Except she’s not somewhere close to the camera, you can’t comfortably classify her as a funny bone but if she is, then being funny is her second nature. Ace comedienne and mother of comedy, Mandy Umeadi Uzonitsha is not just funny, she’s an embodiment of humour. The star of Charlie Boy produced TV series, ‘Mama Nothing Spoil’, 'Candid Camera' and 'This is not the News', Mandy has endeared herself to many homes in Nigeria and Africa at large following her comic roles in the aforementioned series and many jokes she cracks in countless shows as a standup comedienne.
She made her mark as the first female comedian in Nigeria at the time when everyone thought it scornful to be addressed as a comedian but would prefer the MC tag, Mandy came up courageously and creatively in the early 90s, and subsequently changed history by pioneering stand-up comedy.
She saw the immense business opportunities in the industry and took advantage of the market. Today, the amount of money comedians charge per show surpasses the annual income of a regular banker.
The story of comedy in Nigeria will not be complete without mentioning big names like Mandy Umeadi Uzonitsha, the first female comedian in Nigeria. She indeed, started a revolution that inspired some big names in the industry. The comedy legend who's style of cracking jokes is extremely unique performs for the nouveau rich, she handles many A-list events in Nigeria and beyond.
Impressively successful in her profession, the spontaneous and talented comic act who started from Charly Boy Show recently hit Nigeria fashion industry with Casa de Mandy brand, a fast rising and promising fashion brand in Nigeria.
In an exclusive interview with Global Affairs Magazine the Delta state born multitalented comedienne explained why she avoided limelight for many years.
Global Affairs Magazine brings the excerpts:
Q: Please kindly introduce yourself, how you started, the challenges you encountered and how you were able to surmount those challenges.
Ans: My name is Mandy Umeadi Uzonitsha, I'm from Delta State. I started many years ago with comedy while I was working with Charlie boy. On the Charlie Boy Show I handled many segments from 'Candid camera' to 'This is not the 'News to 'Mama Nothing Spoil' and so on. I was in the university while working with Charlie boy. After my graduation and Youth Service in Benue state I came back to Lagos and started working with Desmond Majekodunmi. Then he use to run DTD Jamz Show at Lekki Beach every Sunday. They invited me to come and anchor the programme. Then Nse Etim (the actress) was their presenter but they wanted me to handle the comedy aspect. So when Nse relocated to Abuja i was told to take over from her and that is how I started anchoring DTD Jamz Show and cracking jokes every Sunday at Lekki Beach. Then we later had the all female show by Ayo Animashaun, the owner of Hip pop World, now Hip TV, he had a programme called 'Girl's Night Out' where ladies do everything. At that time there was no female comedian. I was the only female comedian available to perform and that's how it all started.
Q:What challenges did you encounter?
Ans: I encountered a lot of challenges, you know when something is new and people don't know about it, it's kind of difficult to embrace. As at that time there were very few comedians, John Chukwu, Mohammed Danjuma of blessed memory, Ibokoko, Barsorge, Agoma, Alarm Blow, and Ali Baba so comedy wasn't known as something people do but we had a few people working and trying to make people laugh at event and Ali Baba was really struggling to place himself there to make people know that he can make them laugh but the person that was reigning then was John Chukwu. When a lady joined them, it wasn't what people will even think about they just looked at me as a noise maker who will shut up when she is through and stop disturbing them, but of course I didn't stop I just kept on doing my thing and because it was blending with what I was doing at that time, working with Charlie boy and anchoring for DTD people realised that oh we have a celebrity here and they started calling me to crack jokes or anchor their events. So that's how it started but initially there was no acceptance, people frowned at it, most people that were even calling then were media houses like Fame, City People, and other old media houses. They were calling us for their annual events and they write about it that's how we kept staying relevant but there was no money in our pocket, so the major challenges then was the non acceptance and there was no financial gain.
How I was able to surmount these challenges. I just stayed strong till today I'm still there, still holding on with the believe that it will be ok and of course we have started having other female comedian joining, like Najite Dede is the second female comedian that joined, then Chacha box, Princess and Lepacious Bose so that is how it went and now we have people like Real Warri Pikin, and many more female comedians joined. That's how we surmounted the difficulties we faced, we didn't leave but we kept on doing what we were doing because we believe that humor wasn't the sole right of the male, women could make people laugh too.
