Nigerian comedian Gbenga Adeyinka, who has been under fire before now for reportedly not being funny, has accepted his fate and he revealed why he is hardly in attendance at other comedians shows in an interview with Saturday Beats.
According to him, his own shows are staged almost same time as those of other comedians, hence stops him for turning up for popular shows.
“I hardly attend other comedians’ event because we stage our shows around the same time. For instance, AY stages his show on Easter Sunday as well as mine. I do not have an issue with any comedian in Nigeria. I would be at Okey Bakassi’s show. I appear for shows when I am not working, because my loyalty is to my family and what makes a family happy is the money the breadwinner is able to bring to the table. It would be foolhardy for me to headline a free show when I have a gig.
It is the same way I would not want someone to ignore a paid show just to do a free gig for me. In the past, people who had been billed to perform at my show for free had called to inform me that they had a paid show to attend and cancelled mine. But I did not hold any grudge against them because I totally understood. For me, it is all about work and this is what I use to send my children to school. Once I have an opportunity to get paid for my services, why do I want to leave it for a non-paying gig? However, I am friends with everybody,” he said.
On people saying he isn’t funny as a comedian, he said;
“I have heard people say that I am not funny but what I always tell them is that Gbenga Adeyinka is not funny but I am the hardest working comedian in Nigeria and even Ali Baba says that. If the people who pay me continue to pay me, then there is something I am doing right and my loyalty should be to those people who pay and say I am funny than to those who are idle and searching for funny people.”
