When it comes to laughter, it is not always accompanied by happiness at first, especially when dealing with Nigerians; it can be more than that. It could be a sarcastic statement, especially one where they laugh as if it were funny, because it means there is a struggle. It is like that meme where a friend asks you over the phone how you are doing, and then you start by laughing hard, not out of happiness but out of the struggle. This is what I am talking about when it ccomesto Nigerians.
Another technical example of this is when a given struggle takes place in the country, and the next step isthat the citizens make jokes about it. It does not mean they do not care or that they are not affected by the recent change, but this has become a coping mechanism used to deal with the struggle. Just when it gets too much, we look for another means to create a relaxing atmosphere that can be comfortable for us.
Fr example, the increase in the price of foodstuff, next you see hunger caricature cartoons that show how hunger is in the land. Next, there is a hike in the price of fuel, and next you see cracked jokes online about it or worse,e when NEPA takes power, and next you see people saying NEPA again,n and the same applies when they bring light, everybody shouts up NEPA. All this is a projection of poor power supply in the country, but humour is the best way we can respond. Sometimes I think about having complained for a while, and at some point, you just get tired of complaining,so what you do is make jokes about it instead. At least this way,you are getting some laughter out of it.
This norm of turning struggle into humour has gone far beyond just cracking some joke online; rather, it has grown our entertainment industry, especially movies anstand-upup comedies. Nigeria has a vast entertainment industry of comedy movies that talk about a lot of Nigerian problems and challenges. This has built the prominent names like Aki and Pawpaw, Mr Ibu and stand-up comedians like Bovi, AY and the likes of them. One thing that has struck out with me his how Nigerian comedians can make some funny jokes about politicians and yet get away with it. I remember when Alibaba spoke about how he made a joke during the Sani Abacha regime, and he was quite scared.
This coping mechanism with comedy has built the norm of not taking it too seriously, especially when there are serious issues. It boils down to even the everyday people like me. I could be down on cash and still be cracking jokes about it to my friend. It makes me laugh and keeps me going. For many, it has become a shared language among Nigerians who have lived in the country to relate with one another. Making it easy for another person to relate easily to the story. So if you are talking to a friend in Abuja about NEPA issues, they can relate to it easily, and the same things apply to other jokes that involve Nigerians in general. So when next you see a Nigerian cracking a joke, it might just be a story of shared suffering.
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