Usually known for his hilarious gimmicks and being the father of Comedy in Nigeria, Atunyota Alleluya Akporobomerere known to all as ALI BABA in an interview with Nneka Agbanusi of HAPPENINGS reveals his life as a father and husband.


How did you feel when you held your first child in your arms?

I was busy working during the birth of my first child. She was supposed to come on Christmas day but she came two days after and I was working on the 26th and 27th. I finished on the 28th and I went to see her, it was nice. It was a new feeling, like I was part of this; I was part of this success.

How have you been able to juggle parenthood with your career?

The kind of work that I have is one that provides me ample time on my hands; it’s unlike working a 9-5 job. It also means that I may be busy mostly from Fridays to Saturdays and weekends, but you have the whole week to play with the kids. My job is like a blessing except for times when I have to travel out of town; so I actually get to see them more often than any other job. If it were a 9-5 job, by the time you wake up by 6, go to work and by the time you come back they’ve gone to bed. My career as an entertainer generally gives me that spare time unlike other people.

Describe your typical week with your kids

Some days, I help with their homework. For example, I have to sign my daughter’s homework; go through the homework, sometimes even read before signing it. It helps me too because I’m also in a learning process. I’ll also leave remarks saying what she has learned so far. Sometimes she’ll ask me to drop her at school and she also tries to extract a promise of “you must come back and pick me.” As I am driving her, I have to be answering questions. She’ll be reporting her friends to me; she’ll say this one is not my friend again, he brought a ball and he didn’t let me play. This person is my new friend because she smiled at me when we were walking.

Then during the early morning rush and stuck in traffic, I have to engage her because she’ll be asking so many questions. When she gets to school, I take her to drop her bag in the bag room, take her to sign in and drop her lunch box and then I meet other parents, talk, and then wait for the assembly bell to ring before I go. Hers is different from the school time of the other children; the others’ school run is done by their mother but for this one I try once in a while to chip in.

The best times are weekends, when I have to watch a movie with them or if I am home I’ll have to take them to the park in the estate playing football. The most interesting times are when I do homework with them, some arts and crafts as well. Sometimes they’ll want to tell me stories that I have to listen to.

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