In this report, Sharon Osaji writes about a building in Ikorodu, Lagos, which housed a number of Nigeria’s big comedians, some of whom have become leading lights in the entertainment industry

The adage that ‘out of the black pot nonetheless comes the white pap’ aptly captures the story behind the rise to fame of some of Nigeria’s big comedians.

Interestingly, while many entertainers from places like Warri in Delta State, Benin in Edo State, Surulere, Ajegunle and FESTAC in Lagos are known to exhibit an uncanny talent, not many knew that Ikorodu, a Lagos suburb, also produced many talents for Nigeria’s comedy industry.

From Seyi Law to Elenu, Acapella, Funny Bone, Pencil, Laff Doctor and many others who have become household names in the industry, real life began in Ikorodu. Some of them have, in a few years, become entertainment icons and global brands, portraying the can-do attitude and versatility Nigerians are known for.

Beyond growing up in the same neighbourhood, one other factor is even more striking; they lived in the same house and even shared rooms, at a time they barely knew how far their talents would take them. This is understandable, because years ago, stand-up comedy wasn’t much of a lucrative venture like it has become today.

Soon after learning about the special building that housed these comedians, our correspondent embarked on a trip to the community.

Located in the north-east part of the state and some kilometers away from the city centre, Ikorodu is one part of the state non-residents used to dread, given the characteristic traffic jam on the route.

But, the trip turned out to be fun, thanks to the good road and other interventions by the state government that eradicated some of the hiccups.

The first stop was the popular, ever busy Agric bus stop. And among the adjoining streets is Omodisu Street, where the house is situated.

For such a commercial area, there are houses of different types on the street, among which is an extensive storey-building owned by a retired soldier, Mr Peter Ayangbola.

The 78-year-old retiree told Sunday PUNCH that although he completed the house in 1998, the rear flat was not ready for rent until 2009, and that after he eventually completed it and put it up for rent, Lawrence Oluwaseyitan Aletile, now known by his stage name, Seyi Law, was the first tenant to live in the three-bedroomed flat. That was August, 2009, making him the first of his ilk to live in the house.

“Seyi was a bachelor at the time,” he happily told our correspondent with a wave of nostalgia. “When he rented the place, AY, Ayo Makun, used to live four buildings away from my house, just at the house over there (pointing in its direction).

“Whenever they came around, they played together with my children who were just like them. My son even worked with AY during that period. I took Seyi Law like my son and his parents used to come here.”

The septuagenarian admitted that living with such active youths, especially with budding careers in entertainment came with its unique elements, like noise at odd hours, but that Seyi Law and those who lived with him were “good boys”, whom he loved like his children. “Likewise, the community never had issues with them,” he noted.

He recalled that when AY moved out of his house and Seyi Law moved to his place, he (Seyi Law) started a club but later shut it down after he left the area and those he entrusted with managing the place fell below expectation.

Meanwhile, according to the landlord, when Seyi Law moved out, he introduced another comedian to him. And from then till 2022, the comedians retained the apartment one after the other until the last of them left in 2022.

He said, “When Seyi Law was leaving he came to me and said, ‘Daddy, I like this compound and would like my brothers to stay here’. That was how they kept transferring the house among themselves until the last person, Laff Doctor, left in 2022.

“Many of them who lived in the house were not Yoruba, I think only Seyi Law is Yoruba. I didn’t look at their tribe or that they were entertainers. I knew they were determined to succeed, so I took them like my children.

“I still communicate with some of them on the phone and I am very happy and proud that all of them are progressing and doing well.”

Ayangbola’s wife, who sat close to her husband, intermittently nodded her agreement as he recalled the events.

She later told our correspondent that it was in the house that Seyi Law received his first award as a comedian.

She also spoke highly of him, “Seyi got married when he was here and they were both like my children. Anytime his mother came, we were like sisters and one family. If there was no power supply and he had fuel in his generator, he would connect us to his generator. He was such a great guy, I really love him.”

Ikorodu nurtured great talents – Seyi Law

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, Seyi Law said although some people look down on Ikorodu, it had helped the emergence of great talents.

The 40-year-old said he learnt to accommodate people from his mother, Queen Esper Aletile, who passed on in September 2022, as he also showered praise on his wife, Stacey, for allowing him to accommodate people in their home. “If she didn’t agree, there was no way I would have gone ahead with it,” he said.

