Basorge Tariah, Jnr. embodies everything entertainment – an actor, a comedian, a director, a producer, a writer, a compere, a dancer, a composer, a singer and a choreographer. Yes, Basoene, the real name, does all of that and even more. In his 50s and from Buguma, Kalabari, Rivers State, the proud father of four attended Township Primary School and Enitona High School, both in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, before proceeding to the University of Port Harcourt where he read Theatre Arts and graduated in 1993. His NYSC was in Abeokuta, Ogun State, after which he delved into entertainment fully. Eternally remembered for his quintessential role of Do Good in Zeb Ejiro’s Candlelight, the one-time National Dancing Competition winner (John Player) just expanded the Do Good character with a new series on DSTV, winning and wowing fans every evening, Monday to Friday, on Africa Magic Urban 153. The son of a retired bank manager (Mr. A-nat Tariah) and a former Kingsway Stores supervisor (Mrs. Doris Tariah), he shared his 35-year experience in showbiz with YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AZUH ARINZE, on Sunday, September 20, 2015, in Lekki, Lagos…
What’s Basorge Tariah’s definition of comedy?
I think generally a lot of people will have the notion that comedy is anything that is hilarious. But from my perspective, comedy is any treatment of humour or any treatment of a serious matter from a very humorous point of view. It should both elicit laughter and also educate.
What makes a good comedian?
Oh, a good comedian! A good comedian must be eloquent about his subject, he must be able to create materials out of societal happenings, he must be able to command his audience, educate them and make them laugh. But most importantly, because, for me, my definition has always been about what you bring to your audience in terms of education. I think laughter for me is secondary. I don’t believe that comedy is completely about making people laugh; it’s mostly about educating people. But then again, it should also make them feel happy, make them feel relaxed, make them laugh, but yet learn. For me, if you achieve that laughter, that boisterousness and yet you’ve not been able to successfully impact on the audience, I think you have failed as an artiste. That is because I’ve always believed that I’m a consummate artiste who is intellectually inclined. Whatever and however I use my craft or my tool, I should educate and entertain.
What do you like most about being a comedian?
The fact that it offers me chance to be expressive. I think that’s the most important thing.
What don’t you like about being a comedian?
When people see me as a joker; they don’t take you seriously. That’s the part I don’t like.
What is the greatest thing that being a comedian has done for you?
Well, first of all, it has given me a voice, it has given me a chance to express myself, it has also given me a chance to earn, build a craft and to earn through that craft.
What has comedy not done for you?
Comedy hasn’t paid me as it pays my colleagues around the world. I don’t think Nigeria should be divorced from the rest of the world. Afterall, we are a very rich country. The comedians are paid so good in America; we should be paid so good too. That’s what I’m not happy about.
What is the commonest mistake that most comedians make?
To think that they are on top of the world and to think that comedy is about them. It’s not about them, it’s about the subject.
Most people attain success in comedy, but they are not able to sustain it. Where do you think they normally get it wrong?
They get it wrong when they fail to reinvent themselves, when they fail to accept that yes, sometimes you may fall, sometimes you may become irrelevant, but then you must pick up yourself. When you don’t have the spirit to re-define and re-invent yourself, you feel a bit dejected, you feel disappointed and you think you have lost it all. The vicissitudes of life should allow you to accept when you are down and to also find your way up.
Basorge Tariah, Jnr. has created a lot of jokes. Which of your jokes do you like best?
I like the joke that addresses the issue of the Niger Delta youths. I’ve always seen entertainment as an alternative – where I cannot create jobs or become a very powerful activist. I think as a comedian, I should use it to address that my people have not been properly taken care of; they’ve not been properly rewarded and so the joke about the pipeline and the Niger Delta boys going to look for work is my classic. That anytime they go, they tell them the job is in the pipeline and they said we are breaking the pipeline now to take the job. It elicits laughter, but it’s intended to be more than that. People will say my jokes are acerbic. It’s intended to very forcefully and very painfully drive the true message home.
You happen to be one of the few people in the industry who do nearly everything and very well too. You act, do comedy, sing, dance very well and even took part in the John Player Dancing Competition; you are a choreographer, you write, you direct, etc. How do you manage all these things?
I think my early love for entertainment and the very early decision that this is my area gave me all the chance to develop myself. This is something I’ve achieved over the years because I never for once dabbled (into it) with the idea of doing this or doing that. My father wanted me to be a lawyer, but I was focused. I knew entertainment was my line and nothing was going to stop it. So, from the time I had existed, I had worked tirelessly, associated myself with it. So, I’m not just a song writer, I’m a poet; I’m not just a writer, I could be a journalist; I’m not just a producer, I’m a director; I’m not just a producer of music, I’m a director of music; I’m not just a dancer, I’m a choreographer.
