DE DON: I fled Nigeria for greener pastures. A chat with SAM ANOKAM

 

POPULAR comedian Iruuwe Okeremute aka De Don was one of the rising comic acts in Nigeria as well as on radio. In this chat with SAM ANOKAM from Toronto, the funny and creative actor, MC and entertainer, who is a graduate of Economics from the Lagos State University explained why he relocated to Canada, his challenges, break through and plans.

Why did you ‘japa’ as they say in local parlance?

To be honest, I was comfortable in Nigeria because I had a radio show going well for me. I had brands placing adverts on it. I had a tour with Nigerian breweries. At least in a month, I do one gig and at times I do two cities. I have a television series going on and anytime I produce, Africa Magic buys the rights. In terms of finance, I was very ok, but I came to realise that a lot of our politicians keep their families outside the country and then ask why. I realise that the level of uncertainty in Nigeria is out of this world. You can invest N20m in Nigeria and small things will happen and everything will go down the drain. Instead of insurance to see how they can help you, they would rather see how they can take themselves out of the problem.

I remember my father’s story. He was not a wealthy man, but he was rich. He used to work in the ministry of Agriculture and was doing well. He has an estate at Abraka and Agbaruto, Delta State but when he died, a year later, my mother put akamu (pap) on my head and I began to hawk in the morning before going to school, when I return, I and my brother would go hawk fish or palm oil. That was how the hustle started. When I began to reminisce on all of this matter, I told myself that my kids would not experience it. The uncertainty is not sure. Insecurity is another big issue and the level of crime is springing up by the day and I could not bear the society anymore, so I decided to leave.

Were those the only reasons you left or because it was the fad to relocate?

I was not even planning to leave. I was planning to settle my family there, return and visit them. However, it started from my business. I opened a bar in Opebi, Ikeja. By the time I got there and began renovating the place, street urchins came to ask for owo ile. I said I didn’t buy the property, they said even if it is a business venture, I should give them something. I reckon it’s a community, let me fraternise. So, I gave them something. Not long after, police came to say they are the ones guarding the area and demanded something as well. I gave them too. Before you know it, local government people came, I told them that my company is a limited liability company, I don’t have any business with local government, I have paid for a permit. And limited liability companies deal with the federal government directly. I pay my tax to the federal government. A lot of back and forth ensued, a lot of intimidation went on with that business. I struggled throughout. In that process I met with a lot of disappointments. Some people I gave jobs to did not deliver. Some will take money and disappear. I am not used to that kind of struggle. Though I grew up in Nigeria, I have always done things the right way. When I got into the business where I had to deal with this set of people, it got so much into me and I began to think about the country. The local government boys know that I am not supposed to give them anything but what gave them the effrontery to come and give me issues is because the society allows it. It took connection to stop them from coming. All of these dramas with my bar called Bar17 just beside the coliseum got me thinking about the country and society we live in. There and then I began contemplating taking my family out of Nigeria. I actually had a plan because my wife got into school in Canada. I got her here but when I came in the middle of settling them down, covid came. As covid happened, they granted me stay. In-between, I realise that it is not a wise idea to let only a woman raise kids especially in this kind of society considering our African background.  It is not easy for any single mother that is working here and not dependent on welfare. I decided to stay back and start my career all over again. That is the long and short of the story.

So how has it been so far?

To be honest with you, for the first two years, I was depressed. It took me time to recoup and start all over again. So, what did I do? Since I have been doing comedy for over 20 years, I brought in the strategy of selling shows back home in Nigeria and I tried it here and boom! It worked. And today we sold out shows at ease. I had my first show last year in April 2022. It was sold out. But before then, I tried the Nigerian community here with a small comedy club where I hosted with a young comedian at a lounge. The first one was a sold out, the second one was good and the third one was a sold out. I took a break and returned with another sold out show and from then, I have been enjoying a lot of acceptance here.

Who are your audience, whites, blacks or mix?

They are pure Nigerians, some are from Ogbomoso. I have other few Africans coming like Ghanaians, Cameroonians, and because the Ghanaians and Cameroonians kind of like our pidgin. The Jamaicans too love our pidgin, but they do not come that much to my shows. Few of them attend though. I am based in Toronto. My show last year, titled The Don Unblended, was sold out. It had a 300-capacity hall. I did a show in Calgary and in Alberta too. It is a four-hour flight from Toronto. On Friday March 17, I had another one in Edighton, it was sold out.

Are there many Nigerians there?

