In the entertainment industry in Nigeria, comedy has taken its place as one of the major sectors creating employment for many. Some of those in the industry are part of those living large, just like music artistes. They charge huge amount of money from shows and events they anchor.

For prolific comedian, singer and On-Air-Personality, Daniel Esiwele aka Omo Jesu, who hails from Edo State, he sees comedy as one thing that has put food on his table.

In an interview with Nigeriafilms.com, the Faaji FM presenter revealed what he has been up to and what he is about delving into.

Why have you been silence in the industry for a long time?

There is a level you get to in the comedy industry that you will now become a business entertainer, which is why it is called ‘showbiz’; show and business. When you are young in the game, you strictly be dealing with the show aspect of the business and there is a level you get to, you will be doing the business aspect of it because actually, the event that pays money in the business does not make noise. So, when you are occupied with the business aspect, you will be less seen in the show angle of it and for a man who has used comedy to achieve B.SC degree, got married, have two kids, paying bills, should know that this business aspect of the entertainment is putting toothpick in my mouth and food on my table and money in my pocket, so this job is taking my time.

What’s your take on comedians recycling jokes all the time without new things to say?

We see comedians recycling other people’s jokes because the fresh comedians come into the business because they’ve listened and watched too many comedy series and they feel they are funny because in their various locations, they are asked to crack jokes and they tell jokes belonging to others and they think they are funny. We don’t actually have any new creative comedians; we have ‘dressed comedians.’ They wear suits and tell you they are comedians and when you contract them for business, they make do with people’s joke. How can a fresh comedian be telling a joke that Ali Baba has said before as an up and coming humour merchant? So, it tells you that the person is not creative. That is why the last men standing are still the old comedians. Anytime you invite them for events, they tell you things you have never heard before and you get wondered and when you call the fresh ones, they keep remixing jokes said by the old ones because they are not creative.

Are you actually saying there are no good comedians among the fresh ones?

I can boldly tell you there are no good ones and they may be good but not creative. There is different between good and creativity. You may be good at delivering people’s joke and you cannot create jokes on your own that is the difference.

Don’t you think there should be a form of associations that should protect comedian’s intellectual properties?

We have tried to form an association but it did not work because the country is so large. You can be in your own area and claim whatever you feel whatever you feel you want to claim and because of the government itself not following into it. Because for you to have a driving license, you must know how to drive. Though we know there are situations whereby people just go to get driving license but if the government is following into entertainment and the government is in charge of regulating whatever goes in the entertainment industry, it will be better, because we cannot do it on our own. The government has to come in and set a pace, set a platform for us to follow up with. That is why setting up an organization that will work so that will not look like a village meeting is becoming very difficult because the federal government is not coming in fully and anytime they end up setting up an organization, it becomes a clique because we are human.

Let’s talk about your music, how has the response been?

I have actually dropped a 16 track album and presently, I am working on a comedy strictly album. I have done five tracks out of that album. As an OAP on FAAJI FM, I play my songs on the station and Ray Power. But presently, I can’t tell you the song is everywhere because I don’t do music for marketers in Alaba, I do it to my audience and my fans. Anywhere I go to perform, I sell my CDs and I am doing well with it.

How are you going about it’s awareness?

I am not after the awareness, I am after impacting my CDs on those that have come in contact with me personally. So I am not after the big Alaba hits, it is not what I am after. I do good jobs. I have season one, two and three of my audio comedy series. One of the CDs is in Alaba. I have travelled out of this country to South Africa to do my launch, I can tell you different countries, my clients and my contacts, my fans, they have my CDs, so that is it. If you come in contact with me, you get my job.

What is the ‘music-comedy’ about?

It is strictly music, but when I do it, I can pick our old school poem from our old school time and turn it to music; that is basically what I will do with that. So I am using it to cut across the teenagers and the children also. I want to carry along everybody because basically, comedians presently have not been able to carry along the children. So I am seeing a situation whereby I am using my comedy music to carry the children along. Imagine me coming up with a song ‘Johnbull my son I sent you to school you don’t know how to spell your name,’ it will be appealing to the children, so that is what I am doing presently.

Any plans of going into Nollywood?

I do soap opera, I do act but that is not the major thing for me. But if I have to diversify, I am presently working out something if I can do a little business with the oil and gas industry so that we can have better money to promote our jobs.

Why oil and gas when agriculture is there?

I am going into oil and gas to get more money to promote the job. I read Engineering. For an Electrical Engineer to go into agriculture maybe difficult but it will be easy for me to go into oil and gas.

When you are off duty, how do you relax?

As an OAP, I work all day, I do presenting of programmes on radio and presently I am working with an organization where we are working on a programme for African Magic. So if you talk of relaxation, the best time I relax is in my house when my kids are fast asleep, I get to stay with my wife, romance her and go to bed. Presently, 24 hours, we are looking for how to pay our bills, so as a business man, you work round the clock and the only time you relax is when you are at home.

How long have you been in the entertainment industry?

I have been in the comedy industry for about 15 years, as an OAP, I am about two years old with Faaji FM. I started radio presenting with Faaji FM but I have spent six years producing and presenting with Galaxy Television for ‘Laugh Café’ and when I left Galaxy TV, I rested for some time, I was doing my thing after about two years, I then hooked up with Faaji FM. So presently, I am doing my radio thing.

Every business has its challenges, so what has been the challenges faced?

The challenge for my business is the name, the brand, the name ‘Omo Jesu.’ It has limitations because some brand that should actually give me the money they end up saying because it is a Christian branded comedian, he may not be good for the job forgetting that as a Christian branded comedian, you are sent to the society to do a job. I am a gospel branded and I do societal events. If I am in the church, it’s a calling but if I am outside the church, it’s a calling.

Would be ready to become a pastor?

My father is late and he died in 1980 and he was a Bishop and I happen to be the first son of the family of four. So for you to do my kind of joke in the church, as a calling aspect of it, you must have a charisma to deliver as a prophet, like a preacher.© 2014Nigeriafilms.com