Unknown to many, Nigerian ace comedian Ayo Makun popularly known as AY spent nine years in the University.
The Delta State University graduate said accepting the huge responsibility of taking care of his younger ones delayed his university education.
In a chat with Goldmyne Tv :” In December 1999 when my dad passed, It was difficult to take over his position as the first son. It became even more difficult when my mum decided to join him in no time.
”Embracing the responsibilities of taking care of my four sisters and two baby brothers wasn’t the best message to preach to a waiting landlord whose rent must be paid in due time. The combination of being a big brother and father came with a price that kept me in Delta State University for 9 years as a student.”
”Apart from the non-negotiable Christian upbringing from my parents, my dad always drilled me, and made me tough. He taught me how to be a strong independent youngman. How to carry my siblings along as a leader of purpose. Though it wasn’t an easy journey for me or any of my younger ones, as we all struggled together. But hope was like the sun, which casts the shadows of our burden behind us.
”Humility is the true key to succeed in life. Eradicate every form of arrogance and self-indulging trap that will halt your blessings from God. See you at the top. ”
The Lagos State Government has slammed entertainers in the state who are purported to be tax evaders despite the income they make from their business.
Punch reports that the state government had prosecuted Nigerian pop star, Davido, for alleged tax evasion.
The ‘Fia’ crooner who also happens to be the CEO of HKN Music, Lagos, has been charged before a Lagos High Court in July 2017 and risk a jail term if sentenced.
In the same vein, Nigerian comedian, AY has a longer history in court against the state as he was charged to court in 2016 for failing to file his tax returns as required by law.
“Notable among these alleged tax offenders are two of Nigeria’s celebrated artistes –Davido and AY, the comedian. Both artistes have had a long standing battle with the Lagos Internal Revenue Service for tax evasion.
“Davido, who has record deals with Sony Music Entertainment and endorsement agreements with various companies in Nigeria, has not filed his tax returns or remit any taxes to the Lagos State Government,” the source said.
A source revealed to Punch that Davido had defended his action, claiming that he paid taxes to Osun State since he is an indigene of the state.
“AY too said the same thing. The comedian claimed to be paying his taxes to Ondo State, where he hails from. It seems these celebrities don’t understand that the tax law stipulates that you must pay your tax to your state of residence.
“Anyway, we are already in court. Others will soon appear in court if they don’t obey the state tax law. You can’t be making money in Lagos and refuse to pay tax” the source added.
Albert Einstein once said: “Try not to be a man of success, but a man of value”. 2017 has been quite an eventful year in the Nigerian entertainment sector. TheNewsGuru take a look at the 7 most influential entertainment personalities of 2017.
The list comprises of singers, entrepreneurs and comedians who have in one way or the other added value to the Nigerian entertainment sector in 2017.
Ali Baba
Like a sage, Atunyota Akpoboriome a.k.a Alibaba continues to maintain relevance in the Nigerian music industry.
Widely regarded as the king of comedy, Ali Baba has contributed immensely to the growth of the Nigerian entertainment industry. From creating a platform for budding comedians ( Alibaba’s Spontaneity) to mentoring established comedians, and making sure comedians profit from their craft, Alibaba’s stronghold on the comedy industry cannot be overemphasized. The showbiz entrepreneur recently starred in The Wedding Party Sequel.
Wizkid
Wizkid’s work ethic and drive has continually made him a regular feature when it comes to top African entertainers. In 2017, the self –proclaimed Star Boy beat Jay-Z, Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar and others to clinch the best international artist award .He was ranked 5th on Forbes and Channel O’s 2013 list of the Top 10 Richest/Bankable African Artists. Wizkid ended the year on a peaceful note, reconciling with his arch-rival Davido.
DAVIDO
Davido
Though he was born into affluence, Davido keeps striving like he has nothing to fall back on. Though the singer was embroiled in scandals that threatened to ruin his career, he managed to soar over them all.
In 2017, the self proclaimed OBO released hit songs like ‘If’, ‘Like That’ and ‘Fia’ which has millions of views on YouTube. The talented singer was responsible for Mo’ Hits reconciliation which took place at his ’30 Billion Concert’.Asides clinching awards, he made peace with his arch-rival, Wizkid.
