Though popular, not many people in Cross River and Nigeria know him beyond his stage name and his crafts which are comedy and social media content creation. In this exclusive interview, The Paradise News digs deeper to unravel not just the name behind the alias ‘MC Koboko’, but his motivation and the challenges navigating the comedy and social media content creation industry in Nigeria.
Excerpts
Who is MC Koboko?
MC Koboko is a human being. I’m a man. I am a graduate of the University of Calabar. I am a content creator and comedian. I’m just an all-round entertainer.
My real name is Isaac Joseph Usanga. I’m from Etinan local government area of Akwa Ibom state. A lot of people think I’m from Cross River. I was born and brought up in Lagos. School brought me down to Calabar. So far I think I am enjoying my stay here. I started my whole career in Cross River State, in my Alma Mater – the University of Calabar.
What motivates you to join the comedy/content creation industry?
Na money o (laughs). The thing is I was in school, and back then I was having difficulty. A lot of students used to tell me “Koboko you funny, you dey try.”
My breakthrough came from a concert we had at the University of Calabar. It was organized by Etisalat. And then my boss, Professor Aboki. He picked me up and gave me a platform. He paved way for me in the comedy industry.
Either before or after I met Prof, I contested for the Last Prophet comedy challenge. I came second, while Double Black of Big Brother Naija – Bassey Ekpenyong came first. General Odey, known as Rugged MC then took the third position. That’s how the whole comedy thing started. Thereafter, Professor Aboki brought me under his mentorship. My first stand-up comedy show was at NAT. It was a matriculation show.
Tell us who is your role model in the comedy industry and your sojourn into social media content creation
I actually did not have a particular role model, but I was influenced by comedians such as Basket Mouth and AY. I watched a lot of their shows. I also learned from everyone.
Content creation came in when comedy stopped paying in Cross River. At some point comedians in the state were static. We couldn’t go beyond a particular point. If you are in the comedy industry in Calabar you will notice it. We don’t grow beyond our horizon. As a young guy that wants to grow you cannot dwell on the 30k or 50k you get for shows.
The new oil well in the entertainment industry now is social media content creation. So I had to switch. My late friend, Kelvin Akparanta, took me to Lagos. He was like my manager then. I was working with FAD FM. I had to resign and move to Lagos. It was there that I met a friend, Laff Nation that introduced me to content creation. Initially it was tough. At some point I left Lagos to Uyo. That was how the journey into content creation started.
You are one of the most popular comedians and social media content creators in Cross River, how has the journey been?
Well, I will say the journey has been somewhat easy because I had good mentor. I learned from Professor Aboki. He was the number one comedian in his time. When you are coming into a particular endeavour and you have people that are already doing well guiding you, you will find it very easy to learn and catch up.
I had soft landing. I did not struggle to get events. I was having recommendations for weddings, and they all came through Professor Aboki. My first performance at the Calabar Christmas Festival came from him too. It was there I met the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Entertainment, Effiong Ekpenyong (Double E).
For the content creation, though it was tough, I got monetized within 6 years. There are lots of challenges in creating content.
Comedy is different from content creation. As a content creator, you can be a comedian, you can be a barber, you can be anything. But as a comedian, you can only be a stand-up comedian. In other words, content creation is broad. Comedy embraces content creation. You can create content from whatever you are good at. As a cook, you can create social media content from your cooking activities. Social Media is diverse, is just for you to identify your audience. Content creation, as the name implies, requires creativity.
Sometimes your videos project humanitarian and social causes (raising awareness and rallying help for individuals facing one challenge or the other), can you tell us more about this?
I always have passion for humanity. It’s something that’s in me. I like to use my platform to project positivity. That’s one of the major reasons I went to radio presentation.
When I started content creation I saw it as a means and platform where I can touch lives. I am also against drugs. I don’t do it. There was this particular girl, her name is Sharon. She used to be popular in Calabar, especially during the Carnival. Sometime ago she walked up to me for alms. I was shocked because at some point I couldn’t recognize her but after her explanation, I remembered her. She was into drugs. So I had to use my social media platform to rally help for her.
She went in for rehabilitation at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Calabar. She came out well and was reintegrated into the society. But after sometime she relapsed.
There was this child that had hydrocephalus that makes the child’s head abnormally big. I also used my platform to raise about N4.3million for surgery. The intervention was successful and the child is living a normal life now.
I have carried out several of such humanitarian advocacy via my platform. When you go to my platforms on social media you will see them. They are all there. For now I have stopped because these things normally come with their own challenges that sometimes cause problems.
Do you have anyone under your mentorship?
Yes I have. The one that is quite popular to some extent is Okon. I picked him up from the street. Currently he has about 230k followership on Facebook, 11k on Instagram. He’s doing well. I think I have been able to mentor him to this level. I took him from the street, though he has refused to go to school. Gradually he is discovering something he feels he’s comfortable with.
I will also like to say that I pioneered Facebook content monetization in Calabar. Though MC Mbakara started Facebook content creation in Calabar, at some point he left for Lagos. When he left nothing happened. Then when I came in, I brought monetization here, because when MC Mbakara was doing it, he never knew about the whole monetization stuff.
From your experience, what are the challenges in the industry?
For comedy the challenge is location. Currently, Calabar underpays. One of the reasons we do what we do is to earn a living. But clients refuse to know that comedians need to grow. This is why I have to diversify into social media content creation, even though I still do MC at weddings and other events.
For content creation the challenges are many. One can spend money on creative ideas but at the end of it you don’t get the number of views needed. There’s also this aspect of Facebook demonetization. Like currently I have not been paid for 3 months. My money is withheld, though it will be release. Even in the face of these challenges you still have to keep making contents.
Tribalism is also a major challenge in the content creation and comedy industry. There’s how you post something and people find out that you are from a particular place they will not watch your video. It’s been happening. And it’s a general problem. But I must commend Cross River State Government. They all know where I’m from yet they have been giving me deals. If there was tribalism here I won’t have been featured in most of the government events. I’ve performed for all the three governors.
Where do you see the content creation industry in Nigeria in the next 10 years?
The content creation space now is even saturated. Everybody now wants to do content. You know how Nigerians like to escalate things. So long as they hear that content creation pays, a lot of people will keep going into it.
Let me expose some stuffs. Initially when you have 1 million views on Facebook you get about 800 to 1,000 dollar, depending on how people engaged on the video. But right now 1 million views may not give you up to 80 dollar. This is because of the influx of people into content creation.
However, if you are in the system, you will always find a way to make good money. Content creation is the new way. The only business that can compete with content creation is tech. Very few legitimate businesses can generate good income like content creation.
Recently Facebook has added a new tool that will enable content creators earn money from their inbox chats, comments, and every other thing you do on Facebook. So, give or take, 10 years from now content creation will be the treasure trove. In all, you need to grow a good brand.
Finally, what is your advice for upcoming content creators?
Consistency is the key to open doors of possibilities in the content creation industry. Also try to be around people that encourage and support you. Pray for God to bless your efforts. As a content creator have a backup account/page. You should be mindful of what you post. Be original in your content so that you can attract brands. Brand is another way to earn money. I got an endorsement deal with Quick Pocket. GehGeh and I got endorsed by the same brand.
Thank you for your time.
You are welcome.
