Some Nigerian comedians cross the line with dirty jokes at corporate events, says Alibaba

Ace Nigerian comedian Alibaba has raised concerns over what he describes as a growing lack of professionalism among some of his colleagues in the industry.

Speaking on a recent episode of the Outside The Box podcast, the veteran entertainer recounted an incident where a comedian he sent to host a corporate event ended up making an offensive joke about the chairman’s plus-size wife.

“There are about three Nigerian comedians who I can’t stand. They have no decorum. They insult sensibilities. You try to correct them, they won’t listen to you. You send them to a cooperate event and they do dirty jokes. And when you receive report of their unruly behaviour and you confront them, they would downplay it,” he said.

Alibaba went on to share how one of the comedians made a particularly inappropriate remark at an event.

“Somebody called me one time to complain about one of them that he made a joke about his plus-size wife. He said, ‘If a race happens now and everyone has to carry their wives and run, you can’t carry this woman and run.’ I was like, that’s below the belt. When I confronted him, he downplayed it. He even told somebody that I was only confronting him because he was shining.”

While declining to name the comedians involved, Alibaba stressed the need for boundaries in comedy and encouraged his peers to lean toward wit and intelligence in their material rather than tasteless jokes.

He concluded by advising comedians to know where to draw the line, especially when performing at formal or corporate events.