THE EVOLUTION OF MR MACARONI, THE LORD OF COMEDY SKITS *THE LUCK AND THE MANY CHALLENGES

One guy just started recording skits saying "Freaky freaky, Ooin, You are doing well" and became an instantaneous social media hit such that his lingo becomes popular interjection among Senators, Public Speakers and even Pastors. 

The guy is really doing well o 😂 .

However, it is important to note that "just and instantaneous" are unjust words for his exploits as far as I know. I was talking to a Colleague/Protege few weeks ago about Capitalizing on Chance, Luck and Time in the entertainment industry when he told me that Mr Macaroni is lucky.  I emphasized that it is an industry where you can't rely on skill and knowledge alone, you must work out your luck, and since luck is a fleeting phenomenon, once it appears, you must catch and mount on it before it hops away to another place (ride on your luck).

 You can't plan luck, you can't have a feasibility study or research methodology for it. But for luck to come your way, you have to keep working, it must meet you on the field, it must meet your hand on the tiller, your eye on the ball.  It's a random moment of opportunity that comes to bless your consistency, passion and dedication. Luck doesn't come to the sweatless,  it is usually a dividend of sweat and imaginative sensibility. So is Mr Macaroni lucky?  Yes, he is because I have known him close to a decade as a passionate Thespian. 
I have seen him at countless auditions where he will arrive early and won't be picked for any role, he was just one tall boy with a towering Afro that reminds you of the Hip Hop sensation of the late 80's, Kid n Play. He actually looked like those boys who can recite the entire periodic table of elements in Chemistry, I hope then I haven't used my caustic mouth to tell him to try out another career because he never struck me as an actor until I worked with him for the first time and saw how dynamic and creative he could be.

Few days ago, a Presidential aide,  Tolu Ogunlesi tweeted a screenshot of Mr Macaroni in an old Nollywood movie expressing his surprise that he was ever in Nollywood.

There is nothing like instantaneous success, it is just easier to see the glory than the story. I know so many free jobs this guy has done in Nollywood. He will even come on set with snacks and smoothies for cast and crew, I had to tell him on an occasion that he is already spending more than how much we are paying him, he just laughed it off. Why am I not surprised at his luck?

I don't want to talk about his other parts of activism and advocacy for a just and egalitarian society because it will be a long story. Sometimes last year, we travelled from Lagos to Ife together and discussed how Nigerians must be ready to pay the price of responsibility for Nigeria to reach its potential, the discussion went on and on and we didn't even know when we got to Ife. So asides comedy and acting,  he has a great predilection for discussing policy formulation, implementation and evaluation, he is not your run off the mill Comedian who just says "freaky freaky " and moves on with life, he is vast in many spheres of life.

 So, for any aspiring entertainer that wants luck or wants to blow like they say, Luck will not come and meet you in the room. It's utterly demanding, challenging and a knife-edged journey. If you are not constantly working at it, Luck will never happen. And you know what? You might even work hard at it forever and luck never happen 😔, that's why it is luck, it is not for everyone. But for you to even stand the chance of luck, you must work hard at it.  Good luck!

P. S- Happy Birthday  Debo Macaroni Adedayo, you are doing well,  Ọ̀ọ́in!

TUNDE OLAOYE, a film-maker of repute writes from Lagos, Nigeria