Encomium
The huge crowd that turned up at last weekend’s Glo Laffta Fest showed how popular the comedy concert packaged by national operator, Globacom, had become.
As early as 12 noon, excited Glo subscribers had started arriving the Eko Hotel venue for the show that was meant to kick off at 6 p.m. By the time the show was midway, over 6000 people had packed into the venue, hardly leaving any leg room.
Their thirst for fun was duly rewarded as they were treated to an evening of rib-cracking jokes, drama and the best of Nigerian music by the comedians and musicians lined up by Glo.
Among them were Basketmouth, AY, Bovi, Okey Bakassi, I go dye, Seyi Law, Funny Bone and Gordons. From Uganda came that country’s most popular comedian, Salvador, who showed his familiarity with the Nigerian environment by anchoring his jokes around Nigerian foods and Nollywood’s strengths and slip-ups.
There were also performances by Glo ambassadors Wizkid and Burna Boy to jazz up the night’s entertainment. Both provided musical flavour to the evening, sending their fans singing and dancing along with them.
Basketmouth who co-emceed the event was at his best and sustained the tempo, with his trademark hilarious jokes. Comedians AY, Funny Bone, Seyi Law and Salvador were in their best as they held the audience spell-bound, provoking spontaneous laughter throughout their time on stage.
Another Glo ambassador, Bovi, also had an exceptional performance. He added to the fun by giving out recharge cards to fans who were fast enough to load free recharge numbers on their phones. He also added colour to the evening by calling on some young ladies to come on stage and sing the first stanza of the National Anthem. All but one were applauded for rendering the lyrics well.
Comedy on the night hit the roof when the ever funny Okey Bakassi came on stage. He displayed confidence as he gradually led the crowd through a web of intricate jokes in a way that only a master could do and still got the crowd roaring in delight at the end of it all. His joke about the biblical King Solomon and his wives was a clincher.
Some of those who graced the event were Nollywood stars and Glo Ambassadors, Ini Edo and Odunlade Adekola. Helen Paul, Dija, Rickardo Banks, Deputy Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Wasiu Eshinlokun Samuel and Commissioner of Police in charge of Police Cooperative, Dorothy Gimba, also attended the event.
