How A Nigerian Comedian Floored JJ

Beyond taking controversial positions on almost every issue on earth, what else moves former Ghanaian president Jerry Rawlings? A visit he made to the Lagos-based popular nightclub, Nightshift Coliseum, last Sunday revealed such. It revealed that highlife music and good jokes are like a strong wine in his veins, they can intoxicate him in unpredictable ways.

Rawlings proved this in the course of a series of performances that preceded an interactive session he had with members of the club, and other stakeholders. The Coliseum band, which anchored the entertainment, treated the man who came in company with his wife, Nana, and their four children, to some of western music that set the whole house in a frolicking mood.

However, it was not until when the band began to play highlife –– the Ghanaian style –– that one began to see Rawlings in his true musical colour. He could not control the urge to dance to the tune, even right there on his seat, where, like Romeo, like Juliet, Nana too could no more remain calm on her seat.

But unknown to Rawlings, someone was still waiting to really bring out the laughter in him. That was Lagos-based comedian, Okey Bakassi, who was later introduced to sprinkle humour on the scene.

If this is a test, however, Okey Bakassi passed it at the Rawlings‘ show. He had just about seven minutes to do the business, but none of the about three jokes he told was among those he had told in recent times. He also managed to demonstrate that he is a master at puns. But one of the jokes, which nearly caused a diplomatic row between Nigeria and Ghana, was yet to come. For how would the Ghanaian authorities have reacted if their former president, who came to Nigeria with his dental structure intact eventually lost one or two teeth to Bakassi‘s jokes?

According to the comedian, he was present somewhere where a Japanese and an American were arguing over which country had the swiftest electoral system recently. The Japanese boasted that his country was so good at it that within 24 hours, the result of any election it holds is out. Japan had a super technology to support that, he added. The American, however, sought to demystify the Japanese magic by saying that in his own country, the system is so sophisticated that results come almost as soon as elections are held. But, according to Bakassi, he too had to be a patriot and sell his bosom country, Nigeria.

”You people, stop boasting,” he told them. ”In Nigeria, our system is so fast that we get the result before the election is held!”

Although the entire hall burst into laughter, Rawlings‘ own laughter was rather unique. He raised his eyes to the heavens, and got frozen, laughing for close to two minutes. Intermittently, however, he pointed a finger to Bakasi, in a manner that indicated, ”Boy, you are a terrible clown.”