‘People Say Obasanjo Is Stingy’, Ali Baba Speaks On Most Memorable Joke
Popular comedian, Atunyota Akpobome, famously known as Ali Baba, recounted his “most memorable joke” on Channels Television’s Sunrise breakfast programme on Saturday.
According to funnyman, his joke on ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s supposed frugality remained evergreen.
Obasanjo was Nigeria’s democratically elected President from May 1999 to May 2007. Before then, the strongman of Hilltop in Abeokuta was Nigeria’s military Head of State between February 1976 and October 1979.
Reminiscing about his time with Obasanjo as President, Ali Baba said, “My most memorable joke would be the one with Obasanjo, that he himself tells; in fact, he said I should expunge it from my book, he wrote the foreword for the book.
“It was the fact that people were saying that he (Obasanjo) was very stingy and he didn’t know that I was making as much money that I was making until the day he stumbled on Audu Ogbeh and Doyin Okupe.
“They were planning an event and he (Obasanjo) stumbled on (the budget) and he said, “Ali Baba, one million (naira) why? That’s what’s he’s been charging since 1999?”
The comedian had a good laugh and went on to narrate how he introduced the then President during the African Union event in Abuja and how Obasanjo labeled him “Ole”, a Yoruba word for “thief”.
Ali Baba laughingly said though Obasanjo’s comment was a swipe but AU members thought it was a compliment.
