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| Klint da Drunk |
Popular comedian, Klint da Drunk, speaks on the controversies currently surrounding his career, writes Jayne Augoye
Two things appear to be currently
happening to the career of ace Nigerian comedian, Afamefuna Igwemba,
popularly known as Klint da Drunk.
At a time when many comedians are
flaunting jet-set lifestyles and living large, the funny man whose
unique style of comedy earned him the affection of many Nigerians
appears somewhat quiet. Little wonder, some of his fans felt if he had
silently left the scene.
Secondly, a recent scandal involving the
comedian and an Abuja-based church that had contracted him to perform
in one of its programmes became an issue after he was accused of failing
to show up.
In the face of it all, Klint remains
calm and unfazed. He however says, “Everything that was written about
the incident is false and yes there was a show that was held that I
didn’t show up at all.”
The entertainer, who earned acclaim after performing at the 2000 edition of Opa William’s Nite of a Thousand Laffs in
Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, admits he was invited to perform at a
church programme by one-time Nollywood actor-turned pastor, Larry
Koldsweat. He says it was scheduled to take place on March 23, 2014.
“Upon confirmation that the event was to
take place on April 23, I put it down in my calendar. My initial
arrangement was to arrive in Abuja a day before if I had no prior
engagement. But I was later called upon by another actor, Diewait
Ikpechukwu, for a golfers event holding in Owerri, Imo State, on March
22.
“I booked my flight to Owerri for March
22, Owerri to Abuja on the morning of March 23 and then Abuja back to
Lagos on the 24. But the organisers texted me to come down to Abuja on
the 22nd promising to pay for my flight and other exigencies. I told
them I would try my best,” he explains.
Although he was unable to meet up with
the event in Abuja on the newly proposed date, Klint says, he has since
reached a resolution with the organisers.
“Contrary to reports making the rounds
that I was paid N250, 000, I was paid N200,000, and it was an upfront
fee . All comedians can attest that churches don’t pay that much but we
do it for God, not church. I kept quiet because it is not moral to
fight a church.”
The Institute of Management and
technology, Enugu State, Fine and Applied Arts graduate says he is not
pleased with some remarks alleged to have been made by his fellow
comedians.
“Now they say I would have gone far in
my career if not for my love for computer games. It is this same set of
comedians that went around telling people that I live in Abuja so that I
will not be getting Lagos shows.
“My colleagues want to run me down, let
them feel free. It is because they are afraid of me; they feel that if
they run me down I won’t survive it. I am a gadget lover, that is the
truth. Everyone knows that whenever I walk into a gadget shop the people
there want me to educate them about some of their gadgets. Isn’t it
better that I am a sucker for video games than a sucker for smoking igbo
marijuana?” he asks.
Noting that his continued relevance
remains a threat to most of his colleagues, Klint says he has chosen to
focus on moving his career to the next level.
On his relationship with other comedians, he explains that he is open minded and a friend to all.
But he adds, “They have cliques but that
does not bother me because it doesn’t affect my career. God still
chases away flies for a tailless cow. So, I am not complaining.
“There are times when things are slow
and other times when they are good. It is like that for all the
so-called cliques because some times they don’t even see shows. I love
and respect God to the extent that I put my career in His hands and He
has not disappointed me.”
After his musical prowess came to the fore when he sang the hook on Mr Raw’s hit track, Obodo , some years back, the comedian says he still intends to explore many options music-wise.
“I am proud to say I was part of the
pioneers singing in native languages. I will do something musical soon
but I don’t want to be compared to all musicians. Though my material
will be related to music I am not coming to compete with Davido and
Wizkid,’ he says laughing.
On the future of comedy in Nigeria, the
soft-spoken comedian has just one desire. “I wish we had more original
comedians. Just the way you have live band musicians who play the songs
better than the original artistes themselves we also have some
comedians who tell other people’s jokes better than the owners
themselves. “
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