Home coming for Bovi, Gordons, De Don as Warri hosts Glo laffta fest

The oil city of Warri in Delta State exploded in excitement as the town rose in unison to give a rousing “Waffi” reception to the star-studded cast of the Glo Laffta Fest currently touring the nation.

Just before they landed in Warri, the top comedians who featured in the edition such as Bovi, Gordons, Dan D’Humorous, De Don, Frank D Don and Arinze Baba, were conscious of how highly critical and vocally explicit the Warri crowd could be and they all planned and executed their entry, sustenance and exit strategies in a manner that made the tempestuous Warri crowd to become the most responsive crowd so far in a nationwide tour that has made five stops in different parts of the country. Having heard of the successful staging of the show elsewhere, the Warri crowd behaved as if they all met and resolved that this must be the best show by crowd response.

The crowd reserved a very special “Warri warm reception” for its own people including Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD), Bovi, Gordons and De Don. They were initially miserly with the reception they accorded Arinze Baba, Asaba boy Frank da Don and Dan D’Humorous but by the time each of the comedians finished their routines, they had rallied the crowd behind them and got thunderous rounds of applause.

Arinze Baba’s session was the most dramatic. Relatively unsure of the comic power punches he packed, the crowd welcomed him on stage with cautious optimism. Arinze who brilliantly embedded music into his routine, got a standing ovation as he ended his performance with an unblemished rendition of Osondi Owendi, which he tied around the situation in the hall. All the other acts equally gave a good account of themselves.

The hall was filled beyond capacity with a huge overflow of guests seated outside in front of a massive multimedia display mounted beside the entrance to the hall.

The show also featured many up and coming acts, including Warri-based fast-rising comic, Emmanuel Debekene popularly called Emmaralo, Kelvinsapp, Young Chief and Ericardo. They all gave a good account of themselves.

Among the high points of the night of fun piloted by delectable actresses, Mercy Johnson and Ebube Nwagbo, was the celebration of mothers midway into the show. Mothers who wore green attires were called on stage, celebrated and presented with goody bags by Globacom.

Subscribers who displayed dexterity in dance competitions organized during the show also got rewarded with goody bags. In the ladies category, Janet Nwachukwu, Lilian Ukwamefune and Hope Ogodogun emerged winners. In the men’s category, Kelvin Sunday, Godson Ogaga and Emmanuel Sunday went home with the winning prizes.

Warri was the fifth stop in the nationwide comedy show that has held in Port Harcourt, Abuja, Enugu and Owerri.The Warri show was spiced up by the presence of Nollywood greats, RMD and Kanayo O. Kanayo.

Nigerian comedian, On-Air-Personality and actor, Iruvwe Okeremute otherwise called ‘De Don’, who was an homeboy but performing at the 2017 show for the first time,  described Glo Laffta Fest, the mega comedy show organised by Globacom, as the best thing to happen to comedy in Nigeria.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Warri edition of the very popular show held at the Golden Tulip Hotel in the oil city, De Don said the show has significantly boosted the profile of comedy in Nigeria since it was introduced by Nigeria’s foremost fully integrated telecommunications brand, Globacom many years ago.

“This comedy brand helped many successful comedians today to build their brands. At the same time, it has ushered joy and fun into many homes in Nigeria,” said De Don.

“How many comedy shows are as big as Glo Laffta Fest? In this current season, the show is rocking a total of 27 cities. Without sounding patronizing, I would like to call it the biggest and the best comedy show in Nigeria,” said De Don.

The comedian’s high-energy performance at the show in Warri was among the best of the night. The audience particularly loved his hilarious analysis of the financial holes adultery dig in men’s pocket. He also wowed the audience with his uncanny mastery of some of Nigerian music’s lyrics, including some that most Nigerians have no idea what the musicians are saying.

The next destination of Glo Laffta Fest is Yenegoa on Sunday before proceeding to other major locations over the next five months. These include Awka, Ikeja, Ikorodu, FESTAC, Ajah, Asaba, Calabar, Aba, Suleja, Kubwa, Ibadan, Ijebu Ode, Abeokuta, Ekpoma, Kaduna, Akure, Lokoja, and Anyigba.

To attend the show, Glo subscribers are expected to use up to N2,000 credit within one month and text LOL and preferred location to the short code 240; for example, “LOL Yenegoa’ to 240”.