Under five years, the whites here will not be up to 10. Nigerians in Toronto alone should be up to a million.

How come you landed on a foreign land and began to make waves, what about other comedians before you there?

There are comedians here before me. We have Igos, RichWhite, First Bon, Grand Komanda, Laffin Pikin, Mr. President, Nosasixx -5ive, Toye Tee, Kome, Sam Precious, MC Morris among others. But they weren’t pulling out shows like we do in Lagos. The promoters that organise shows just bring artists and get DJs to play music. Back home when you have a show let’s say you have Ali Baba as the frontliner, before Ali Baba comes on stage, there is a seamless transition of a performance of a comedian before Alli Baba comes up. So, the whole night is interesting. But here, nothing happens until the main act comes up. Before I came, most promoters just put anybody on the stage. Sometimes nothing happens on the stage. People go to events and wait for like two to three hours before they get Ali Baba or Tuface on stage. It is frustrating for guys that have attended shows back home here. They don’t attend shows over here because of the way it is being organised. When I came, I saw the loophole, I saw the challenges and took advantage of it. I brought the Lagos side and by the time I applied it to my comedy shows, those that came had an experience. When I was announcing my big show, they were the ones marketing it saying this guy is different.

What are your plans for the next five years?          

My plan is to take over the entire Canada. I like to have a minimum of six major shows at different stages every year. Take for instance, I have hosted in Toronto, I have hosted in Calgary, I am hosting in Edmonton. I wish to go to places like Vancouver, Quebec, Montreal, and Halifax. There are lots of cities that have a lot of Nigerians and I would like to exploit all of those cities.

Tell us about your next big show

My next show is on Saturday April 15 in the city of Toronto. I am hosting it in one of the very big auditoriums here, the prestigious National Event Venue. I am performing, Igos is performing. Richwhite, who used to be Bigwhite, would be performing, X the DJ who is Ali Baba’s son, and based here will be on stage. I have a Spanish comedian here. I have three comedians to perform before I come up and I have a DJ to rock the show.

Do you have any assistance from other popular and well-traveled comedians?

I had a lot of rejection from the promoters. Some of them do not know me at all, some see me as a challenge, as a competitor. I had to build a synergy but the more I make an effort, the more rejection I get. Over there in Nigeria, we have this belief that as you arrive Lagos you need to stay with somebody that has been in Lagos before and maybe work with him and then gradually you would now  have your own empire – of course, you used his own board to spring but here the chief promoters don’t think like that. If you come like this and they know this guy has been doing this thing and he knows the business, they see you as a big competition and there is kind of rivalry.

When I realised that most of the promoters here really do not appreciate talent and are not ready to give me a chance, I decided to activate my skills from back home. I approached the audience myself and the acceptance is just overwhelming. A lot of Nigerian businesses like Suya Spot, Simi African Foods, African Freshness, Canada Cargo, HOTPOT catering, amazing grocery store, Global Stride Consult, Echovisionz etc. All of these business owners have been missing the Lagos vibe, so, when I bought it on, it was easy to attract them and they have been supporting me since 2021 till date. My last year’s show, De Don Unblended, I had a huge support from comedians back home from Nigeria. People like Acapella, Dex talker, Bovi, – a lot of comedians did video clips on my behalf. By the time I put it there, those that didn’t know me say this one is a big one o. These testimonials coming from these comedians are worth watching. It is worth identifying with.

Any plan for a collaboration?

We have plans to do things in the near future. Jedi came to support us.  Seven of us hosted the Nigerian Canadian kings of Comedy. Together with Canadians here, we pooled our resources together and did a show and Jedi who is based in the U.S. came through to support us. The idea behind it is for us all to come together. Nigerians here really do not unite that much. So, we decided to use comedy to preach unity.

What other challenges are you encountering?

Not much challenge except trying to get big brands to support my show. The first one I did it by myself but the one I am doing this year, I am getting Nigerian businesses. I have six that are on board with me on this show. They are identifying with me even though they didn’t give me money. Before now, they didn’t listen to me but when they have seen what I have done so far, they feel it is worth identifying with.

Are you encouraging other comedians here to relocate?

Not only Nigerian comedians, but any human being that can japa should japa and watch until we have sane people in government. Even the devil ran away from Nigeria in 1955 as he cannot beat the performance of our politicians.

Do you have any plans to come back?

I have plans of coming back but when I noticed that insecurity, level of police brutality has been taken care of, then I would come back.

Credit; Sam Anokam, The Nations Newspaper