Ali Baba who recently turned 50 has said that comedians in Nigerian earn more than actors and actresses in Nollywood.
In an interview with Nigeria Daily News, he spoke about why comedians rake in more money than actors. "Nigerian comedians make a lot of money than actors. You wouldn't’t believe but let me tell you. You shoot a movie, it takes 4 months for the movie to be released and they get paid. There is hardly an actor that charges N1 million or N2 million per movie unless you are in the top end of the hierarchy such as RMD, Genevieve, and Omotola. But then, there are comedians that charges N800,000 or N1 million per event. In four months, such comedian would have done maybe 30 events but because he doesn’t do a movie that is on cable TV that can be seen in Kenya, South Africa, and all across the country, people do not think he is making that kind of money" said the legendary comdedian.
"Actors shoot a movie and it takes There are quite a number of Nigerian comedians whose wives do not have a job but they still live large. A popular comedian would have performed at 6 to 8 different shows in a month before a Nollywood actor wraps up shoot on set of a movie" he further said.
Ali Baba who is regarded as the richest Nigerian comedian said his wife initially didn't believe how much he was making off comedy and thought he was a fraudster. "My wife first thought I was a 419 when she realized the amount of money I was making. She didn’t believe me until I invited her for a show where I was paid to do stand-up comedy. Some of the shows might be hosted by Patrick Doyle or Yinka Craig while I was only doing stand up. I learnt the ropes of being an MC at that time. But guess what, I was making more money than the MCs. It was until when she came around to see me perform on stage cracking jokes for a number of guests that she realized how much I could make doing comedy" he said.
Yesterday, Ali Baba was hosted at the weekly Industry Nite as part of his 50th birthday celebrations and achievements in the comedy industry in Nigeria.
