The euphoria surrounding one of the most celebrated Nigerian weddings, the Dangote’s and The Abubakar’s, is yet to subside as veteran stand-up comedian Ali Baba said that he did not bill Aliko Dangote for performing as master of ceremonies at the event.

The ace comedian said he did not charge a dime for his service at the wedding. He had earlier said this on his Instagram page.

Many believe that all the entertainers and vendors that were contracted for one service or the other at the wedding of Fatima, the daughter of billionaire businessman, Dangote, went laughing all the way to the bank.

In an interview with Sunday Scoop, he restated his earlier position. He said,

“Dangote is my friend and I chose to play a part in the wedding ceremony of his daughter for free. I have done a lot of events for him such as dinners, luncheons, award ceremonies, among other events and I was nicely paid.

“For instance, if (former President Olusegun) Obasanjo, calls me for an event, I would handle the event for free because of my relationship with him. If he then offers me anything out of the abundance of his heart, I would take it. I don’t see why anybody should raise eyebrows over my decision.

“Other comedians were there and they did well.

On whether he advised his younger colleagues to perform for free too at the classy wedding, Ali Baba said, “It depends on the kind of relationship each individual has with him. I’m not the one to tell anybody what to charge.”
Mentioning lessons he took away from the event, Ali said,

“The major lesson I learnt from that event is that friends always support their friends.”

Meanwhile, the comedian had earlier complained about how daunting it was to control the crowd during the wedding.

In a social media post, Ali Baba had said,

“The challenges of being an MC at a state function, grand wedding, corporate gathering and international event can be daunting. After dealing with protocol then comes the issues of timing and duration. But the very intricate matter of crowd control can be the most daunting, even for the most composed of all experienced MCees.

“The #Dangotes and #Abubakars wedding was all of those challenges and more. There seems to be a long journey to achieving the seeming decorum; the type state functions in the West are known for. I have been an MC, 27 years of my 30yrs in entertainment.

“And learnt the hard way from @BisiOlotailo, #IkennaNdagobo, #RalphOkpara, #PatricDoyle, @IraborSoni and the other greats. The truth is, being a comedian would give you the weaponry to mop up boredom but not enough to steer the programme at decorum defying guests.

“The job of an MC can be tasking at such events. How do you control VVVIP attention seekers who get high on photo opportunities? What do you say to make such a person who believes standing right in from of the table that has the Vice President, Senate President, 3 visiting Presidents, First lady, 2 former Nigerian Presidents, 2 former Vice Presidents, Emir of Kano… is totally unacceptable?

“Where do you start from in making these attention mongers know that carrying on a conversation right in front of a stage, or around the Premium Presidential table, while blocking the view of all other guests and obstructing the line of sight of cameramen is a no no?

“And the MC begged, repeated same announcements, SEVERALLY… Yet, as some people move away, new at’s of attention seekers position themselves again. The security aides are even worse. Who is coming into a hall with such high profile guests to come and harm their principal officers? These aides will stand like CRonaldo is taking a goal bound free-kick. Thereby blocking everyone. I have tolerated these people shaaaaa.

“I couldn’t hold back at the #DangotesAbubakars wedding reception. What nonsense. Those who even have aides were not as rich as @BillGates. Can you imagine if Bill were to have security, going by bank balance, no one would have caught a glimpse of him…”

Ali Baba also said that he has been in talks with government authorities over the better preservation of the country’s resources, he said,

“I have reached out to some government authorities but I cannot say much about it now because it is still a work in progress.”

On whether he gave the new couple a gift, Ali Baba said,

“I was there and I believe that the best present you can give anybody is your presence.”