By Osagie Alonge
Popular comedian Ayo ‘AY’ Makun has apologized to media moguls Kenny ‘Keke’ Ogungbe and Dayo ‘D1’ Adeneye for saying a joke about thePrimetime Africa bosses which they found derogatory.
In a open letter written on his Facebook page, AY explained that it was only a ‘harmless joke that meant neither vilification nor slight’. He further explained that the ‘joke was only a spontaneous exaggeration by a comedian who needed to just lie to the world and make a living from it’.
Read the open letter below…
Dear Sirs,
It is with deep sense of respect that I greet you. With profound esteem as well, we appreciate your invaluable roles in the growth of the Nigerian music industry in particular, and the entertainment industry in general. What the combination of your robust personalities means to most of us is nothing short of being a blessing to our generation as enviable mentors. My own respect is not just fraternal, but somewhat avuncular as well. You have been championing the business of entertainment with phenomenal contributions as veteran producers and all-encompassing showbiz personalities. Thus it wouldn’t be out of place if something like a knock descends from on high, directly from the ancestors and lands on the head of any of us, your very junior colleagues for disrespecting the colossuses in the entertainment industry.
As a standup comedian I have come to discover that various sectors of the global entertainment industry are systematically tied together like a bunch of firewood. It is practically the case of a healthy rapport of mutual promotion. It is what has enhanced the meteoric upswing of the Nigerian entertainment industry. The story of the comedy industry, which I happen to be part of, is equally making headlines. And yet, not without some mutations in line with the spirit of our time. As a matter of fact, dynamism and creativity are attributes of the entertainment industry. Hence, the comedian has transcended the era of tortoise-squirrel tales, cock-and-bull story, narrative rambles, and redundant fart jokes. Comedy has beautifully developed into social commentary, what the public can exhilaratingly identify with without ado. Regrettably, the content of comedy in most cases has shifted from just anybody to celebrities. Today, the big enchiladas and the Mr Somebody have come to have a place in the comic chat. And it is simply a waste of time and words querying why it is so. Therefore, it doesn’t sound bizarre to anybody anymore that the American president has been the focal point of many American comedians. While alive, Mark Twain and George Carlin never spared the American government. But the government spared them, digested the humour in what they were saying and left them in their clownish babbles. Actually comedians and clowns are brothers – nobody takes them seriously even though they habitually provoke serious laughter. Nevertheless, no comedic license to insult folks is intended.
Obviously, it is not just about the American president. With due respect, it must be stated that other highly influential parsonages across the globe are involved. More still, Her Majesty, the Queen and His Holiness, the Pope are not excluded from the humorous drama. What do they do? They only smile and overlook the facile act of the jester, or at best call on him to put more smiles on people’s faces. We are indeed in a world of humour. Coming home, if OBJ had paid any serious attention to the flimsy rants of comedians about him, for sure, the king of comedy Alibaba and some of my colleagues would by now be staggering with castrated tongues or even conduced to the fate of extinct dinosaurs. To him we all pay homage for his paternal encouragement to the industry, but more for providing inexhaustible materials for our business to thrive. In the same vein, Tuface Idibia, Wande Coal, Dele Momodu, Weird MC, Segun Arinze, Chris Okotie, Don Jazzy, Banky W, Tonto Dikeh, D’Banj, Omobaba, Alibaba, the Jonathans and others deserves constant applause as well for having not drawn the sword of enmity against me and my colleagues. I am very sure that who ever is reading this piece can relate the above mentioned names to numerous jokes done by comedians. The truth of the matter is that only those revered by society enter into the contemporary comical repertoire. Please may all VIP’s note this down.
In other to flee parochialism in this slim letter, let me quickly draw our attention to a relevant point from one of the fathers of African literature. Achebe writes: ‘Some years ago at an international writers’ meeting in Sweden, a Swedish writer and journalist said to a small group of us Africans present: “You fellows are lucky. Your governments put you in prison. Here in Sweden nobody pays any attention to us no matter what we write.” We apologized profusely to him for his misfortune and our undeserved luck!’ (Chinua Achebe, The Education of a British-Protected Child, London, Penguin, 2011, p. 121) If it were like this for intellectuals like Swedish writers and journalists, how would it be for the lame Swedish comedians? Definitely worse! It must be noted that this manner of apathy towards comedians is replicated across the civilized world. I guess the point should have been clear by now.
