My dad didn’t talk to me for 10 years because I chose comedy over law – Alibaba reveals

Veteran Nigerian comedian, Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, widely known as Alibaba, recently shared a personal revelation on The Honest Bunch Podcast’s Christmas edition.

Alibaba recounted a significant rift with his father, spanning ten years, due to his choice to pursue a career in comedy over law.

The incident unfolded when Alibaba, upon leaving university, approached his father to announce his decision to become a comedian.

Instead of receiving support, his father’s reaction led him to leave home. Alibaba expressed determination to succeed in comedy, driven by the desire to prove his father wrong.

Alibaba narrated, “My dad is a bookworm. He got his PhD at 86. I told him, I said, ‘Daddy, I came from school to tell you something.’

He said, ‘Okay, have you been rusticated?’ I said, ‘No. I’ve decided that I don’t want to read law. I want to do comedy.’”

The comedian faced resistance from his father and a subsequent fallout with a ten-year silence. Despite attempts to reconcile, Alibaba and his father did not communicate from 1988 to 1998.

Alibaba reflected on this challenging period, stating, “I was committed. I was like I want to prove him [my Dad] wrong.”