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| D'Lectura |
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making comedian and show promoter, Emmanuel Adigwe famously known as D’Lectura abandoned accounting for the business of rib cracking over a decade ago.
In this chat monitored by SHOWBIZPLUSng, the entertainer from Delta State, revealed a lot of things hitherto unknown about
him, especially his reasons for embracing comedy ahead of his accounting profession and many more interesting issues.
We would like to start this chat by knowing more about
your recently held event, “An Evening with D’lectura”
It was actually
on the 28th of this month. I decided to put a comedy show together in the area where
I stay. I did the show in Akute and I chose to do it there because
that is my area. That is where I base and I have been doing a lot of shows over
there for a long time. In the past editions of the show, I have invited the
likes Ali Baba and AY and they all came to perform. I’m trying to give back to
the society that has given so much to me. Akute is where I grew up and I thanked
God when Ali Baba came to perform there, right there on stage he called me the
King of Comedy in Akute land.
How has
the reception been from the people around there?
The reason
I actually started organizing shows was because most times I attend comedy
shows on the island like the AY Live show at Eko Hotel, I realized that people
in Akute, travel all the way to the island to watch comedy shows and I said to
myself why not bring these stars the Akute people travel to watch down to their
door steps. When I did my first show November 2nd, 2007, Basket Mouth
was there, African China, MC Abbey, Igos and Lepacious Bose also attended. The
second show I invited the likes of AY, Juilius Agwu, Koffi, Princess and a
whole lot of them. The third show in 2009, I hosted Gordons, Seyi Law, Victor
Osuagwu and a whole lot of them also. I have invited almost everybody there,
just a few of them that are yet to grace my show at Akute. I was organizing
“Laughter 101” but this “An Evening with D’lectura” is a new one and I intend
making it a monthly affair. I want them to have something to look forward to
every month, where to unwind and enjoy themselves. I just didn’t want to start
monthly now; I just wanted to gradually introduce it to my people in Akute. I’m
doing it quarterly now but by next year, I will resume monthly.
None of
your shows has been a yearly outing since you started?
I started
“Laughter 101” in 2007 and did it till 2009. But in 2010 something happened
that made me stop; my beloved mother was very ill and I started running around.
So that year my show didn’t hold. Then while I was planning to do it in 2010,
she died and in 2011 and 2012 I could not gather enough money to organize a
show. So in order to gradually introduce myself, I started a smaller show
called “Laugh Out Loud” that was when I hosted Seyi Law and Akpororo in the first
show and it turned out a huge success. I hosted Ali Baba in the second show.
Then after the Ali Baba show, a man came from the United States and said he
loved what I was doing and said he wanted me to manage his hotel and event
centre. I ran the place for about a year, I did some shows there also but later
I saw that running that place was taking much of my time, I couldn’t
concentrate on doing my own thing.
How has
the response from your fellow comedians been like, moving them from Lagos to
Akute for shows regularly?
It has been marvelous and awesome. The fact that
comedians have the drive to help one another unlike the music industry, which
is why somebody like Bunmi Davies can afford to do “Stand Up Nigeria” without a
music artiste. If I hear that a comedian is having a show, I can travel far
just to support that show. In the long run it rubs off on both sides. You can
perform at my show and I may not have the money to pay you. But that person
that came to my show will be impressed and call you to mcee a wedding or
something like that. So you have gotten a job from a job you performed for
free. Organizing comedy shows are not really profiting much, but we just do it
to build our brands. AY needs AY Live to build his brand not necessarily the
money. I have been able to do that with the shows I have organized so far in
Akute. If you mention D’lectura to any comedian, they will remember Akute, if
you mention Akute, then my name comes to mind first. I have carved a niche for
myself.
How do comedians make money?
Comedians make money from their client base. When you
are able to build a reasonable amount of client base you will be getting money.
You can have a company that will say all of our shows and events, you will be
the anchor; you will mcee all our events. That’s something. You also need to
have someone to manage you and bring the jobs. There are a lot of ways
comedians can make money, we can’t name them all. Comedy is very important now.
I have been to a wedding where the van conveying the food to the venue got
spoilt and I held the crowd till the van arrived. A good comedian is a must
have in any event right now.
All the comedians listed for your forthcoming show,
have they all confirmed their attendance?
