TEJU: Hottest Face On Tv

Published on August 16, 2010 by TheNEWS · 1 Comment

Ace stand-up comedian, Olateju Oyelakin brings a fresh dimension to comedy shows on television with The Teju Babyface Show

To say that Olateju Oyelakin has made his mark as one of Nigeria’s top stand-up comedians is to state the obvious. Popularly know as Teju Babyface in that genre of the country’s entertainment scene, the young man’s foray into talk show has opened a new frontier in the television industry in Nigeria. On 4 May, the comedian launched his new project, Teju Babyface Show on Silverbird Television and since then, he has enlivened the scene, with plaudits trailing not just the quality and calibre of personalities who have graced the show, but its overall packaging.

• Babyface: Witty and humorous.

According to Teju, the show was inspired by the need to fill the vacuum in TV comedy, and motivated by a need to give viewers a garden variety of creative comic expression. The home-like setting of the studio is aimed at making the guests comfortable and advertise the entertainer’s compelling mastery of the comic arts.

Teju, the producer and show host, gets up-close, personal and witty with his celebrity guests, who include politicians, entertainers, fashion designers etc. And he has made the show exceptional, with guests responding to questions without any feel of embarrassment or hindrance. And he tends to bring out the best in them.

For example, not many fans of Richard Mofe-Damijo, RMD, top Nollywood actor and now Delta State Commisioner for Tourism, were aware that their idol was endowed with talents that go beyond the stage and screen. But RMD, while on set as a guest on the show, was coaxed into exhibiting his singing skill by miming highlife legend Victor Olaiya’s Baby Jowo. The duo also debated issues of paternity and other boys’ stuff.

And in less than 20 minutes on the Teju Babyface Show, millions of viewers got to know a lot more about soul singer Asa than they had ever read about her: her background, career, and even her dream man. And many who had assumed that the singer was a walking encyclopaedia on Yoruba language and culture got to know better when she pleaded with Teju not to go too hard with her on her mother tongue.

A veritable measure of a show’s popularity is the feedback from fans and viewers. And this has been tremendous for Teju’s. Indeed, many fans poured out their hearts on the show’s fanpage on the social networking site, Facebook, when the episode on late rap star Dagrin was screened few weeks after the youngster’s demise. The seriousness that celebrities attach to the show was further boosted when Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, wife of the Lagos State governor appeared as a guest. And was she coaxed into pouring out her heart on sensitive issues? Not only was she forthright in her responses to questions bordering on the moral uprightness of husbands, she shared a few words of wisdom with wives who are always suspicious about their husbands cheating on them.

Celebrity journalist and Presidential hopeful, Dele Momodu was another interesting guest. Not only did he field questions on his flamboyance, the man fondly called ‘Bob Dee’ got viewers reeling with laughter when he narrated how his mom taunted him, wondering whether he wanted to end up as a babalawo because of his choice of Yoruba as a course in the university.

The huge success recorded by the show within three months of its debut is ample evidence of the great ideas which belie the small frame of the young comedian who conceptualised the show. So far, he has been able to attract the finest of celebrity guests to the show. They include Muiz Banire, Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment; music stars 2face, 9ice and Tunde and Wunmi Obe; star comedians Basorge Tariah, Ali Baba, Basket Mouth, Okey Bakassi, Tee A, Holy Mallam, Koffi, and Gbenga Adeyinka 1st among others.

On the parade of such high profile celebrity guests on a show that’s yet to get its footing, Teju told TheNEWS that the choice was not a cosmetic affair, but a deliberate process of inviting personalities whose character and achievements may impact positively on the viewers. According to him, the show’s high ratings is absolute favour from God: “The success rate is unbelievable. I just prayed and prayed and God told me to go ahead and every step of the way, He has been so helpful.

“All the guests that came on the show were awesome. Having the First Lady of Lagos, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, music maestro, King Sunny Ade and someone of Professor Pat Utomi’s calibre is just a favour from God.”

The varied background and outlook of the guests on his show is a compelling reason for Teju to be innovative in his interview sessions. This much he admitted when he revealed that relating with high profile individuals requires him to apply more than a whiff of decorum, and at the same time throw some jibes at the guests.

“Despite the fact that I had a great time with all of them, I had to be less flippant especially with Mrs Abimbola Fashola, the First Lady of Lagos State and in the case of KSA, I was simply blown away by how funny and knowledgeable he was,” he said.

At the rate which A-list celebrities make a stop at his show, would he not run out of guests in a short while? Teju believes the country is bubbling with unlimited quality people that he will still host on the show. “You are basically vocalising the same thing that people are saying,” he told this magazine. “Just give us the resources and we will surprise you with other A-list guests. We have quality people in Nigeria. I’ve not even brought Malam Nuhu Ribadu, Madam Ndi Onyiuke-Okereke and Pastor Chris Okotie is still there waiting. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not on the show yet. I have not even brought His Excellencies, Governors Babatunde Fashola and Rotimi Amaechi. Mr. Donald Duke is there waiting, even Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey. There are lots of people I will still feature in the next season of the show. When we finish with Nigeria, then we will start with Nigerians abroad. You should expect to see someone like Sade Adu and others on the show very soon.”

Ever wondered why the comedian finds it relaxing and convenient to mimic some known personalities on his show? He said he’s never had any particular person in mind, but it is part of the concept of the show. “The Teju BabyFace Show was built on a healthy blend of humour and wit. It thrives on its ability to explore contemporary social issues and developing stories with brilliant satirical sketches that appear neither offensive nor patronising – yet delivered with poignant and therapeutic imagery,” he told TheNEWS.

Part of the success recorded by the show so far is attributable to the fine blend of good pictures, clear sound and seemingly directoral perfection. This is traceable to the unseen hand behind the technical production: seasoned movie director Tade Ogidan, who handles the camera and directs the show. Teju claims it is another great favour from God to have someone like Ogidan directing the show. He credited Ogidan for a lot of the ingenuity that makes him look like a genius on set.

Narrating how he managed to get the veteran movie director to handle production of the show, Teju said: “I only visited Uncle Tade to tell him about my plans on what I intended to do and then invite him for the show. That’s all I’d gone to tell him. But I didn’t know that he would want to direct the show. That man is too kind. I never thought about it that he will ever want to direct my show. You know how it looks asking certain people you rever to do some things for you; it’s like an insult.”

Could it be a sort of payback for his top-drawer role in Ogidan’s highly-acclaimed 1990s movie, Diamond Ring? “Nope! It couldn’t have been a payback for Diamond Ring,” Teju quipped. “He probably did me more favour with that movie role because Uncle Tade made me a household face. At that point in time, many only knew my name but not my face. But his film launched me fully into the entertainment industry. As I speak to you, we have spent millions on the Teju Babyface Show and Uncle Tade has not taken or asked me for a dime. While I have also been privileged to use his editing suite free of charge.” A few weeks into its first season, the show won four awards at the second edition of The African Audio-Visual Awards, TAVA, held recently at the MUSON Centre, Onikan Lagos. The awards were: Most Outstanding TV Talk Show Editor; Most Outstanding TV Talk Show Director of Photography; Most Outstanding TV Talk Show Director and Best TV Talk Show.

—Funsho Arogundade