As if he never went on a break, seasoned comedian, Olufemi Ademola Fagade, popularly known as Omo Baba, has returned with Unknot Your Tie, a comedy club for professionals.
Unknot Your Tie is not a regular comedy show or a stand-up comedy, but a once-in-a-month comedy club where captains of industries, and top executives gather to laugh and wine.
Omo Baba staged a comeback of Unknot Your Tie last weekend at the Zone, Gbagada, where Alibaba, Koffi Tha Guru, Faze, SLK, Deeone, David Makinde, Ebube, and Shytalkative, and others thrilled fans live on stage.
Though Omo Baba is not the first to start Comedy Club in Nigeria, he’s at the forefront of the evolution of the show in the country and trying to change the narrative and set a proper standard.
According to the humour merchant, when it comes to comedy, Nigerians jump the gun without taking proper steps.
“A comedy club is where a person comes to practice new jokes and work on established ones so, I felt in my own capacity, I want to keep that culture alive in Nigeria and by doing that, we are seeing results. One of the guys that started Unknot Your Tie with me is releasing SLKomedy on Netflix globally and that is big for Nigeria.
“I’m doing the work of a defensive midfielder, the dirty job in the industry; I’m clearing the road for a lot of people. Some people call me the ‘Jesus Christ’ of comedy because one, I picked up myself with my style of jokes,” he said.
On what he’s doing differently with his Comedy Club, he said: “In my comedy club, once we hear a person perform another person’s joke, we switch off the mic and if anyone feels embarrassed and doesn’t want to come again, then he or she does not want to grow. Anyone cracking someone’s joke must make proper references. So, these are the things I want to encourage, kill plagiarism in my own space before going to other people’s space.”
On the idea behind the title, he said: “I think of what happens to people that work between Monday and Thursday. We are not targeting students in UNILAG or Yabatech; they should face their studies. I’m targeting the movers and shakers of the economy that are stressed from work, that they should come and relax, and unknot their ties and go home with joy, not to put pressure on their partners, if possible, they should come with their partners, this will improve family values.”
On the idea of new talent performing on the show, he said: “As the saying goes, new broom sweeps clean, while old broom knows the corners. We want people to know that whatever they dream about, it is possible. The majority of the young guys that performed have not met Alibaba one-on-one, so, they know that when they come here they are not restricted. We mixed the old and the new.
“This is a support base and it can never happen without support, so, having a partnership with the zone is big for us.
This is an avenue for younger comedians to be great at what they do. And I think if this can be happening in this axis, I can make it happen in another place.”
One of the guests, Joseph Faulkner, said: “I have been part of this story from the beginning and I am excited that Unknot Your Tie is back. One of the things a lot of people need to do is originality. I have been privileged to stay in other parts of the world and I go to comedy clubs a lot.
The On-Air Personality (OAP) added: “One of the beautiful things about it is the ability of the comedians to use whatever is happening and turn them into jokes, the ability to connect with the audience and Omo Baba does that a lot and it’s one of the reasons I don’t joke with his comedy club.”
