Nigerian comedian, Julius Akinlami, aka Elenu, is currently exploring new frontiers. His present job as a presenter with Cool FM, he says, is a new aspect of his career he is excited about. He speaks with OVWE MEDEME on career, love, family and other issues.
IT has been a couple of years since we last spoke. What has been happening to Elenu?
Elenu is fine. He is married now. He has a son and he now works in an office.
You recently veered from comedy to being an on-air-personality. How has that been going?
We are coping. I am using my free time to do some other things for myself and also in a way; I am trying to make the brand name more known than it already is.
Does working in an office not interfere with your career as a stand-up comedian?
It does interfere but like I said, I am using my spare time when I am not doing anything. I also work at We TV. There are two TV stations launched on November 1. We are already test transmitting on Startimes.
So far, have you been caught between stand-up comedy and radio comedy?
For stand-up comedy, I go to the event on the day it is happening, an hour to when I am supposed to climb the stage. Working in an office is different in the sense that I have to wake up by five and get to the office by eight and then close by 5:30pm. That is the only difference. Basically they are the same thing and it all boils down to me putting a smile on the faces of my audience.
Did you have to go through any adjustment process?
Of course, it is not quite easy. I am still adjusting as it is.
For how long have you been presenting on radio?
I have been here since March. It has been nine months and I would say the ride has been smooth. It has been fine. It has been fun. I work with a whole lot of crazy and fun loving people. Trust me, with my colleagues, I don’t get bored.
So many years down the line, would you say you have had any regret since you picked up comedy as a career?
Never! I have never regretted going into comedy. It has been fulfilling and it has been a success all the way, through the help of God.
How would you compare where you started from to where you are now?
There has been a massive difference. If I am to rate it, I would say that I have moved from level 2 to level infinity, because I am still going up
What is your opinion about stand-up comedy in Nigeria?
Comedy is here to stay and people have come to accept it as a way of life, a way of relaxation. A lot of people now want to come out to laugh and enjoy themselves as a form of letting off steam. They find it more relaxing than going to parties to dance. To most Nigerians, comedy is a better way of unwinding.
Some people are of the opinion that it is hard to find original jokes…
Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion. In a way, it is true but sometimes, it is not about the copying other people’s jokes. It is about the person who is handling the joke. Some people would do a copy of a comedian’s joke and they will damage it in the sense that they are not able to deliver it the same way.
But there are some people that are so gifted, they will deliver your joke even in your presence and you will clap for them until you realise that it is actually your work. On the whole, comedians need to be more creative.
A lot of people are now going into the industry. How do you intend to hold your own?
I have never had it in my mind that I wanted to be like somebody. I have always seen people who are above me, who have been there before me as milestones; as the place I need to get to and then cross it. I never used somebody as a bus stop, to say that this is where I am going to. I always see them as mentors and use them as guidelines. I have always known myself to be unique.
Nobody can be like Elenu. If you are not Elenu, you are not me. I am not using myself to compare anybody. You start to limit yourself when you start saying that you want to be like one established comedian or the other. What is wrong in surpassing them? That is what makes me different. I am me. I don’t behave like anybody else.
Most of your colleagues in the industry are putting up shows. Do you hope to follow that trend?
Of course, I will. But for me, what I am doing is that I am looking at the society where I grew up. I started in the gospel sector. I am not hoping to do a show where there will be gate takings. It is more like a thanksgiving. I intend to bring my comedian friends, visit different churches from Ajegunle, Apapa and do concerts there for free.
How do you marry all these with your family?
It is simple when you marry a woman who is your friend. Your friend knows your routine. She knows what you do and what you don’t. She is my friend. She knows I am a comedian and I am bound to want to go into anything that has to do with the media. So she understands. She is able to help me package myself and conserve my time. In fact, I would say she is my packaging manager. I am not a good person when it comes to time management, though I have never been late for a function. Punctuality is a key thing for me if I am doing anything. I don’t go to events late. Throughout my record, from 2006 till date, I have never gone to an event late but she helps me to manage between home, family, work and stand-up comedy. She understands and she has come to accept that this is the person she is married to, this is what he does and all she needs to do is encourage me and help me go higher.
There is this glow in your face when you talk about her…
(Laughs) She is my sunshine.
How did you meet? Was it love at first sight?
Yes, it was. I met her in her school. She was a student then at Benson Idahosa University, Benin. I was there to entertain students on one of their Suya Nights and she was one of the protocol officers that were assigned to me. From there, we started talking, we exchanged numbers and we talked some more. We became friends, we started dating, became lovers, became husband and wife and then we became friends again.
How long did this process take?
It took the whole of four years. We meet in 2009 and got married in 2013.
You have a son now
Yes, I do have a son. He is American.
Would you let your son go into stand-up comedy?
With my kind of person, I can’t force my son into doing something. I can only encourage him to do what he has chosen so that he can bring out the best of him.
What is next for Elenu?
That is a good question. I don’t know where I am going from here. Only God can answer that question (laughs).
