a roof over his head and would be able to eat three square meals. That brings about humour but the underlying factor is that you hear of ridiculous stories, desperate things happening on a daily basis and it is all about Nanny, a graduate who has no job but takes the job of a nanny to make ends meet.

 

Why do you infuse humour into your movies and music?

I am a humourist. As much as I would have loved to be a teacher, I ended up being an entertainer. I find it quite natural that no matter what, people know me as a comedian. I like to impact knowledge in any way possible through comedy. However, I try to do serious music, when you watch the musical video, then you would see the humour in it, but when you listen to the songs, you will hear me sing seriously. A doctor must always be a doctor, no matter what I do, I am a comedian and there must be some form of humour in it.

 

Comedy and music, which is more lucrative for you?

Music is not lucrative yet. It is not my main project. I only use it to drive the brand in other directions. Comedy is more lucrative. If I record a comedy programme in Nigeria with English, Pidgin or even Yoruba, it has its audience. The man who does not understand any of the languages might not understand the jokes. He might just be watching me blank on the screen. But music has a powerful energy that nobody understands. Every human being loves music and can sing. It was when I discovered and realized that music crosses boundaries that I went into it to pass certain messages. Through music, I can reach a million people but not a million people can come to my shows. That is why I do music but comedy pays my bills.

 

Have you been toasted by a woman?

From day one, I have always been the one to toast women. I am a professional. I like to keep things very professional. People get to see that serious aspect of me. At one point, ladies were scared to come to me because they saw me as someone who's always frowning. When they found out that I was into a relationship for seven years before finally getting married to the same lady, they marveled. I have fans that come up to tell me that they like my job and we keep it at that. For relationship, I don't give room for that. When I started entertainment, it was my wife and I who used to go to events together. People knew the two of us as an item. All our friends are the same friends. Whoever sees me knows that she will be there with me. We established that from the onset.

 

What attracted you to her?

Well, her intellect and simple nature and the way she carried herself. She is a very simple, sweet girl. Prior to when I met her, I vowed never to date any girl in UNILAG. I hated UNILAG girls because of their pompousness. Later, I met my wife through another friend. I went to do a small project for a friend and after the event, we greeted, I played a bit with them and then slept off.  She later told me that she hated me that night when I slept off. She said she was surprised to see a comedian that would just sleep off. Later, we became friends and from there, we started sharing ideas and reading together. She is slim and flat. There was nothing attractive but later I started seeing the beauty in her. Most guys would look out for beauty at first meeting but I never looked for that. We dated for seven years until I proposed to her.

 

How did you propose?

I wrote it on a paper. I don't know how to toast so I had to write it on a paper that we could be more than friends.

 

How do you relax?

I listen to music a lot and it helps me. I am not the out-going type, I am an introvert and it helps me. I find solace in my books. I don't hangout; I am always at home. I also relax by writing.

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