When I say a comedian will perform at my show, that
comedian will always come. If I say Basket Mouth and Ali Baba are coming to my
show, they will. But if Ali Baba doesn’t come, Basket Mouth will. That is how I
arrange my shows. I always call them and most times, I also go and
meet them and tell them what I need. When I actually wanted to host Ali Baba,
it took some time. Most times I would have to leave my house very early in the
morning. Sometimes when I get there he will still be asleep and I will wait. I
follow up a lot with calls, text messages and all that. I remember when I
hosted Julius Agwu, the way I followed him he was even forced to honour me even
while he was engaged. He had a show in Abuja on Saturday evening and Sunday
evening while my show was on Sunday. Julius Agwu flew from Abuja for my show on
Sunday; he was the first comedian to come and he waited for us to set up the
stage. He was the first comedian to perform and he did one hour then went back
to the airport and flew back to Abuja for another show. I was really touched by
what he did that day because another person wouldn’t have bothered coming to my
show. What some would have done was call me to tell me they will miss the show
and maybe try and compensate me with money, but Julius Agwu made sure he was
there.
Can you remember your most profitable show so far?
I think the “Laugh Out Loud” edition I hosted Seyi
Law. I didn’t spend much because I was trying to cut cost, yet at the end of
the day, it turned out a huge success.
How much did you make?
I made a lot of money but I can’t tell you how much.
Tell us about how you started comedy?
I started comedy a long time ago. A friend of mine
Gideon introduced me to comedy. In 1994 Gideon used to come to our house in
Benin and before you know he will start cracking jokes. My dad loved him, our
landlord loved him, everybody around loved him. I started watching him and we
started doing stuffs together. We went to Auchi Polytechnic together and we
started an entertainment outfit together. That was when Awilo came out, so we were
dancing Makossa, cracking jokes and at the end of the day I started doing full
time comedy but as a hobby then. I didn’t care about the money, all I cared
about was the happiness I was deriving from it. It was years after I graduated
from school while I was working as an accountant that I started having a change
of heart. The jobs coming in from comedy was far bigger than what I was getting
as an accountant. I remember getting a Coca Cola gig in 2002 for N60,000. At
that point I wasn’t actually enjoying my job as an accountant and I went
abroad. I went to Holland but came back and started doing comedy. That was how
I called Ali Baba and he invited me to his Comedy Plus in VGC and after that he
asked me to come home with him and that was how I started. I stayed with
Alibaba for two years from 2004. I met AY, Jedi, Igos and a whole lot of other
comedians while I was there. With the help of Ali Baba I was able to perform on
stages that I wouldn’t have been able to perform on my own. From there I
entered the “Night of a Thousand Laughs” show and started building my brand.
How has the journey been for you in the comedy
industry?
It has been a fantastic experience; though I’m not yet
fulfilled, but it has been wonderful. There is nothing much better than doing
what you love. I can do comedy easily without stress and difficulty unlike the
accounting I did in school.
What do you want to achieve with comedy?
There are a whole lot of things I want to achieve.
Firstly, I want to have a very lovely family which I’ve started already. That’s
my number one aim. I want to build an empire with comedy. I want to go round
the world with comedy. Just the way people know me in Akute, I want the world
to know me in the same way.
Can you remember your best performance as a comedian?
I have had many memorable performances but the one I
can easily remember was at the “AY Live” show of 2007 and it’s in the volume
four of the “AY Live” DVD. There was actually no time for me to perform that
day. AY said no time but I said give me two minutes and he said okay, go on
stage. That was how I went on stage and in two minutes, everywhere was on fire
and I was given a standing ovation after my performance. I did a joke about
2face then, and everybody liked it. That was easily my best performance I can
think of. AY used that joke as the joke of the year on his TV Show.
Tell us about your worst day on stage also?
My worst day on stage has to be the day I was
booed at Lagbaja’s show. That was my worst day on stage. That day was tough. I
can remember AY was booed that day also.
I learnt that you are married, how has it been?
Marriage
has been awesome for me. I will say it with all confidence. To the glory of
God, my marriage has been very fine. I married a woman that understands every
bit of me. I married my best friend and my sister. It has been fun.
When did
you marry?
I got
married last year and we have a kid already.
Do you
hope to have more?
I hope to
get one more and maybe during the cold season, we can add one more again. Then
we can pack up (Laughs).
Where
are you from?
I am from
Ogwashi Uku in Delta State but I grew up in Warri, Sapele, Agbor, Auchi. I
schooled in different places because of the nature of my dad’s work.
Lastly, who were the entertainers that perform on your July 28 show in Akute?
An Evening
With D’Lectura held at Dees multipurpose hall, Bunnys Plaza, Akute. It
featured comedians like: De Don, Acapella, Gandoki, Bash, Funny Bone, Kech
Ofuobi, Senator, Amikable, Shakara, Shakira, Big Mickey, Open Teeth, Jibade and
several others.
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