• I am Ayo Makun but people call me A.Y. I’m from Ondo State but prefer to be seen as a Warri boy having been born and bred there. I am more of a Delta person than an Ondo indigene because even as we speak, the government of Delta State embraces me more than my own governor. I am like the Obama of Delta State.
• I run an all-encompassing entertainment outfit. There is nothing that is too much in our society especially when you are struggling to survive.
• I came into the comedy industry as Ali Baba’s personal assistant and later, his event manager, I was able to tap from his expertise. But as a trained theatre artiste, I know that comedy can come from different angles as long as you can make people laugh. So I decided from the outset to make a difference- infuse theatre into what I do and so far, it has been working for the brand.
• I love to write too and was once a columnist in Gbenga Adeyinka’s comedy magazine, Laugh mattaz. Then, I was yet to come out with my own magazine, the AY lifestyle and comedy magazine. When I debuted, it became necessary to develop content for the product by paying some attention to it. I only publish to coincide with whatever concert I do during the year. I am working at developing it into a monthly thing.
• My rapport with Ali Baba? It’s still intact and he lives just five minutes away from my house. If I need to suck up to him for anything, I still have that liberty to do so. I consider Ali Baba as the source of my own success.
• My relationship with Bovi gone sour? It’s rumour and not true. We relate very well, we are still friends, we have always been friends for over 15 years. We were closer when we were both single but we both have our separate families to run. We are both married men and you get to a stage in life when you have your own responsibility especially when you become married.
• Growing up was hard and at some point, we couldn’t afford three square meals while at other times, it was difficult to get anything to eat. At some point, I saw myself through school while also struggling to pay school fees for my siblings. I had to work and still be in school to make ends meet. I would always dash down to Lagos to get a small job to do while on holidays. I spent nine years in the university while trying to set my priorities right, not because I was dull but because it was difficult to do everything together — work, school, tend to my siblings etc, coupled with the fact that I was a victim of different circumstances on campus. The good story out of everything today is that I am not doing badly even though I am still growing.
