By IFECHI OKOH

It is largely believed that the introduction of jokes by some top comedians at public functions is one of the ways of easing tension. Interestingly, it has become so popular among Nigerian fun lovers that most of these top comedians have decided to commercialize this tension-diffusing concern.                

However, it is disturbing to note that sizable number of these top entertainers have been ignorantly or maliciously been stigmatizing sufferers of some unfortunate diseases or disabilities.          

It was not funny psychologically recently when one top comedian cracked a joke which they did not see as funny at one pretty high profiled audience gathering. This was so obvious from their cold reception to it. Imagine!          

The joke was simply "you men watching me had better watch it, because that girl sitting beside you, might be carrying AIDS." Another at one other function poked similar fun, by gisting the unsuspecting audience of how one comfortable gentleman who had spent much quietly on a girl within his neighbourhood, finally got a date with the girl. He recalled jokingly that when the girl told her lover boy that she had AIDS, he simply told the girl whom he strongly believed was playing smart to kindly give him the AID, and pass the S to her sugar daddy whenever they meet.                   

It is obvious that this joke did not go down well with the unsuspecting audience, especially those with one form of unfortunate challenge or the other.                 

It was apparent that all discerning persons around may have frowned seriously at such grand display of insensitivity and pitiable stigmatization of the unfortunate victims of such challenges.             

It is on good source that late top comedian, John Chukwu, massively addressed as J C, never committed such social blunder for whatever reason or reasons. Honestly!            

Hence, I want to state unequivocally that the young man and others who may have committed that kind of social blunder are not really cut out to survive on comedy as shown in their dry and stigmatizing jokes.                      

But the disturbing problem here is that nobody can stop them from further stigmatizing these unfortunate persons with such challenges.      

As a result of this, this category of insensitive bunch of  comedians are just out to survive on comedy of mischief which stamps annoyingly that they all have since lost their sense of empathy, thereby making jokes mindlessly out of the pitiable conditions of these unfortunate persons.                   

Those guilty of this social offence, simply belong to the group of people whose impropriety of conduct  find expression   through jokes  that can be best described as persons insensitive to people’s sore spots.                      

It appears from the foregoing, that gone are the days when stand-up comedians, through their jokes, focus on current sensitive issues, highlighting societal anomalies and correcting ills within the social, cultural, economic, political and, to some extent, religious beliefs which have been causing serious disaffection between Christians and Muslim, eliciting healthy laughter in the process of such creative jokes which serve out rightly the expected therapeutic essence.

Please keep a date next week for the second and final installment. Cheers!