Veteran Nigerian actor, Victor Osuagwu, has called for the regulation of content creators, who play pranks on people on social media.
He said the major problem in this part of the world is that people fail to do things properly because there are no rules guiding them.
Speaking in an interview with Saturday Beats, the 58-year-old actor said skit-makers who play extreme pranks on people in a bid to make money would not be doing so if there was a regulatory body.
According to Osuagwu, the skit-makers sometimes play pranks on elderly people that are so dangerous it leads to heart attacks.
He said; “One of the biggest problems we have in this part of the world is that things are not done properly. If there were rules guiding them, these things (extreme pranks) won’t be happening.
“Because of the state of the economy, more people are playing pranks on people and posting it on social media in a bid to make money, without considering the consequences. If there was a regulatory body overseeing their affairs, these things won’t happen. Sometimes, skit makers play pranks on elderly people, and they suffer heart attacks because of the tension.”
In similar news…
Nigerian comedian, Bashiru Adekunle, professionally known as Bash D Cash, says skit-makers cannot replace comedians in the industry even though they are talented.
He said that content creators like Broda Shaggi and others cannot be compared with veteran comedians like Alibaba, Basketmouth, AY and the likes, irrespective of the fact that the latter group hardly do skits.
Bash stated this in an interview where he also said that online comedians are only popular today because of social media whereas that is not the case with stand-up comedians.
He said; The only thing constant in life is change. Social media comedians are very talented and creative, but they cannot run down (replace) stand-up comedy. A lot of them don’t have their own comedy shows. Stand-up comedy is always very different. Online comedians became popular because of social media, but that does not affect stand-up comedy. Stand-up comedians, such as Basketmouth, AY, Ali Baba and Seyi Law don’t do a lot of skits, but that doesn’t mean the likes of Broda Shaggi are more popular or relevant than them.
Thankfully, we are all comedians. They are breaking new grounds and changing the face of the game so, it is a very healthy competition, and we love it. It gives us the drive to keep moving forward.
Speaking further, the comic act revealed that comedy initially affected his marriage while it was in the early stages because he was always hustling and hardly ever at home for his wife.
Bash said; When I started comedy, there was a lot of competition (and not many opportunities); unlike now that we have social media and many platforms for comedians to showcase their talents. We (comedians) went through a lot to make it, and that even affected my marriage in the early stage, because I was not always around. However, I thank God that it is now paying off.
Also speaking on people having issues with cracking jokes about guests that attend their shows, the comedian said; Anyone who is attending a comedy show in any part of the world knows that there are times comedians hit below the belt, which I personally don’t support, but it is a part of the job. There are times the comedians would want to play around and pick on people, but I don’t do that. Meanwhile, there are also times that members of the audience would ‘yab’ the comedian on stage. If I am on stage, and someone ‘yabs’ me, I would ‘yab’ the person too.
I often advise fans that if they are going to a comedy show, they should just sit down and enjoy the content. If the comedian is doing a good job, they should applaud him. And, if the comedian is not doing well, it is not necessary to ‘yab’ the person; after all, all dogs have their day.
