Comedian and actor, Stanley B. Nilius, popularly
known as Gospel Alhaji, has risen to fame based
on his vibrant jokes delivered with a strong Hausa
accent. The Taraba–born entertainer and
compeer, takes time to explain to Art and Ideas
where his inspiration comes from and how he has
found fame and fulfillment in comedy.
Where did you get the name Gospel Alhaji from?
The name came because I portray northern
Nigeria in my comedy, especially in the accent.
There was a time I did an act in a church and
after the performance the pastor said from today,
you are known as Gospel Alhaji because before
then, I was using Regiment Soldier because I
have a military background. He now said from
today I must bare Gospel Alhaji because people
from the South haven’t seen anyone from the
north doing my kind of act who is a Christian.
So are you a Hausa man?
Well, they call us Hausa, according to Nigerians
but I am from a tribe called Jenjo from Lau Local
Government in Taraba State.
So this accent that you deliver with perfection, did
you have to train yourself on it?
Yes. I used to watch the news a lot. There was a
reporter with the NTA, Hamisu Rogo, at the time.
He inspired me a lot. We have lots of senators
and members of the House of Reps who are doing
this accent a lot and they inspired me to be who I
am because I am from Taraba where we speak
Hausa as a lingua franca before English. I
watched a lot of movies that had to do with this
accent and I love it because it is part of us.
So what kind of success have you had since you
commercialized your brand?
The success I have had is being on a national
platform that some of my colleagues who have
been in this profession for 10 years haven’t been
on. I have been there due to my own creativity
and my own kind of acts in the industry. Everyone
has a way of doing things. Some go the Warri
side and I specialize in the northern parts. And I
have been invited often to bring that northern
flavor.
When did you come to Abuja and why?
My uncle invited me to come to Abuja to shoot a
TV series and after I finished, I wanted to leave,
but he said no, I had to stay because there was
something else. After the second production, I got
connected to other comedians. And when I came
as a media man, I covered lots of events in Abuja,
including the beauty shows and saw what the
people were doing. So I decided to stay back and
showcase my own talent.
So apart from being a comedian you are also into
broadcast?
I am an actor, a camera man and director of
productions. I have featured in a movie with
Justice Esiri. We shot the movie with him in 2010
before he died. It was called ‘Twin Swords’. I
have featured in other movies and TV series as
well, like ‘Mutum Da Muhalinsa’ and ‘Binta’s
Tears’.
So what kind of reactions have you had since you
started?
People have been welcoming me. But back in my
state, because it was the same accent, they
didn’t value me as much I am being appreciated
elsewhere. In Abuja, the reaction has been
massive. And I have a skit on YouTube that has
gone viral with thousands of views and has been
shared by celebrities.
So what inspires the kind of jokes you make?
What inspires me is that northern Nigeria, we are
all comedians. Yes, right from our parents all the
way down. Everything about the Hausa man is
comedy because we can see how Alhajis are
always funny because of their behaviour. You
could meet someone who is not very well
educated and you will be amazed by how he
organizes his affairs. We are all comedians in the
north. That is what inspires me and people love
the entertainment from the north. Because we
have the challenges of insecurity that is why the
entertainment has shifted to Lagos but we are
still coming up and we will take back our place by
the Grace of God.