Fast rising comedian, Forever, who was born in Delta State couldn’t live his mother’s dream of seeing her son work in the lucrative oil industry, thereby rescuing the family from its financial challenges.
Speaking with Entertainment News on Channels Television, the comedian revealed that ‘I Go Dye’ inspired him to comedy because he never planned to venture into it.
“Growing up, you have to stand firm, looking around, you knew that the only way to get to the top was to push. I did not plan to be a comedian, I did not know what was comedy, I just knew I was funny. So, in church we will do stage drama, I will write the story, people will laugh.
“I did not know it was called comedy until 2005 I went to visit my grand mum and I woke up and there were laughing. I saw them watching a night of a thousand laugh and I Go Dye was performing. I Go Dye was the person that inspired me to the comedy. I Go Dye is the inspiration behind Forever becoming a comedian.”
Speaking on his childhood he explained that his mother wanted him to work in an oil company at all means.
“You know in Delta State, one of the shortest route to escape poverty is to work in an oil firm, in my mother’s mind I must work in oil company. I ended up studying mechanical engineering, as I speak to you today, Nigeria has successfully changed my career, I cannot come and go and kill myself.”
He further disclosed that comedy eventually paid his way through school and kept food on his table. From the day, he got his first payment of 700 Naira.
“When I graduated from school, I asked myself do I really want to be a mechanical engineer, because I was forced into this thing to escape poverty. So, I made up my mind that I will die in it.
According to the comedian, Comedy became an important part of life, which ultimately led him to Lagos, where some of his role models including I Go Dye were already plying the same trade.
“I read a story of Alibaba, how somebody charged one million in 1995 when I was still thinking of how to finish primary school, I said if it can lead to livelihood and can give me the kind of future I would want as someone working in an oil firm, then why not.”
“You can’t underplay the roles of mentors, my mentors Abeh and Circle, my role model Alibaba, I connected with them and I told them I am already in Lagos. They recommended me for their platforms, they were people who were not scared to see me grow.
For Forever, comedy is more than a means to an end. It is a corrective tool which can be used to fix society’s ills but the challenge is one must be known to be heard. Attaining an A-list status may seem like an uphill task.
“Not easy but it’s possible with consistent excellence, but getting to the top is more difficult because getting there you have to stay there. It is easier to fall from that place than get there. It is much difficult to stay there when you get there.
