Rivers State-born ace comedian, Ubi Emmanuel, aka Rugged Pastor has disclosed that Port Harcourt fans are crazy about comedy shows and that is why all such shows held in the State had recorded huge success. According to him, “the Garden City of Nigeria has become the last bus stop for comedy shows in the country.

The comedian who spoke with The Tide Entertainment recently, noted that comedy was not only about jokes and making people to laugh, it is also educative and passes across good messages to the audience in a humorous way. He stressed that the comedians themselves had been rewarded finanally for their talents and had gained both local and international recognitions.

He stated that such humour merchants include Rivers State born Julius Agwu, Alibaba Klint De Drunk, Basket mouth, A.Y, Prince Hezekiah, Gandoki, I go Die, Rugged Pastor, Dan the Humorous e.t.c. who had proved to the world that comedy is not for school drop-outs as many people thought but a lucrative profession.

The seasoned comedian also observed that show business in Rivers State was growing very fast and competing favorably with Lagos. He said that in the past years, show biz declined in the State because of insecurity, but with the present administration, peace and security had been restored and entertainment had bounced back to its rightful position in the country.

Rugged Pastor who disclosed that his ambition had been to study law but ended up with Theatre Arts at the University of Port-Harcourt, reiterated that he started comedy in 2007 while in the university. He said he was happy with his present career because he had the talent and felt that comedy was his divine calling.

The Umerelu (Ikwere) born comedian had featured in various comedy shows within and outside the State, some of which included, Diplomatic unplugged with Akas Baba, Comedy Train with Julius Agwu (his mentor), Stand Up Port Harcourt with DJ Smart Don etc. He is also a gospel singer who released his debut album recently.

He had also won various awards for his hilarious jokes, such as the most creative comedian in Port Harcourt 2004 by ACALAS Concepts, Award of Excellence by the Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality, and UNIPORT Best comedian of the year 2010, nominated as the fast rising comedian in the Niger Delta Advancement Awards 2012. He was also the comedian who represented  corpers in Lagos state, during his National Youth Service Corp (NYSC).

The award winning comedian maintained that focus and redtermination were the necessary factors to succeed in life. He appealed to the state government, private organisations and NGOs to support the budding talents that abound in the State for them to develop so that the State would continue to sustain its enviable position in Nigera’s entertainment industry.