Former Cross River Milad, Ibrahim Kefas dies at 73
By Rasheed Olanrewaju 38 seconds ago
A Former Military Administrator of Cross River State, Air Commodore Ibrahim Kefas (rtd), is dead.
Kefas who was the Cross River State Military Administrator between December 1993 and September 1994, died in an Abuja Hospital on Friday, October 1, 2021 at the age of 73 and has since been buried according to Islamic rites.
An indigene of Taraba State, Kefas also served as military administrator of Delta state, under the late General Sanni Abacha’s regime, before he retired from active military service.
naptu2: I can't believe that I've finally found a video of the doyen of stand up comedy in Nigeria. I don't mind the fact that the audio quality is poor, I'm just happy to see him in action again.
No event was complete without him. President Babangida was so eager to get him to MC the "Command Performance" event of the 1985 Independence Day celebrations, that he sent people all over Lagos to search for him and when he discovered that JC had gone to his village, hessent the presidential jet to bring him back to Lagos.
Many will also remember him from Radio Nigeria 1 and NTA's Things Fall Apart and the Bar Beach Show.
Both Babangida and Chief MKO Abiola contributed money to pay for his medical expenses (Abiola deposited £25,000 at the hospital in London), but John Chukwu eventually died in November 1990.
^ Fashion shows were very popular in Nigeria in the late 1980s and early 1990s and that was John Chukwu's stand up comedy routine at a fashion show (I've seen another similar video on YouTube).
I obviously don't need to introduce John Chukwu, so I' ll introduce Collins Onomoh instead. Collins Onomoh is the guy that played the part of Odili (the taxi driver from Bendel State) in Second Chance (NTA c1985-1989).
This is Bandwagon Comedy Hour (Radio Nigeria 2, AM/FM Stereo). It was broadcast in 1979.
Hosts: John Chukwu (king of stand up comedy) and Julie Coker (broadcaster and former beauty queen).
Venue: National Theatre (all but one). Nicon Noga Hilton (1).
Remember Charlie Boy towing guests on to the stage with his motorcycle? The guests were seated on a couch, which was towed by Charlie Boy's motorcycle.
Most famous gaffe: Sir Shina Peters said, "I want to wish King Sunny Ade soonest recover".
Foreign awardee: Mariam Makeba (South Africa).
Chief host: Chief Tony Okoroji
Best new artist : Sir Shina Peters.
Lifetime achievement awards: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Dan Maria Jos.
Fela never attended the event. Femi always received his award on his behalf, but there was a year in which he attended the pre-award ceremony at the O-Jay's restaurant. Journalists swarmed round him and asked him if he would attend that year's event. He said that he might, but he didn't. (Remember that he didn't even attend his daughter's wedding. He said that he forgot the date).
Special guest of honour: President Babangida (always represented by Admiral Aikhomu or the minister of information ).
John Chukwu was Nigeria’s most famous comedian in the 1980s. He was a stand-up comedian, had a radio comedy show (Band Wagon Comedy Hour), a TV comedy show (Laff Mattaz), and a night club. He compered many major events in Nigeria, like the first Nigerian Music Awards, which he hosted with Julie Coker. In 1985 President Babangida had to send the presidential jet to pick him up from his home state so that he could MC the Command Performance to mark Nigeria’s 25th anniversary.
John Chukwu fell ill in 1990 and his family reached out to Chief MKO Abiola and President Babangida. MKO contacted a hospital in the UK and arranged for John Chukwu to be treated there. President Babangida also pledged some money towards his treatment. Unfortunately John Chukwu died before he could be flown out of the country.
naptu2: I was arguing with myself earlier today and if you had seen me you might have thought that I was mad.
What was I arguing about? Well, I posted a video of the New Village Headmaster earlier today and I heard a voice as I was watching it and my mind immediately exclaimed, "That's John Chukwu's voice"! However, another part of my mind said, "John Chukwu didn't act in Village Headmaster", yet the first part insisted, "That's John Chukwu's voice" and the face actually did look like John Chukwu.
Who was John Chukwu?
Well, think of him as the Ali Baba of the 1980s. He was the most popular stand up comedian at the time, but he wasn't just any other stand up comedian. He had a comedy show on Radio Nigeria 2 called Comedy Bandwagon and another show on NTA 2 Channel 5 called Laff Mattaz. He also owned a nightclub called Klass Night Club.
John Chukwu was the number one stand up comedian of the 1980s. He co-hosted the first ever Nigerian Music Awards (NMA) with Julie Coker. He was the host of many fashion shows and he also hosted many state events. When Nigeria celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1985, President Babangida had to send the presidential jet to pick John Chukwu, who had gone to his village on holiday, so that he could host the command performance.
John Chukwu fell ill in 1990 and his family reached out to Chief MKO Abiola and President Babangida. MKO contacted a hospital in the UK and arranged for John Chukwu to be treated there. President Babangida also pledged some money towards his treatment. Unfortunately John Chukwu died before he could be flown out of the country.
So how could I forget that John Chukwu acted in the Village Headmaster? It’s strange to me.
John Chukwu played the role of Uche. You can see him with Okoro and Dagbolu at the 9:50 minute mark.
naptu2: You can see the great Jimmy Johnson acting as Okoro at the 9:50 minute mark in this video. (You can also see Chief Dagbolu).
It is fitting that Ali Baba was the one that mentioned John Chukwu's name because, in my view, Ali Baba succeeded John Chukwu as the pre-eminent comedian in Nigeria. This was at the Lagos at 50 celebrations in 2017 and comedians were paying tributes to their departed colleagues.
naptu2: I wish the audio was much better. The first video is the introduction and the second video is the joke.
I've been typing out what he said and then deleting it. I've done that 4 times. I think it's better that I leave you to watch these two very short videos yourself. I also previously wrote what some people said in the 1980s, but I also deleted that because I think it's better to leave you to make up your own mind, rather than being influenced by what those people said in the '80s.
But I'll give a little explanation about the first video. What is now known as the Eko Hotel was once known as the Eko Holiday Inn (in the mid-1980s) and then it became the L'Hotel Eko Le Meridien in the late 1980s. Apparently this event occurred in the late 1980s, after the name was changed.
Watch these two very short videos, especially the second one.
naptu2: When I get to Ibadan they call me John Suuku. I don't mind. But I have a reply. When they say John Suuku, I reply, "John Oniku Chukwu", because suuku means cry and die.
placeofallure: This is a very interesting piece. It's good to learn a few things about how things used to be way back. May God have mercy on Nigeria and return the good times.
@ naptu2 are you that old or this is someone else's musings? Just curious.
I wrote the first post from memory in 2019. Those are things that I witnessed during various Independence Day celebrations.
Politics › Re: Ibrahim Kefas Is Dead by naptu2(op): 12:01pm On Oct 02, 2021
