OPA WILLIAMS - STANDUP COMEDY WAS STARTED BY OKEY BAKASSI, NOT ME

Few Nigerians will remember that the comedy showbiz in Nigeria had kicked off way before the present comedians like Basketmouth, Ay, I Go Save, Bovi, Elenu, etc.

'Night of A Thousand Laughs,' was the show that made the business of comedy popular in Nigeria, and was created by Opa Williams in the turn of the early 21st century.
The show then became the platform that most of the established comedics rose to prominence.

Opa Williams, however has revealed who is the real man that started stand up comedy in Nigeria as none other than Okey Bakassi, the former political appointee in Imo State.

In the beginning, I used to tell some people, including my good friend Chico Ejiro, that I wanted to do something different from shooting Nollywood films.
I have always said that Okey Bakassi started stand-up comedy alongside Reginald Ebere.

"It all started when there were some hiccups in a movie that was to be shot. Not knowing what else to do, we started making jokes. Okey Bakassi and Reginald Ebere were the ones really making those jokes."

"Then it dawned on me that if the patients in their sickbeds and the doctors were laughing that much, which is something that cuts across tribe, class and creed, then I should as well do something about it."