You open your mouth in sheer disbelief. Your eyes pop out with incredulity written all over your face. You let the tears flow freely from your eyes as you are thrilled by excitement. You laugh until you start to feel that your ribs are cracking. At this point in time, you become conscious of the chances of crashing heavily, if you don’t hold onto something strong enough to possibly help you, you experience a scandalous fall. His shows, as a result, have been simply show stoppers, till date.

Even with such titillating impact, he did not find life easy. At a time in his life, things were really on the rough side of life, forcing this humour merchant to contemplate living under the bridge. But today, God who encouraged him to dive into the comedy concern, has turned the table round miraculously as he successfully relocated his wife to Canada where they had their three children. In this in-depth close up, Okey Bakassi, born as Okechukwu Anthony Onyegbule, didn’t start in a day. This zoomed to the fore recently as he opened up to Our Contributing Editor, IFECHI OKOH, in a true life narrative of his personal homelessness, living thousands of miles from his wife and loving three kids, how he met his wife. It’s simply an insightful interview with Okey Bakassi. Enjoy it!

What is your real name and why do people call you Okey Bakassi?

My parents named and call me Okechukwu Anthony Onyegbule. But my friends and fans call me Okey Bakassi in the showbiz concern. It was from them that my fans joined and so that was how Okey Bakassi swallowed my real name, making everybody now to call me Okey Bakassi till date. Bakassi became celebrated because it sounds very funny. Besides that, when I came into the showcase concern newly, I was looking for a name that would be catchy and easy for my fans to pick, irrespective of their tribes. That was how the coinage of Okey MC Anthony came up. Okey is the short form of Okechukwu. Anthony is my real name, from my university days when I added it to Anthony. That was how I became MC Anthony then. Today, by the special grace of God, I am an actor, movie producer, a director and a stand-up comedian. I bless God for this. Enor easy, my brother. Let me not go into details, but I really worked hard to get to where I am today. I did all I could just to belong to the class of entertainers well respected in Nigeria, and today, I am a celebrity. So, I thank God.

Let’s talk about your background. Where do you come from?

I am the first son in the family of five children. I was born on October 23, 1969

to a retired military man, Mr Livinus Onyegbule. My mum’s name is Felicia

Onyegbule, a retired nurse who left the Alvan Ikoku College of Education after

many years of being in their service. I had my secondary school in same place in Owerri, Imo state. After my secondary school, I got admission into the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt, where I studied Agricultural Engineering for five years and I graduated in 1992; and went for National Youth Service Corps. I was posted to Lagos State.

Of all professions, why did you embrace comedy and how did it get you to the top?

I embraced the comedy concern. It is a platform that always delights me. I must confess that before I settled for comedy, I had weighed other options thoroughly. Before then, I had investigated seriously and confirmed that it is only in showbiz concern, that people has no retirement age. Besides, you don’t need any qualification to get to the top. All you need is talent to get to the top as fast as possible. All you have to do is to be talented and know how to use the talent properly and the sky would be your limit. For me, it was easy because I started from my school days. I started showbiz when I was in the university. I actually started at the Federal Government College, Port Harcourt. But it became more prominent when I went to the university. I joined a group called theatre colleagues. I participated in stage plays and stand-up comedy sketches. But those were the amateur days. We weren’t doing it to make money. It was just for fun. And after my NYSC, I stayed back in Lagos. God led me to a celebrated movie producer and director, Zeb Ejiro, whom I call Uncle Zeb, who in 1993 gave me the first opportunity to appear on a network television programme, called “Fortunes”, where I played the role of Nick, one of the Johnsons body guards. I featured in about 11 episodes of the soap opera before the home video industry took the centre stage. I took a bold step to be in the showbiz industry because it was one area that gives me joy. I thank God for the fame I have today. I guess that I made the right choice, if you ask me.

And how did you survive in Lagos after your NYSC, despite the fact that you had no job?

I started as a beginner and nobody was ready to help me at that time. I was a mobile squatter because I couldn’t afford to rent an apartment in Lagos. At a point, I came close to living under the bridge. There was this particular night I had nowhere to sleep. I strolled out of the house with no particular destination in mind. After roaming the streets, I didn’t know where to pass the night. Then, I remembered a friend who was living at Amuwo Odofin at that time. I approached him to allow me squat with him. But this was after talking to his family members. Based on their approval, I was told to stay, I was happy. To me, it was one of the greatest favours anybody would do for me then. They accommodated me for months and I was like a member of that family. When I decided to go and live with a relative at Agege, that family didn’t want me to leave. I eventually moved in with that relative, afterwards, I rented a one-room apartment at Palmgrove in 1996. From there, I moved to FESTAC Town where I got a better apartment before God started opening doors for me.

Are you still in touch with that your friend that accommodated you?

Yes, because I strongly believe in the philosophy of once a friend, always a friend. I still visit the family till date.

Was it lack of job that made you to become a comedian?

No way! I have a passion for it. I did my NYSC in the banking sector. Specifically, I served in the Bank of Industry. I was close to securing a job with an agricultural firm based in Apapa (Lagos) then. That was my biggest dilemma. I knew if I had taken the job, I wouldn’t have been in showbiz because it couldn’t have given me the time. I went to a friend of mine and discussed my dilemma with him. He advised that I would make it if I work hard and be my own boss and not work for somebody. I decided to be on my own. I didn’t want to have any regrets hence, I kept reinventing myself and God helped me.

How long have you been in the comedy concern?

I have been in the business for about for about 28years.

You don’t talk about the woman in your life. How come she is not celebrated?

I don’t talk about the woman in my life. My reason is to protect her from the press. Besides, she is not a celebrity. How do you want her to be celebrated? All I can tell you is that I am a family man and I have lovely children.

What is her name?

I call her Zizi. She was my childhood sweetheart, and my best friend.

What about your children and how many are they?

I have three children, I have been married for 18 years now. My first child is

21 years old, the second born just turned 19 years old, the last boy of the house is 14 years old.

Why do you stay in Nigeria when your family is stationed in Canada?

Well, it is a decision me and my wife took before having children. We planned it that way. My children don’t live in Nigeria. They were all born and raised in Canada because of the stress and fears of raising kids in Nigeria. Although there were rumours that I was hiding my family in Canada, but I don’t care what people say. I am comfortable with them living abroad, while I am making the money here. My wife is the best woman in the world. I wouldn’t have been anywhere near success. She is the reason behind my success. In fact, she is the brain behind my success.

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