Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, widely known as Alibaba, a veteran Nigerian comedian and actor, has described how his father kept malice with him for a decade for choosing comedy over law.
This was revealed by Alibaba during an interview on The Honest Bunch Podcast, presented by media personality Nedu.
Alibaba stated that after graduating from university, he informed his father of his desire to become a comedian, and his father’s reaction pushed him to flee, emphasizing that all attempts to approach his father were futile.
He stated that he got resolved to become a successful comic in order to prove his father wrong.
“My father is a bookworm,” he explained. He received his PhD at the age of 86. I remarked to him, ‘Daddy, I came from school to tell you something.’ ‘Okay, have you been rusticated?’ he asked. ‘No,’ I responded. I’ve decided I don’t want to study the legislation. ‘I want to do stand-up comedy.’
‘Comedy like what?’ he inquired. I said, ‘Like cracking jokes.’ He smiled and instructed my younger brother to contact my uncle, who lived nearby. When my uncle arrived, he asked what was wrong, and I told him I didn’t want to read law again because I wanted to do comedy. He stated that this means I’ve found another father, emphasizing that I can’t be a part of the family and will not study the legislation.
He claimed that all of my father’s money spent on me was a waste. He left, telling my father to handle the situation.
“I knew I couldn’t sleep there because my father would beat me.” So, while my uncle was leaving, I followed him to the burglary and did not return. And I didn’t talk to my father from 1988 until 1998. It’s been ten years. I attempted to contact him. “This was the thing. I went to talk to him one time, but he didn’t want to see me.” People often ask, ‘Where did you get the inspiration to become such a brilliant comedian?’ I was all in. I was thinking, “I want to prove him [my father] wrong.”