So, I’ve taken time to nurture all of these. That’s what I will say. You see, when you are properly grounded, you are not afraid. You just wait for the right time and the only problem I have about all of these is that I’m a very hard-to-please kind of person, I’m a very finicky person about excellence, about what I do; I do them well. So, sometimes, it takes time for me to bring my works to bed, to fruition. But now, I’ve decided to take a new step. Do Good is giving me a new energy. So, I’m thinking immediately to start my foundation, which is called READ – Read to Emancipate and Actualise your Dream. That’s what READ stands for. But it’s also about helping people. It’s supposed to be my foundation, The Basorge Tariah Foundation pilot project. Go to places where ordinarily you won’t want to go and start READ or reading culture. My idea is to retire with a bookshop. You see, my goals are set. What I want to achieve in life; I don’t want millions, billions. I wanna own a bookshop when I’m old. That’s what I want.
What made you plunge into entertainment in the first place?
I’ve said it over and over and I think I will be very consistent when I say that I went for a JAMB class and I decided to go chase a girl in the JAMB class and she was in the class and my guys told me to go into the class to call her. So, I went in, but the gentleman who was teaching had this very strong imposing personality, so I could not pull my stunt anymore. So, I failed on the bet, but I sat back and gazed because he was teaching Economics and he was teaching specifically on international trade and he was talking about comparative advantage. So, there and then I decided that where I should specialize and where I have comparative advantage is entertainment. Bear in mind that I’ve always entertained from school. From primary school, I’ve always been the best actor in my class and all of that. So, I think that was the turning point for me. And also I wanted something to take me out of Port-Harcourt.
What distinguishes Basorge Tariah, Jnr. from the other people who also do what you do?
I will say I’m conservative. I truly don’t know if I should be able to do a comparism, but I can define myself – I’m conservative, I am humble, I am intensely very creative and I’m defined by family. I believe in certain values of integrity and loyalty. So, that is who I am.
Now that you’ve talked about your family, can we meet them?
Yeah! I have a family of six, which includes me – my wife is Doris Basoene Tariah, my first son is Shawn Opubo Tariah; Opubo is 14 and he’s in SS 1; Emmanuella Ebiba Tariah, she’s in JSS III; Serena is in primary 3 and Bryan is in nursery; he’s four. Bryan Basoene Tariah is my spitting image, so I named him after me.
How much of a family man are you?
110 percent; if there’s a 110 percent. Everything about me is family, everything I have is for my family. If you were to bless me with a fortune today, no matter how big or small, the first person I will call up is my wife and I will tell the exact value of your blessing. Whatever I do, she knows because I’m a small reader, but a strong believer of the Bible that says that God promised Abraham that He will make him a father of nations and I believe that if you take that promise, you too can become one…Also, it waters down to all of us. If we take that promise seriously, if we put it mainly as our core value, our core interest, our core responsibility, God will never turn His back against you. It has worked for me, so I can only hope that people will take this and it will work for them. I don’t believe that there’s any other thing. What defines me even as a friend with you is your relationship with your family. If I don’t see it, then I don’t expect to have a relationship with you.
Away from work, what are the things that keep you busy, that keep you engaged?
I like to read, I like to watch movies and I like to just spend time with my family. Then, I like chores. I’m always at home trying to help my wife out and my values are defined. I don’t believe in maids and all of that. So, it’s a lot of work.
Let’s talk about your newest effort, Do Good. Can you tell us about Do Good and what prompted it? Where are you headed with Do Good?
Well, I’ve always said that Do Good was originally created by Zeb Ejiro; the character, Do Good. But it was not Do Good in full, it was just Do Good as a part of Candlelight. But for me to be able to totally own, use and work with that, I had to ask and that’s what I think people should learn to do. I had to ask Zeb for his authority, his legal authority to use the name because he created that character. Even though there are new sides and characteristics to Do Good, I still give him that honour. So, I thank him so much. He’s like a mentor, he’s the man who stopped me from going back to Port-Harcourt when I came, after youth service and told me I should stay here; that this is where my future lies. I thank him so much for that. But what prompted Do Good was my experience, travelling everywhere round UK and America. You meet old Nigerians who existed when Candlelight was and they still refer to you as Do Good. So, I felt it had become predominantly the character, the role for which most people know me. So, why don’t I re-enact it. People want me back on TV. It was for me, very honestly, a good come back.