Q: You are the first female comedian, what is that special thing about your style that makes you stand tall among other comedienne?
Ans: I started off as the very first female that started making people laugh and.. my style, my style was just stay afloat so you get the job the next time. So I stayed away from controversy, till tomorrow you will find out that I always shied away from controversy, I run away from noise, I run away from even these kind of interview you do, I don't do them, I avoid them and stayed away from the limelight. It's funny but yes that's how it's been because I knew I was married when my career started and I got divorced so most times when they want to talk or write about you they bring out the ugly part of you that's why I stayed away from publicity. I just stayed under the radar, get jobs and provide for my family. So that's what I was doing and I think I have done it very well. I'm the first female comedian and I'm also like the under dog, I stay away from a lot of controversies, talk, newspaper, radio and TV interviews.
As much as I stay away from controversies, I also avoid controversial jokes. I don't do dirty jokes, I just stay clean and I tried to find out over the years that the thing that works best for me is to yab myself. I discovered that it makes better laughs to yab yourself when you are standing in front of a lot of people than yabbing the people in the crowd. It gives me more jobs because when I stand up and yab myself they just laugh, look at me like a fool and I go but they call me again. If I stand there and begin to yab the chairman or the people in the crowd they will never call me again. So that's how I have been able to stay afloat and fend for my family. That's the trick I use to still stay relevant.
Q: Tell me about your fashion house and what inspired you to go into fashion?
Ans: Fashion house... I found out that I do well when there's a break. Any break, I started working with Charlie boy when we had the ASUU strike that lasted for about two years during Babangida's regime.
Again during the COVID-19 lockdown I developed interest in YouTube and I started watching videos of clothes making tutorials and that's how the fashion line came in.
So my fashion line stemmed out of boredom as a result of COVID-19 lockdown, most of us were not working and you know the children do not understand, when they say mummy we want to eat you can't tell them oh... sorry I'm an entertainer and as artist we can't go out and work at the moment. So I started making outfits and I told people in my street that I make outfits and they started patronizing me so that's how it all started.
Q: Where do you want to see your brand 5years from now?
Ans: On people's skin, on people's body I want to see people wearing my brand. I know I have a lot of work to do, and I really need to push it. This is not like the comedy thing were I'm under the radar. People need to wear my outfit so what I will be doing is wearing my outfit so that if it speaks to people they can call me and say ok make this type of outfit you are wearing for me in the same color or any other color. So I know being a celebrity has given me a step ahead of other designers but I still need to work double hard for people to be interested in identifying with my label, Casa de Mandy. We will get there, Yes but I need to work super hard for people to identify with my label.
Q: What advice would you give to young and jobless youths out there who thinks crime is an alternative?
Ans: I.... do not know how to tackle this because I have a young child, I have a teenager and I see what they see, what they believe in and what they do. It's quite different from the way we were brought up. In this generation it's either they dress half naked, do TikTok videos, you know it just baffles me their thought pattern and the way they think. Maybe it's because we as loving parents provide so much for them so they don't struggle or work hard. The only way they know to work hard is to see another person as a means to making it by doing ritual killing and I don't know how all these started. People have been trying to pin point if it could be from the movies, churches, 419, or from the lifestyles of the celebrities. I don't just know. However, you don't allow people influence you to a point that you see your mother and you think you want to kill her, somebody that gave you life. You see your girl friend, someone that shows you love, affection and care and you just feel that's the person that will take you to the promise land. I do not understand were it's coming from, all I can say is that karma is a bitch. I have also seen videos of where these people run mad on the street. So I think we should show them more of the videos of the negative consequences of these evil acts rather than encouraging them by showing us their extravagant lifestyle so that they will understand that killing their fellow human being for money ritual doesn't pay.
My advice to the youth is that if nothing is wrong with your hand and leg you can still make money. I have a B.Sc. I'm a stand up comedienne and I still sew. It doesn't demean me, it doesn't reduce me, it rather adds value to my life because I don't beg to eat despite the bad economy I know that things will get better. So I think we should start telling them to use their hand, and you see these youths that are planning or thinking of defrauding someone else, their brain is so active, they can invent things and they will fly high. As a mother, I just beg them to channel their talents to the right direction and I beg the government to retire the old ones and employ the young ones. If young people were gainfully employed they will be too busy for crime.
Beautiful interview, of course, it is Mandy!
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