AYO MAKUN
Ayo Makun
Ayo Makun better known as AY, is one of the few Nigerian comedians who follow the path less travelled .From discovering comedy talents, staging successful comedy shows, AY ventured into film-making and still became phenomenal at it. His flicks, ’30 days in Atlanta’, ‘10 days in Sun city’, all testify to his amazing work ethic.
Tiwa Savage
When we thought her sad marriage scandal was going to slow her down, the Mavins first lady went back to the drawing board, changed her winning formular, to become the queen of Nigeria’s pop music. This year Tiwa headlined sold-out gigs, released an EP titled ‘ Sugar Cane’ and gave Nigerians something to smile about.
SIMI
6.Simi
No one thought Simi was going to grow this fast, all thanks to her dedication, amazing vocal dexterity and her song writing prowess. Simi’s album made it to number 5 on Bill Board’s World Albums Chart in 2017
The ‘Jamb Question’ sensation also had a successful concert tagged ‘See me’ Live In Concert, making her one of the most sought after Nigerian artistes at the moment.
OMONI OBOLI
7.Omoni Oboli
2017 has undoubtedly been one of the toughest years Oboli has ever experienced. From losing her dad to being slammed with a lawsuit, Omoni has been in the eye of the storm.
Against all odds, the svelte mother of three boys continues to rise like a phoenix refusing to be deterred. She is currently promoting the sequel of her movie, Wives on strike
Nigerian comedian and entertainment entrepreneur, Ayo Makun better known as AY has revealed how the recession affected his business. The filmmaker made this known in a recent chat with Zain Asher.
AY noted that Nollywood is now attracting investments because investors see the profitmaking potential of the industry.
“People are now beginning to know that you can make money from our movies. Investors are starting to come in and collaborations between different production outfits are beginning.”
On how the recession affected him, he said: “It affected the last movie I did, 10 Days in Suncity, because of the exchange rate. I was shooting in Nigeria and South Africa so the exchange rate was crazy and that affected finance
“Recession or no recession, Nigerians want to like a product and they are ready to go out there and see it – it’s part of the relief for them”.
He also urged aspiring filmmakers to have confidence and cultivate the ability to take risks.
“The secret is not for you to just jump in because you think people are making money. You need to do your research. You also need to have an understanding of finance.
“(As) I have other comedy platforms, maybe the proceeds from doing standup will divert into this new line of business, which is movie making… And I’m a risk taker. I do not ask for any sort of funding.
“I have lost so much (money) from (the piracy of) 30 Days to A Trip to Jamaica. This has also affected the industry – some producers believe that if they spend so much and pirates come, they are going to (have a) huge loss.
“But if they spend less and they make a little money before the thieves come, it will be fine. This is affecting the quality [of the films being made].”
Ayo Makun a.k.a AY , hasn’t just made a name for himself in the comedy industry, by staging sold-out shows, he has also made a name for himself by producing his own movies. Nollywood insiders have over time criticized his movies for a lack of depth, but the comedian has said he is not perturbed.
The outspoken comedian took to his Instagram page to share his thoughts.
Hear him:” The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.My movies have been written off by some critics, yet they made most people happy. They gave me personal fulfilment from awards to money, and moved on to the point of making the Guinness world records.
“Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots. People will always have opinions about your work, but don’t allow yourself to get sucked down to their negative standards of communication.
“When someone launches a personal attack on you with unconstructive criticism keep in mind that it isn’t actually about you at all. It is about them.
“It is about how they see the world etc. Some people will approach a situation in a healthy constructive way, some people don’t. Whatever way people communicate with you is about who they are and not about you at all. So don’t take it personally.
“Unconstructive criticism has no value other than the value you give to it. So choose wisely who you listen to and what value you give to what they say. Always maintain your own dignity, integrity and personal standard.”
If the rumours flying around for sometime now is anything to go by, Nigerian comedian, Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY has been under intense pressure to keep his marriage and family together.
Just a few weeks ago, AY’s wife, Mabel, exposed his raunchy chats with Freda Francis on Instagram by posting a screenshot of the chats and thereafter warning her to stay away from her husband.(Read here)
The hoopla generated by that post on social media was such that the speculations became rife that the marriage of the popular comedian who has also dabbled, successfully, in movie making was troubled.