Why is Do-Good showing on just DSTV?
Because when I wanted to do Do Good, when I created Do Good, I didn’t have the resources to fund it and most Nigerians will not even believe in a project. But you see, you have to give credence, kudos to the South African companies for trying to build content. Yes! And for that reason, I partnered with them. They accepted, and sometimes you are supposed to be an independent producer, but in this light, I opted for them to produce at least in these 2 years of the contract. I have a 3-year contract as a licensor to give them the right to produce and I’m still very much a part of it, retained as the Executive Producer and script writer and of course, a lead character.
Why should people watch Do Good? Why should people spend their time watching you and the other characters that constitute Do Good?
Do Good, like I said and like everything I do, is not only madly hilarious; I’m not the boastful type, but I would want to say that this is the most hilarious comedy piece in the last two decades and it will be for a very long time to come. I created a series with a lot of very distinct characters. So much so that they are so strong on their own and they are almost competing against each other in terms of popularity and in terms of pronouncement. But again, it is also very educative. From time to time, you watch the series about unemployment, we have this and that about sickle cell, we have this and that about area boys and reform and most importantly, you know Do Good as a subject is painted in a way that after his sojourn and return abroad, he’s a kind of artisan, a kind of mechanical mystique for his customers. So, we are painting a presentation; not just a presentation and drama that seems to paint the country bad, but a representation of drama that inspires other people to be better people – you are seeing a common maid who rose from nothing and now owns a restaurant. So, I think that part of being one of the most hilarious comedy (series) with very distinct characters, the subjects it treats transcend time and it’s a great value to society.
God has been nice to Basorge Tariah, Jnr. What more do you want from God?
Well, I want Him to keep me to see my children stand on their feet.
As a major player in the entertainment industry, what is your general assessment of the sector?
I think the fact that it is growing at a very snail pace. I should think that having started this industry, not just the movie industry and being there for 35 years and proudly recorded and consistently done things, by now, I should see much and see better things, but the sad thing is that, like I said again, the private sector and the government; only the private sector has given more to support us. The government has not seen that this is the only oil well, this is the only rig that is untapped.
Who among your colleagues do you like what he or she is doing and why?
Julius (Agwu) is one, Ali Baba is the other in terms of maturity, in terms of family and in terms of always trying to reinvent themselves and re-create themselves, but also knowing that it’s about giving back- whether it’s to their families, whether it’s to society and the way they carry themselves, I praise them.
As an entertainer and entertainment practitioner, what’s your dream, what’s your vision?
My dream is to keep creating employment. Do Good has afforded me the chance to create a lot of employment as far as I’m concerned. I’m on to the next work which is The Barber’s Shop and The Barber’s Shop will create more jobs and will entertain more. It’s another comedy. My dream is to create jobs.
Most parents are usually not happy when their children embrace entertainment. Who encouraged you the most when you started?
I think it must be two persons – Late Amatu Braide and my sister’s first husband, King Boy Tekena. His mother called him King Boy as a nickname, so a lot of people know him as King Boy, but he’s actually Dennis Tekena.
What is the greatest challenge that you have faced as an entertainer and how were you able to overcome it?
As an entertainer, I was hit by a life – threating illness and I just suddenly realized that I didn’t have the savings to keep my family going. But I had enough savings to manage to start the treatment and I’m a conservative type who will not make so much noise. And that is why I’ll always give my love to the gentleman who helped me as at then, Amaechi Rotimi, the lion of the Niger Delta, a wonderful friend, one of the most loyal persons I’ve ever seen in my life. I thank him and I thank my friends like you who also stood by me for the encouragement and the prayer. There are not too many people in this world and I’m proud of them. That was very challenging. That’s like looking at everything you’ve achieved and done in life almost gone. But I wasn’t worried about fame, I wasn’t worried about money, I was scared about my kids.
At some point, Basorge was like a sex symbol. Constantly he was being mentioned in the news and linked to so many beautiful women like Regina Askia, Ibinabo Fiberesima and so on. What exactly was happening then? Was it youthful exuberance or something?
Frankly, it was. But even then, I was careful. I wasn’t the type who made my relationships open. I think at some point you play your role. I offered the entertainment industry that role, that opportunity, that sense of em…(stammers). How will I put it? That sense of; I’m almost tempted to say ‘irresponsibleness’. Yeah! That sense of drama, that sense of gossip. From time to time, people will come and play that role. So, I played that role for a while. I won’t say I’m proud of it, but I believe it’s a part of my youthful days (laughing) that I will not say I regret. I also enjoyed it because I made good friends, I didn’t make careless friends…