Beyond hard realizations about the comedy industry, the Caveat Venditor sketches also offer biting commentary on the Nigerian political landscape. Comedy makes it easy to offer criticism without coming off trite. During the panel session—Makinde revealed his foray into comedy as an art, was borne from a desire to become a Nigerian politician. This remark is caustic and brutally honest.
Gone are the days, when comics could make keen observations about politics whilst retaining a sense of believability. Real life incidents, like the NDDC Managing Director ‘convulsing’ while being grilled on illegal spending and fund mismanagement. Or when Government officials claimed a snake swallowed a few million naira from state coffers have dulled expected potency comedy should possess.
With the election of Donald Trump in 2016, even comics in the abroad found a hard time creating material that evoke strong emotional connection. Louis Dreyfus’ Oval Office satire, Veep, found its own exaggerated reality struggling to keep up with real life. Veep felt a lot safer, and saner—and inadvertently, more boring. But that’s not to say comedy has outlived its substance in our waking life.
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