Nigeria’s national carrier and the biggest corporate supporter of entertainment, Globacom, on Sunday night, wowed Benin City residents when it staged its iconic Glo Lafftafest rated as Africa’s biggest comedy show and paraded 18 artistes from West and East Africa in a night of glitz, music and upscale comedy. The Flamingo Hall of Best Western Hotel, Evbuomwan Street, Benin, Edo State venue of the show, was filled to capacity with many of the fun seekers taking up every available space, all in a bid to watch the breath-taking performances of the artistes at the event. As early as 3.30pm, a long queue of expectant guests had stretched to adjourning streets, even though the gate was not expected to open till 5pm. For the guests who were largely the loyal customers of Globacom in the last 10 years, it was worth all the efforts as they were served a full dose of entertainment from both the comedians and musicians. The ambience of the venue complemented the world-class stage which glittered in sprightly colours accentuated by the sublime lighting. The audience unanimously agreed that it was a spectacle to behold. As soon as the event anchor, ever spontaneous Basketmouth, opened the show with some jokes, the foursome of Young Messiah, MC Cassino, MC Classic and Franchise, representing the Benin-based artistes, gave local flavour to the event as they delivered their acts with punchy dexterity. Thereafter, the anchor man unleashed on the enthusiastic crowd the likes of D Don, Dan D Humorous from Port Harcourt, Funny Bone, Buchi, I Go Save, Salvador from Uganda, Julius Agwu, Okey Bakassi, Akpororo and Bovi. Their performances electrified the hall. The night was not only a night of comedy and laughter as the trio of the Nasarawa State-born master guitarist, Bez, the Awon-Boys-Won-Gbodo-Wole crooner, Burna Boy and Africa’s hip-hop sensational singer, Wande Coal, also gave superlative performances. Specifically, Burna Boy gave the crowd some nostalgic feeling when he displayed some dance steps reminiscent of the late Afrobeat king, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Professor Julius Ihonvbere, a former Senior Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo on Project Monitoring and Implementation, who is the current Secretary to the Edo State Government, literarily led top citizens of the state such as Dr. Benka Coker of St. Bridget Radiological Centre, the Executive Chairman of Edo State Board of Internal Revenue, Chief Oseni Elamah, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Folorunso Adebayo, former Director of Public Affairs, University of Benin, Mr. Charles Omonaide and a host of others to the show. Chief Elamah of the state Board of Internal Revenue, who watched the show that ended at the wee hours of Monday declared that “it was a great show.” The Benin edition of the Glo Lafftafest was the fifth in the series of shows packaged by the giant telecommunications outfit as part of the activities marking its 10th year anniversary celebrations. Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, will host the next edition.