Legal eagle to laugh-a-minute

Ikenna Azuike

Ikenna Azuike

Published Jan 26, 2015

Share

BY DEBASHINE THANGEVELO

BBC World News is synonymous with hard-hitting and breaking news. And for its critical analysis, overviews and topical features of current affairs.

But times are changing and trends evolving. For the better, it seems. One of the positives to come out of this pioneering evolution on the channel is Ikenna Azuike and his political and social commentary send-ups in What’s Up Africa, a new segment on Focus on Africa.

To date, the most popular satirical offering on South African screens is Loyiso Gola’s Emmy-nominated show, Late Night News (LNN), on eNCA. That’s not forgetting one of the strongest weapons in his comedic arsenal – Chester Missing, the puppet that pulls no punches with our politicians-cum-celebrities.

What’s Up Africa, however, also brings a fresh, relevant and all-encompassing African flavour to the continent. And it is provocative, too.

But before chatting more about the Amsterdam-based comedian and vlogger’s show on TV, Tonight asked him to shed light on his history.

“I left Nigeria with my mum and dad when I was eight. But we would always come back every year. Then when I started university at 18, there was a long break (in going back). Like a lot of African kids, I was strongly encouraged to be a lawyer. It’s like being on this conveyer belt – and the next thing I knew I was doing law school. I studied at UCL (University College London).”

Life was on track for him. He then started working as a trainee.

He shares: “By day two, I knew this wasn’t for me. But my dad kept saying it was going to change. Four years down the line, obviously, by this stage, I had lots of financial security, got to travel a lot and got the chance to work in the New York office of my firm. The city gave me the self-confidence to start again. I describe this as my wake-up call moment: I bought a tooth brush for $200. Got home and thought, ‘what the f**k am I doing? What kind of superficial, apathetic person have I become?’ I realised I buy expensive stuff because it was appropriate for a big-city lawyer – but I did this stuff because I was miserable.”

And so he left.

“I started as an intern in a Dutch company, Radio Netherlands Worldwide. There is a saying that I kept with me: ‘It is better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than half way up one that you don’t’. For the first time, I cared about the work I was doing. I was working on a daily news show. Then I asked to work on an African show. Two years in, I was plugged into YouTube and the social media culture and thought it would be nice to plug into a new concept that was fresh, entertaining and satirical. And that explains the birth of What’s Up Africa,” he reveals.

An admirer of the Jon Stewarts, Steve Colberts and Sascha Baron Cohens of the world, it certainly talks to him owning his talent and creating his own niche.

Interestingly, it was via the late Komla Dumor, who hosted Focus on Africa, that Azuike gained a toehold in BBC World News. Their paths crossed when Azuike did Roots, where he documented his return – after 15 years – to Lagos. And he decided to pitch What’s Up Africa to the news network.

He shares: “I got invited to Focus on Africa. At the time, Komla was presenting. And he was integral to this adventure happening. He believed in me and the concept and connected me… I just kept pestering and lobbying and then I was asked to make a pilot, which people seemed to like. A year later, here we are.”

Aside from creating a racket with his out-there wacky personality at the BBC’s newsrooms, he laughs: “When we were filming the promos, there I was shouting, with this wig, licking big lollipops for a sketch.

“My show is political satire. I want to tackle a range of serious subjects from human rights abuses, corruption, to sexual rights and women’s rights. It’s about press freedom. Anything where I feel people are being bullied.”

Thankful for his team, he says: “I am working with two other amazing writers. I love that I can verbally spar with them. One, funnily enough, is a performer, too. They are Mollie Balogun and Okechukwu Ofili. I also want to mention my BBC producer, Kathy Harcombe, and my camera guy, Sandesh Bhugaloo.”

On what South Africans should look forward to, he laughs: “Oh, there is an interesting one in the pipeline. It’s about President Jacob Zuma, in relation to his State of the Nation address and about feminism in South Africa. Remember, it is satire!”

Ikenna Azuike’s What’s Up Africa appears on Focus On Africa on BBC World News (DStv channel 400) on Fridays at 7.30pm.

Related Topics: