VIDEO: How a striptease show launched my comedy career – Ali Baba

Veteran Nigerian comedian Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, popularly known as Ali Baba, has shared the unlikely and dramatic origin of his illustrious career in comedy.

In an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise, the iconic entertainer recounted how a chaotic night during his university days at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, in the late 1980s unexpectedly launched him into the world of comedy.

According to Ali Baba, the event was originally meant to feature a Congo music striptease performance—a popular entertainment trend in Nigeria at the time.

However, the evening took a wild turn when the crowd’s reaction scared the performer offstage.

“Between 1986 and 1987, there was a new lease of life for Congo music in Nigeria. People embraced it, and dancers were coming from everywhere—even into churches,” he said.

“One of those striptease ladies came to our school in Ekpoma… when it was time for her to undress totally, she ran off the stage. Some local guys who hadn’t seen that kind of thing before ran towards her, and she got scared.”

With the crowd growing restless and the show in disarray, organizers scrambled for a solution.

That’s when Pesio Koje, a fellow student, approached Ali Baba and asked him to pacify the audience.

“I got on stage, started cracking jokes and yabbing everyone to calm them down,” he recalled.

“But that day was the turning point. As soon as I got on stage, I felt at home. I knew this was what I wanted to do. I started entertaining.”