It’s two days to Christmas, but this not your normal Christmas. This is the Christmas that’s happening in the midst of a once in a century pandemic. The past 8 months have been hectic arguably to different degrees for different countries and people. Nonetheless, I imagine that many in Nigeria were looking to rock their Christmas and have some type of ‘detty’ December. That people would’ve been planning for some Christmas extravaganza is understandable because truth be told, many Nigerians have been living pretty normal lives like COVID-19 wasn’t part of their daily consciousness while a large chunk of the developed world has been living restricted lives. Where I am at the moment, there’s no real difference between lockdown, tier 3 or phase 4. Sometimes these phases are given fancy names of colours. So, whether it’s red, orange green or purple, there isn’t much to do. I’m basically just doing the barest minimum. It’s not like I’m travelling or have a need to go sit in some office. I am definitely not engaged in anything that can be considered essential. Imagine how I feel seeing pictures and videos of all the Naija ‘jollification.’
Well, COVID-19 is here to remind everyone that it’s not yet uhuru. Most of the world is going into one form of restriction or another from this week. Those who can, are ordering total lockdowns. The UK is of course the worst hit as proactive countries are cancelling flights from London. It has gotten so bad that Scotland has even cancelled flights from the rest of the UK. Not to be left out, Nigeria too is trying to join in the Lockdown 2.0 or 3.0 fever. The charge is for certain businesses to be shut down like bars and restaurants. This would’ve made former FCT minister Adamu Aliero ecstatic. Aliero’s biggest push as FCT minister was to police Abuja’s gardens. He tried to enforce a 6pm closing time and of course the alcohol being served was an issue. I suspect he’d have preferred to do away with the gardens altogether. Don’t ask me how these Sharia moves jibed with a federal capital city like Abuja. That’s another story.
There’s no word yet from the Nigerian government representatives concerning how places of worship should conduct themselves during this lockdown. There’s also no word on palliatives. Is there an actual plan in place to help the people? You’ll recall that one of the fallouts of #EndSARS protests was the discovery (and freeing of) warehouses which food and other essential items donated by well-meaning Nigerians were being hoarded in warehouses; from Lagos to Jos and Calabar. This one instance where there was a strict adherence to Nigeria’s federal character. However, and rather curiously, government was more interested in arresting the petty ‘hoodlums’ than asking people — those like Hon. Moji Alli-Macaulay — why she repackaged items that were donated by CACOVID (Coalition Against COVID) as her own birthday souvenirs, complete with her photographs.
The point of today’s column is to be of good cheer. It’s Christmas after all. Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas. I also implore you to stay safe. Do not run non-essential errands. If you need to entertain yourself at home, there are more than enough movies and TV shows to keep you entertained. You can also check out the Next Naija Comedy Star clips on Youtube. Again, I say Merry Christmas!
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Aproko Wins Next Naija Comedy Star
Comedian Aproko has emerged the winner of the 1st edition of the Next Naija Comedy Star competition winning N5m cash prize and a car. Aproko came out tops from a tight list of 10 comedians who competed in the reality TV-style show organized and presented by AY – Ayo Makun (or Richard Ayodeji Oluwagboyebabamiga – as he usually introduced himself). Ali Baba, I Go Dye and Acapella served as judges for most of the episodes I watched. M.O.P and Coxson were runners-up. The Next Naija Comedy Star was broadcast live on selected TV stations and on AY’s social media handles.
Aproko, I must confess, is a truly deserving winner. It looks like he’s no newcomer to comedy as there are videos of him performing from as far as back as five years ago. He keeps a straight face, has the ability to tell a story, keep to his subject matter and not stray off topic. In the mould of comedian Omo Baba, Aproko creates hilarious jokes from his being supposedly not handsome. As I said, this was a group of talented comedians. Their jokes were relatable yet intelligent. You saw comedians think fast on their feet. And I quite liked Netete who didn’t make it to the final three. That setback notwithstanding, if Netete can learn how to calm his nerves, he’ll make a great comedian.
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On the day of the grand finale, winners of the AY Open Mic Comedy Club were on hand to show their support: Seyi Law (2006), Ajebo (2009) and Pencil (2013). ‘Billionaire’ singer Teni also performed.
HOLIDAY NETFLICKS
Here are some movies and TV shows for you to check out on Netflix if you have enough time:
- Line of Duty
- Murdoch Mysteries
- How To Ruin Christmas-The Wedding
- Kings of Jo’burg
- Under-30
Onoshe Nwabuikwu, AIRTIME columnist is a renowned TV/Film critic, and Film scholar. She also has experience in Advertising as a senior Copywriter and Corporate Communications as Communications consultant
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