It was, therefore, taken for granted that when reporters cornered the comedian, at the recent premier of his movie, 10 days in Sun city, that he would face a barrage of questions on his alleged, continuous infidelity. AY has been under intense pressure to respond to the scandal, but had kept a sealed lips, until his most recent interview. He was coerced into speaking on the speculations about the assumed crisis in his marriage. But he took the easy way out: what are you talking about?
Expectedly, the comedian denied blatantly that his marriage is troubled, feigning ignorance about the social media buzz over his alleged flirtations with several ladies and especially knowledge of the exposure of the raunchy instagram posts.
When asked pointedly about the crisis, he answered unconvincingly: “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
This is not the first time fidelity crisis will be hitting the marriage of the ace comedian. Not too long ago, Mabel Makun, Ay’s wife, was reported to have packed out of their matrimonial home as a result of allegations of infidelity against her husband.
Nigeria’s social media scene was agog on Monday when AY Makun’s wife, Mabel posted a chat he had with CEO Oasis Med Spa, Freda Francis. Before deleting the post, Mabel took to her Instagram page warning Freda to leave her family alone.In her words: “I think I have had enough of the ridiculing. Freda Francis stay away from my family and I mean it.”
Amazingly, a longer version of the chat has surfaced online via Stella Dimokokorkus blog which has generated intense condemnation online
TBoss one of the housemates who partook in the recently held Big Brother Naija show, has reacted to the controversial jokes AY shared about Kemen ‘s sexual assault on her.
Speaking as a guest on Rubbin minds TV show anchored by Ebuka Uchendu, she said AY’s jokes were insensitive.
According to her: “I totally feel it was insensitive of him. It was very insensitive because like I said, I have a lot to say. Everyone who watched the show knows I am a very emotional person and I am very sensitive and this is not something that can be overlooked or joked about. I see the comments. I sneak into my Instagram and see the comments and I am like look, you are a female. This could have happened to you.
“This probably has happened to you. This incident was on camera. People saw it and people still chose to make light of this situation and make a joke out of it. If I consent to you touching me, that doesn’t mean I consent to you kissing me or going the extra mile. if you do that to me on international tv and someone out there feels it is content for a joke, its unfair”
Following the criticism meted out to comedian AY over his sexual assault jokes shared at his AY Live 2017, Frances Agoda a.k.a I Go Dye expresses his opinion over the trending issue saying its only a joke and shouldn’t be taking personal. Though AY has apologized, I Go Dye insists that the jokes on Big Brother Naija housemates were just to entertain.
According to him: “The idea of comedy is to create humour out of tragedy. Our problem in this country is that we act like saints in the eyes of those who still pretend to be saints, I am not a saint and not trying to be, the truth is that the only Saints I know is St. Moritz which you can still get the fake. The joke on BBNaija Housemates by @aycomedian was just to entertain without any form of malice. So I wonder why we go out to make issues out of none issues when we are bedeviled with various challenges that needs attention”.
For a while now social media has been awash with comments on social media focused on the jokes shared at the just concluded AY Live by Ayo Makun.AY has been slammed for making a joke out of the sexual assault on TBoss by a fellow housemate, Kemen. A lot of people concluded that his jokes were insensitive and it was like he was defending Kemen’s action.
Earlier today, AY issued an apology to TBoss and he shared the videos of the jokes noting that he didn’t intend to make her feel that way.He added that he will never support or promote rape.
Read his message below
HERE IS PART 1 & 2 OF THE RAPE JOKE I SAID AT AY LIVE I know a lot of people did not see the joke before lashing on me… and no amount of me trying to explain myself would do me any good which is why I am uploading it so Nigerians and indeed all fans of the AY brand will be fully informed. I want to apologize to @officialTboss_, the entire Tboss nation and Nigerians who interpreted the joke to be promoting rape. It was never my intention to come across as a supporter of any form of assault to women.
I was only touched and inspired to share the joke when I learnt that Kemen came out alongside other church members when Pastor Paul Adefarasin asked those under immense pressure to the point of wanting to commit suicide to step out for prayers. Also coupled with the fact that he had personally apologised to Tboss after he was disqualified. Like I said in the joke, I have a wife and a daughter, and I will never be in support of any such action that is designed to promote rape or any form of sexual assault that will demean womanhood.