Dear Kennis Music, permit me to modestly state that it was an harmless joke that meant neither vilification nor slight when I said “ we all saw an advert on television confirming that Kenny and D One were going to cover the Red Carpet at the last Grammy Awards in America for our viewing pleasure back home in Nigeria, Only for us to find the two of them interviewing their own artiste Jawon (around an American 3rd Mainland Bridge very far from the venue) without having access to the venue and foreign celebs at the event”. That joke was only a spontaneous exaggeration by a comedian who needed to just lie to the world and make a living from it.The naivety and clumsiness in attacking you aside, you and I know very well that any attack on you by any comedian is as pointless as a wild-goose chase. However, my sincere apologies if I exaggerated in my jokes. Please no harm was intended. It was rather a confirmation of your significance to society. The several great artistes you created will witness better to this than my little self. Again, by ‘agelessness’ I intended the lasting glamour of your presence in the entertainment industry, and the future and perpetuity you stand for in the music enterprise. This is it; no equivocation was intended. Please forgive and forget.
Best regards.
Sincerely,
AY
11 comments
Guy,u don’t need all these stories.joke na joke unless u get ulterior motive.I was planning to book u for my wedding in january but u just fall my hand.
Ay no go kill person sha lmfao! Truth be told dose old gagooze hv never smelth ge grammy red carpet joor y dem cm dey vex
But Ay no lie now. They av outstayed their usefulness. They should av groomed pple to take over frm dem, this even should av taken place years ago. Now nothing is working for Kennis Music. Abeg make dem go siddon joo.
Am i the only one that doesnt even find Ay amusing just a tiny lil bit. mtrcheeeew. nonsense
There was no need for any apologies,especially for a joke that is equally very true !!!.Kennis Music should take a hike, plsssssssss
Ay did well with the write up..nice choice of words.the joke itself make sense..lol “kennis music got my back day and night” in 2face’s voice!
The apology was not necessary, really. After all, some star under Kennis Music label lashes out disses of various kinds to our leaders, even in exaggeration. But for peace…. good one, AY. And to those who think they should be above ‘yabiz’ but are free to laugh out farts from their anuses, they should beware.
Nice one AY,I liked the way U gave honur to whom it is dued in the first part of your letter,it showed that you are a respectful young man that will go very far in life unlike some strange fellows that have commented here.. Having said that I wanna once again give kudos to you for writing to apologise,I have read in different blogs of people saying you did wrong by apologising, please don’t listen to those type of persons, they are clearly ignorant that’s why they will say you should not apologise and make your real intent about the joke known to kenny and D1
As for sydney shocker,I hope this is not same sydney shocker i know way back in ITV and Radio Benin city,because if you are same person writing such despicable things about Kenny and D1 its rather unfortunate because you are as old as both of them in the industry as a VJ and Deejay and should think,know and write better.. *smh
Anyways sydney shocker it will be nice if you will thread carefully in public before you write and expose/advertise your ignorance, incase you don’t know before know now unlike the joke by AY Kenny and D1 has always been to the Grammy main event for dunken years now, they have gone as far as doing Red carpet interviews and even going back stage to interview some of the A-list artist and entertainers in America,(the list is almost endless on the artist they have interviewed) so before you open up your holes to talk gibberish in public about what you don’t know get the fact before you make a fool of yourself in public.
As for other contributors here who think Kenny and D1 over reacted so AY was not suppose to apologise, the truth is everybody has a right to react which ever way they choose as regards things that concerns them, Kennies Music and Primetime Africa is a brand, so if its owners felt a simple joke by an innocent comedian was taken too far and came across to them as an attack on their brand I think they have a right to react which ever way they like, and AY didn’t do anything wrong for apologising, that’s what responsible sensible people do
As for some folks here who says that Kenny and D1 has outlived their usefulness in the industry its rather unfortunate that you guys will even think like that not to talk about them in such despicable manner, for the records Kenny and D1’s label kennis music may not have the several big artist they use to have way back but that does not change the fact that the label is still up with some artist like Jaywon, Goldie, Essece, Eedris Abdulkareem, Joel and the different Star Quest winning bands onlike several old labels that couldn’t stand the test of time.
Yes their influence in the industry may have greatly reduced onlike before but you can never question their legendary status in the Nigerian music and showbiz industry and that’s why AY knows and understands clearly by writing this letter to them. It will be out of order for any american current A-list artist to diss Quincy Jones because he’s no longer prominent as he used to be in the industry,besides nobody remains in vogue forever.. I think we Nigerians should learn how to respect people before us in any industry and field we find ourselves, that’s the only way we can grow in life.
Well done AY once again, you just won a new fan, you are definitely a legend in the making
Big ups AY! No need to apologise.dis guys never left a legacy.
@ifeanyi u rily a jonzin man, has dis same a.y nt aimed his jokes at presidents n even men of God eg, chris okotie, tb joshua, he didnt apologize cos we all new it was a joke. So hu is keke n d1? If comedians start apologising for thier jokes, den wot is comedy.