Bowoto Jephthah Oluwatiseyifumi Tanimola, popularly known as Akpororo, is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

stand-up

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

, vocalist and actor.

Early life and career

Akpororo is a native of Ilaje,

Ondo State Ondo State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Oǹdó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. It borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast, Edo State to the east, Delta State to t ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

but he was born and brought up in

Warri The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri and her twin city, Uvwie are the commercial c ...

, a city in Delta State, Nigeria where he had his early education. His career started off as a local gospel musician until in 2008 when he went into the National Comedy Challenge by Opa Williams and went on to win the Calabar zone of the competition. In 2009, Akpororo moved to

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

and contested twice in the ''AY's Open Mic Challenge'', coming second in his first try and winning the competition in his second try. He rose to popularity in 2013 following his performance at "

Basketmouth Bright Okpocha (born 14 September 1978 in Lagos State), better known by his stage name Basketmouth, is a Nigerian comedian and actor. He has organized popular stand-up comedy concerts like ''Basketmouth Uncensored'' across the globe. Basketmouth ...

's Laff and Jam" show and went on to perform in several comedy shows including "AY Live". He is 5 ft, 7 inches. On 12 August 2014, he staged his first major comedy show "Akpororo vs Akpororo" at the Shell Hall,

MUSON Centre MUSON Centre (Musical Society of Nigeria) is a performance hall in Lagos. The multipurpose civic auditorium is located in the heart of Lagos Island, situated between the National Museum, the City Mall, the Onikan Stadium and the former offic ...

. The maiden event saw the attendance of notable musical acts and comedians. In 2014, Akpororo delved into acting, starring in the films ''Headgone'' and '' The Antique''; with the former earning him three nominations at the

2015 Golden Icons Academy Movie Awards The 2015 Golden Icons Academy Movie Awards was the 4th edition of the ceremony. The event was held on October 17, 2015 in Houston, Texas. It was hosted by Nigerian comedian, Ayo Makun. Awards Best Motion Picture *''Love Regardless'' *'' Stalker'' ...

Artistry

His style of comedy is basically the fusion of secular and church-related jokes. In an interview, he revealed that he performs and cracks jokes about lunatics because he was once an attendant to mentally-ill people who came to the church he was attending for spiritual healing.

Endorsement deals

In June 2015, he signed a 2-year endorsement deal with telecommunication giants

Airtel Nigeria Airtel Networks Limited (Airtel Nigeria), commonly known as Airtel, is a leading mobile network operator in Nigeria. According to the Subscribers statistics released by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on 30 August 2019, Airtel Nigeria ha ...

Awards and nominations

Personal life

He is married to Josephine Ijeoma Abraham, following their wedding in

Surulere Surulere is a residential and commercial Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area located on the mainland of Lagos in Lagos State, Nigeria, with an area of . At the last census in the year 2006, there were 503,975 inhabitants, wi ...

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

on 14 November 2015. He is a student of

Lagos State University Lagos State University, also known as LASU, is located in Ojo, with sub-campuses at Ikeja and Epe both towns in Lagos State, Nigeria. The university was established in 1983 by the enabling law of Lagos State, for the advancement of learning ...

where he is studying

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

References