“I moved into the house in August, 2009 and I lived there till June 2014. I really give kudos to my wife, she is the reason I could do all I did. Even when she was my girlfriend, she would cook for all of us. After we got married, sometimes, we would sleep in the living room and people would sleep in the main room and she never complained.

“I came from a very big family, so we always had a lot of people in the house, but my wife was not from that kind of home. My mum was very accommodating, and I learnt that from her, which is what I try to exemplify. For my wife to support that idea and never quarrelled with me over it, she deserves all the accolades.”

Listing the comedians who stayed in the house after he moved in, Seyi Law said, “Elenu stayed there briefly because he was also looking for a house then. He got a house very close to mine on the same street. Acapella moved in, and Funnybone also came to stay. He was in Jos but he used to come and visit.

“Pencil moved in next. Eboh Bomb and Youngest Landlord stayed briefly as well. They both were with me at the former place where I was staying at Ebute Metta. Ushbebe moved to that area too, so he used to come around the house too.

“Next was Princewill, then Whale Mouth, Mecoyo, Matwot and then Laff Doctor. At the end of the day, I just thank God for every one’s growth; everybody is doing well for themselves.”

He continued, “If people don’t tell you their history, you wouldn’t know what they passed through to make it in life. Many great people have come out of that place and even Ikorodu General Hospital won two awards at an event I was privileged to host earlier in the year. That was what Ikorodu did for us.”

The comedian noted that given the way the neighbourhood helped his career growth, he is always ready to perform free of charge if any young comedian invites him to Ikorodu.

He noted, “By supporting friends and family, I have done more free shows in my career than paid shows but somehow God has sustained me, which is beyond money.”

‘Comedy retreat, an advantage’

Beyond living together, Seyi Law revealed that they usually organised comedy retreat for themselves, where they discussed their jokes. Understandably, he said many of their best jokes were developed during the process.

He said sharing platforms with them also helped, adding, “We encouraged one another through the platforms we had and whenever I got on stage I would introduce them and bring them on stage as well. This helped to boost their confidence. Sometimes, when I was paid my balance after the show, I would take it home and share among those of us who went. It was to encourage them that they could also make their own money and I’m glad I used my house as a platform for people to rise.”

“I learnt from that experience that if an older person cannot learn from younger persons, you can’t be relevant in their own time. It was a life that we enjoyed when we had it and we still reminisce about it till today whenever we meet.”

As part of his contributions to the comfort of those he left in the house, Seyi Law said, “I did the tiles and the POP ceiling and I left most of the furniture there. By the time I was leaving, Princewill and Whale Mouth took over the house.”

I paid N250,000 rent – Whale Mouth

Usiaphe Kevin, better known by his stage name, Whale Mouth, also recalled his time in the house with nostalgia.

He told Sunday PUNCH, “It was a massive three-bedroomed flat. If that house was on Lagos Island, the rent would be unimaginable. It was from the house Seyi Law did that famous skit, Black Jesus. The rent was N250,000 and I’m not sure that up until the last comedian left there it was increased above N300,000.”

The Delta State Indigene said he got to know about the house through his friend and colleague Princewill, who also hails from Ughelli, Delta State.

He smiled as he narrated the experience, “I came to Lagos for the first time in 2009 for AY’s Open Mic show, where I met Princewill. After we discovered that we were from the same place, we became close. I didn’t have a place to stay after the show, so he took me to Emeka Smith’s house in Surulere where he lived at the time. Then I returned to school in Ebonyi State.

“I started shuttling between Lagos and Ebonyi and whenever I came to town, I would stay wherever Princewill was. By 2014 when I moved to Lagos fully, he was staying with Seyi Law in Ikorodu, so I moved in with him.

“The memories made in that house will definitely last for a lifetime. As younger comedians, we had direct access to older colleagues who trained us and guided us along the right path. I left the house in 2014 and moved to the Island in 2017.

Indeed, like Seyi Law said, Whale Mouth said one of the things he enjoyed most in the house was the comedy retreat, where they criticised one another’s jokes.

“Sometimes, we would stay up till 2am fine-tuning our jokes. You could not live there and be lazy because when everybody was bringing their ideas, you wouldn’t want to look like the only one who hadn’t been working,” he added.

Sapa made us work harder – Mecoyo

Enubianozor Collins, known by his stage name Mecoyo, also found his way to the house in 2017 after a comedy show in Ikorodu.

His journey to the house was also interesting. He began, “I went for a show with my colleague, Matwot. After the programme, he persuaded me to stay in Ikorodu instead of going back to Surulere where I used to stay because it was very late. He told me that Whale Mouth, who lived in the house at the time, knew me. So, I agreed to go with him.

