Godfather of Nigerian comedy, Ali
Baba, has shared the secrets of his success story with TS Weekend,
The comedian disclosed that his
father wanted him to be a lawyer and would stop at nothing to make his son one
but his passion for comedy put both of them on collusion course. Things finally
got so bad that he had to run away from home to Lagos, to actualize his dream.
And when Ali Baba finally hit Lagos,
he sought and got sanctuary in an uncle’s home but was later kicked out from
there. He recalls: “I came to Lagos to do comedy in 1999. Today, I am a
billionaire and I have made people millionaires. It’s all about the passion.
Once upon a time I chose to pursue a career in comedy, which was in contrast to
my father’s dream for me. He wanted me to be a lawyer but I wanted to do comedy
and I was passionate about it. Consequently, when he realized I wouldn’t budge,
my dad rejected and abandoned me!”
Parental opposition
Like every parent back in the day,
his dad believed if the future godfather of comedy became a lawyer, he would be
wealthy and be able to take care of his family. And so he insisted as early as
possible and drummed it into his head that he must study Law.
“My dad felt that the best career
for me was Law. I wanted to prove to him that comedy is better than Law. I
am a graduate but I chose to pursue comedy because I had a dream. As soon
as my dad realized that I was hell bent on pursuing comedy, he disowned me. In
fact, he stopped sponsoring my education!”
However, Ali Baba was not
discouraged. He picked up the pieces of his life and moved to Lagos armed
with only the clothes on his back and a vision to excel. But the dream that his
uncle would take him in evaporated like dew on a sunny morning when the man
threw him out of his home. And so, young Ali Baba became a hippie as he was
forced to move to the popular Lagos Bar Beach. The year was 1990.
Recalling those trying moments, the
comedian states: “After I moved to Lagos, my uncle threw me out of his
house. I moved to the Bar Beach where I lived for a very long while. At
the beach, I met Lati Kekere who was nice to me. He is still
my friend to this
day.
He gave me a tent to sleep and I paid him N5 per night. After a while, things
started picking up and I went to my uncle’s place to take
my things. My washman became my wardrobe; I left all my
clothes with him.
From
there, I trekked to NTA every day. I was on Youth Scene, Youth Rendezvous
and the Sunday Show. I was prepared, I wanted
Information age
Ali Baba disclosed that one thing he
discovered early in life was the importance of communication. Then, there were
no mobile phones but pagers were the rave and he knew that if he had to
succeed, he would need to have information at his fingertips and so he went for
a pager. A while later, however, Bar Beach was overtaken by miscreants and he
had to relocate.
“I got a pager then,” he says,
“there were no mobile phones so I was communicating with my clients on my
pager. However, at a point, Bar Beach was no longer the peaceful haven it
used to be. Lati had left and prostitutes, pimps and robbers were taking
over so, I moved over to Yabatech. Every day, I trekked to NTA from Yabatech
where I squatted with a friend. It was quite a distance but I had a dream
that was bigger than the journey. I was committed to my dream. On the
side, I made money doing stand-up comedy and by virtue of my pink forms at
NTA, by 1998 I had earned over N50, 000.”
Gradually Ali saved up enough money
and moved into a three bedroom rented apartment and before he knew it, he had
started a revolution that would inspire the likes of Julius Agwu, Basket Mouth,
Opa Williams, AY and TEE A among a host of others.
Rumours
Tales that still baffle the comedian
to this day were newspapers reports that he was living on his ex-wife. He
quips: “I find it so ridiculous. People kept saying that I was living off
my wife but it was not true. Yes, she had money, earning as much as N2 million
a month where she worked but I was making more money, earning as much as
N2 million per show. I bought her an SUV and made sure she had everything
she wanted. To this day, we are very good friends and I still pay her.
“Where you’re coming from has
nothing to do with where you’re going. It is your sheer determination that
will take you there. Identify the tools that you need. The only way you
can make it is to be prepared so that when opportunity comes, you will be
ready. If you’re not where the opportunity is because you don’t have
information, you’re wasting your time. My dad taught me these lessons as
far back as 1977.”
According to Ali Baba, though the
country is going through some difficult times, it’s no excuse for youths to be
lazy and laid back. Rather, they should look inwards and improve their lots by
tapping into the unique talents God has bestowed on them.
“I did not need government to give
me an enabling environment; I created my own. When I started doing stand-up
comedy, some people laughed at me. I remember late Mohammed Danjuma told
me comedy would never work. He would rather stick to his job as an MC.
However, as time rolled by, corporate bodies would invite us for events.
Danjuma would be the MC and pocket N50, 000 while I would go home
with N200, 000 as a stand-up comedian. Within a short while, Danjuma
realized that comedy was the way forward and before I could say Jackie
Robinson, he was doing comedy as well.
“I grew up in Ojo Cantonment, Lagos,
but I had dreams and goals and what I was
going through did not matter. It’s all about the passion. We
want people to do things for us but what have you done for yourself? As I
speak to you, I have a property worth N300 million for sale in Lekki and I
have moved to Queens Drive, Ikoyi, into a house I bought with my own
money. You too could achieve this if you believe in your dreams.”
For Ali Baba, to make it in life one
needs education, information, communication, humility, hard work,
experience of others and opportunity to excel. “Believe in yourself. You
have to decide on charting a course. Your journey must achieve its purpose,” he
says with passion.
Best of friends
Today, Ali Baba and his dad are the
best of friends. The comedian disclosed that it took 15 years for his
father to forgive him. Relating the anecdote he said: “My father and I were not
on talking terms for 15
years.
My decision to follow my heart was responsible for that. People will tell
him, ‘your son, Ali Baba is always on TV. He is making a lot
of money. Why don’t you forgive him? But he would reply, ‘Ali Baba is not
my son. I have no child by that name.’ The time for reconciliation came in
2005. I bought him a Mercedes Benz SLK and took it to the village along
with my friends. We moved in a convoy of cars. He was surprised when I told
him, ‘dad, this is your car,’ and for the first time in 15 years, my dad
finally recognized my success when he shouted, ‘Ali Baba! Ali Baba!’ That
was my happiest moment.”
To the comedian, success goes beyond
the individual. “If you are successful and you’re not touching lives,
you’re a failure,” he says. “If you’re a millionaire and you’re not making
millionaires, you’re a failure! AY has made more comedians than I have
made. The same thing goes for Basket Mouth and they all stayed with me
once upon a time.”
My success principles
Ali Baba goes on to reveal the 10
principles that a person must stick to, to achieve success. Hear him: “What I
am about to reveal to you are the secrets of my success which my dad taught
me in 1977. Corporate bodies pay me millions to share these secrets with
their staff. Number one is that your career must provide shelter for you. Two,
your
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