HOW I BECAME A BLIND COMEDIAN

Twenty six-year old Kelly Apoghene Igberhi, a.k.a. Kellyblind, has got guts. Fate dealt a terrible blow to him when he lost his sight as a kid but, like a phoenix, he has risen from the ashes of that misfortune to a steady climb to fame. The first and only blind comic act in the whole of the country at the moment, Kellyblind now goes about town thrilling sighted people at notable comedy shows. But he didn't just happen on comedy – hardship made him look inwards to discover his innate talent of humour. After a marketer sneered at a six-track gospel album he recorded as a blind singer, and had hoped to make good money from, he looked to the church for help. But the churches he took the work to also turned him down. He was now dejected. And he didn't want to go begging for alms. Soon, there came a silver lining in form of a comedy talent hunt – he promptly grabbed the opportunity because he had been an amateur humorist at home.
That was the break he needed. The budding star has since been upping his status (bought a car for himself), and has his eyes on the top – he hopes to take his comedy abroad to thrill the likes of President Barack Obama at the White House. Kellyblind, who can cook by himself and loves to 'watch' TV programmes like the 'Superstory' series as well as comedy films, tells the story of his determination in the face of disability to 'JIDE IYANDA. Excerpts.

When did you start doing comedy, and what led you into it?
I started stand-up comedy professionally in April 2009 when I participated in the AY Open Mic Comedy Challenge. It was a talent hunt competition which had many contestants but at the end, 10 finalists were selected, and only one of them eventually emerged winner.
That was my first shot at professional comedy, but I would say that the fact of my being born in Warri predisposed me to comedy early in life. I hold the belief that every child born in Warri was naturally imbued with a sense of humour; if he then decides to pursue it as a career, it's a different ball game. I was born and brought up in Warri, but when I came to the school for the blind here in Lagos in year 2000, I started expressing my innate talent of comedy. I was popular among my sightless school mates because I always cracked jokes to amuse them, and there was no dull moment wherever you found me. I was fond of telling them very incredible jokes; and one crazy joke about a shoe I liked to wear then, comes to mind here. I would tell my blind mates that: you see this shoe wen i wear so, na three, na different, different colours – dis one wen I wear now na the white colour, make una touch am! The next day I would wear the same shoe, but joke to my mates that: dis one wen I wear today na the black one; and most of them would believe such lie, which I actually meant as a joke.

So, from your days in the school for the blind and launching yourself at the comedy challenge last year, how have you been coming about your jokes?
I must say that my being in the blind world often inspires many jokes which I tell at functions. Notwithstanding,
I have loads of other jokes that are not about the physically-challenged, but are quite unique. Imagine a joke about a blind person and a cripple fighting; or a blind and cripple playing ball; or say I'm at home with my father and he tells me: Kellyblind dey look television for me make I go turn antenna for outside, if e don clear make u tell me! These are my kind of jokes and they're difficult for anyone to copy; if u wan thief Kellyblind jokes, u must blind! (laughter)

Being visually-impaired, you are somewhat at a disadvantage having to compete with colleagues with no form of disability whatsoever; what has been making you to want to go on?
I believe it's God that's been helping me to sustain the drive. I sometimes wonder how a blind person like me has been succeeding with making people laugh, because it's not an easy thing to do. I imagine that sometimes,
say I'm to perform at a show and I'm being helped unto the stage, some people in the audience would feel pity for me. But the truth is: make Kellyblind just hold mic; by den, na u go dey pity ur sef.

What goes through your mind when you are on stage and your jokes are greeted with thunderous laughter but you are not able to physically see the expression on the faces of those laughing?
I do not have any special emotional feeling, I just feel happy having to make people laugh. My being blind is no big deal for me and I don't feel sorry for my condition; I've rather risen above my disability and been impacting people's life. The effect has been so much that some people sometimes doubt if I was truly blind, as they suspect maybe I'm using it as a concept or pretending, so as to get special attention. But I want to declare here that: Kellyblind is blind; he cannot differentiate day from night!