“It was from that day I started living there. Whale Mouth asked me who I stayed with at Surulere and I told him I stayed alone. He said it was always better to live with fellow comedians, because you would be able to exchange ideas and grow faster in your career. So, I thought it made sense and I bought into the idea.”

But a task awaited him the following day, so he could earn his stay. “Although, I also think one of the reasons why he wanted me around was because after I woke up the next day, I went straight to clean the kitchen and I cooked for everyone,” Mecoyo said, as he burst into laughter.

The skit maker said he stayed with the crew for about six months before the rent expired and he decided to contribute money with others to renew the rent.

He said further, “When Whale Mouth moved, it dawned on me that as the next highest paid citizen of the house (laughs), I should take over the payment of bills. The landlord allowed me to stay because he said I was a good boy.

“Life in that house was beautiful because it was part of what has shaped us. We always fine-tuned one another’s jokes and put heads together to make every joke better.”

Mecoyo said sapa, a slang for being broke and hungry, pushed them to work harder.

Narrating a funny incident he wouldn’t forget easily, he stated, “The sapa that year was too much to the extent that there was a lady called Mama Caro who stayed close, we had the privilege of finishing her store with debt (laughs), but once money entered our hand, na we dey always raise the shop back (we patronised her to restock the shop).

“There was a week that for seven days, we ate spaghetti, and it was without egg, thanks to Whale Mouth. Any day we added egg, we would celebrate. However, the hunger at the time only pushed us to work harder.”

He said despite sharing their jokes with one another, there was no fear that anyone could steal another person’s jokes. “Most of the best jokes that I have done emanated from that house,” he added.

He said the landlord was equally nice to them and that the only time there could be a challenge was when they defaulted in paying their rent.

“The neighbours were really friendly and they made life easy for us,” he said. “I miss the freedom we had there. We could walk around even in our boxers and nobody would even raise their eyebrows. I also miss the togetherness and access to comedians.

“Living in that house gave me the platform to be who I am today. It gave me more reasons to push for more in my career. It also gave everyone reasons to work on original materials and be creative.”

Laff Doctor, the ‘last’ tenant

The last among the comedians to live in the house was Maduka Daniel, popularly known as Laff Doctor, who moved into the flat in October 2020, during the Covid-19 lockdown.

He noted that luck brought him to the house after his former landlord removed the roof of his house after he could not pay his rent.

Narrating how he ended up in the house, he stated, “I was living elsewhere before my landlord removed the roof of my apartment because I was defaulting in the payment of my rent. Due to the lockdown, things became difficult for comedians. There was no show, no concert, no gathering whatsoever. The money I had to renew my rent, I had to use it to eat.” This was greeted with hoots of laughter from himself and our correspondent.

He continued, “That was when I discovered that food comes before shelter, and then clothing comes last. I called Mecoyo and he told me there was space in the flat and I could move in. Matwot just got married and moved out so I replaced him and took the room he stayed in.”

Laff Doctor said the house was the most peaceful place he had ever lived, although he said he didn’t know the calibre of people who had lived there before he moved in.

“When I moved into the apartment I never knew the calibre of comedians who had lived there,” he said. “It was when I moved in that people started telling me about those who had occupied the house in the past and I felt like destiny brought me to the right location.

“It became a thing of pride for me when people asked me where I lived and I would say ‘That Seyi Law’s former house’. For me, it was a motivation and a sign of being in the right direction, one way or the other. If you look critically, you would notice that everyone who stayed there is progressing. Some people have testimonies of houses they lived in and their careers nosedived, but this house, everybody is in a better place.”

The 29-year-old said Ayangbola was a kind and gentle landlord and that there was no trouble despite living in the house with them.

He added, “It was so quiet and the area was very calm. You could even park your vehicle outside overnight and nothing would happen to it. Everybody in the compound was kind, there was no bad blood at all. It was a place where everybody wanted other people’s success. There was always someone to open the gate when we came back late after shows; no stress or insult. They were very understanding people.”

Laff Doctor stayed in the flat for two years and moved out in October 2022.

Ayangbola told Sunday PUNCH that the house was currently occupied by a set of footballers who are also in their numbers in the apartment.

Interestingly, other popular entertainers who have their roots in Ikorodu include Funke Akindele, Bolanle Ninolowo, and football star, Asisat Oshoala. (Sunday PUNCH)

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