Layi Wasabi has never doubted his sense of humor. “I’ve always been the funny friend,” the comedic content creator tells OkayAfrica in an interview. “If you spend enough time with me, you’ll find me interesting or funny in some way.”
The 22-year-old law graduate from Bowen University, Nigeria, whose real name is Isaac Olayiwola, has amassed a following of over 3 million across social media since he began his skit making journey three years ago. Throughout this time, he created several characters to entertain his audience. There’s Mr. Richard, the Ponzi schemer constantly philosophizing about money and poverty to recruit new members into his get-rich-quick masterclasses. He also portrays The Law, a wandering, office-less lawyer who settles the most bizarre and bemusing cases.
Wasabi’s content captivates audiences far and wide and he’s had a few awards to show for it. Honored with accolades such as the Revelation of the Yearaward at the inaugural Nigeria Comedy Awards, the Force of Influence award at the Trendupp Awards, and most recently, the Best Digital Content Creator award at the 2024 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, Wasabi's comedy seems to be taking off quite well.
Wasabi strives to keep his content as simple as possible, believing that is key to its broad appeal. “Simple in terms of dialogue,” he explains. “Even though I’m playing a lawyer, I avoid using overly legalistic terms. I also keep the plots of my skits easy to understand.” The scripts are family-friendly; he doesn’t create explicit content. “It’s something you can show your kids, and if they understand the plot, they might have a good laugh.”
In an industry that was until recently saturated with men donning garish lipsticks, wearing disheveled wigs, and stuffing their cleavages with make-believe breasts while they paraded punchlines that commodified women’s bodies, Wasabi is a breath of fresh air.
“Do what feels natural to you,” Wasabi says. “That’s what I did; humor in a way that felt natural to me.”
When Wasabi started his skits, he noticed that not many people were doing comedy in his style. “But it was funny to me and I decided to go that route, as opposed to looking at the internet, wondering what people are watching right now, and then following that direction,” he says. He believes more people should follow this approach. “The thing with this industry is that a lot of people tend to follow what is selling right now. But if you think it’s funny, then create. You don’t have to wait for it to be trendy before you start.”
Photo by Morgan Otagburuagu.
Layi Wasabi says he strives to make his skits simple and family-friendly.
“Some form of relatability has to do with it too,” Wasabi notes, underscoring another reason why his skits resonate with such a diverse audience. “We’ve all come across lawyers like The Law, or different variations of Mr. Richard.” This sentiment certainly holds weight. A joke is likely funnier when made out of shared personal experiences. Often, the best comedy lies in truth, as everyday observations can serve as the cornerstone of the most effective and enduring humor.
Perhaps this is why one of Wasabi’s breakout skits features a professor inquiring about an aspiring university student’s entrance examination score. Many young Nigerians have grappled with reconciling the reality of their JAMB score — an acronym for The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the Nigerian Government agency that administers the entrance exam — with their dream institution and preferred course of study. So when you watch Professor — another alter ego of Wasabi's, who appeared in several of his earlier skits — ask the student on the other end of the screen, “Kilo gba ni JAMB?” ("What is your JAMB score?"), the humor is amplified because it hits close to home.
The Professor video emerged in early 2022. Wasabi reflects, “I’d been creating videos in 2021, but without much traction. Although I had a viral hit in 2021, the turning point arrived with the Professor video.” This marked the moment Wasabi noted that his comedy was taking off. “It’s what grabbed people’s attention to my content,” he says, “and that’s when I realized, Okay, folks are tuning in to Layi [Wasabi].”Skit making and expectations
Although Wasabi has been cracking jokes since secondary school and has always been self-assured about his comedic abilities, he finds that skit making presents its own unique challenge. “It’s a different ballgame, a completely different skill set than being the funny friend.”
But it’s certainly paying off, as skit making has been such a lucrative career that he hasn’t much put his law degree to use since his graduation. “It’s full-time content creation,” he confirms. “I was initially shuffling between law and content creation, but I decided to channel my energy into one of them. Choosing content creation has allowed me to do better work.” Eventually, the time may come to diversify, but right now, “This is what I’m exploring,” he says, “and I’m enjoying it.”
Over the years, Wasabi has grown his audience, whom he trusts and feels very comfortable experimenting with. “I am not afraid of bad content, or failure,” he says. “You cannot achieve success if failure scares you.”
A part of this full-time skit making journey involved relocating from where he grew up in Osogbo, Osun State, in the southwestern part of Nigeria, to Lagos. Describing Lagos as a vibrant space filled with color and culture and abundant opportunities would hardly be an exaggeration. “Lagos is evidently Nigeria’s entertainment capital,” he says, adding, “I reside and work here. It’s been really great for my career.”
Another aspect that’s been great so far? Watching his ideas materialize. “I love when I can finally hold in my hand something that was once only in my head.” Wasabi also derives satisfaction and genuine joy from his audience’s reception of his comedy. “When I do great work and my audience feels the same way that I feel about it, that’s honestly my greatest joy,” he says. “Oh, and the money.”
Photo by Morgan Otagburuagu.
For Layi Wasabi, audience satisfaction gives him the greatest joy.
What’s next?
In addition to being a superstar skit maker and multiple award-winning digital content creator, Wasabi has also taken on minor roles in notable productions. These include Adire and Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre, both streaming on Netflix, and the Prime Video movie Japa. Venturing into Nollywood has been an enlightening experience with its own interesting lessons. “One of the surprising things about acting, and being on the set of Adire, was the number of takes we had to do,” he recalls. “For that brief scene I was in, totaling maybe a minute, I spent over half a day on set.”
For reasons he can’t quite recall now, Wasabi initially believed that acting would be just as straightforward, if not easier, than skit making. “Maybe because I’m accustomed to doing multiple retakes in the skit business,” he muses. While he soon discovered that acting presented its own set of challenges, this didn’t discourage Wasabi, who has more Nollywood projects in the pipeline and also harbors aspirations for stand-up comedy. “Before skits became a thing, stand-up comedy was my first love back in 2015,” he reminisces, citing Basketmouth, Bovi, Dave Chapelle and Ricky Gervais as his favorites. In fact, Wasabi initially crafted his jokes in stand-up style before transitioning to skits later on.
Nine years later, Wasabi is still refining his stand-up material. Before long, you might see him take center stage on the big screen, delighting audiences with laughter. “When I’m fully prepared, and when the timing is right, I’ll venture into that market,” he says.
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