Comedian Ladimeji Azeez popularly known as Elamefa, who shared a video that went viral of a five-year-old boy, Taju, said he didn’t mean the derogatory statement he used to qualify him in the clip, he further explained that it was a mere humor.
In the short video, the comedian was seen laughing at the boy who was struggling to speak good English, calling him “oloribu” (unfortunate person). Also, in the video, the boy revealed he was not in school.
The derogatory statement made by Elamefa won the boy great sympathy from the public and the comedian was slammed for being insensitive. Also, a lot of celebrities such as Don Jazzy, Ayo Makun, Mo Abudu and others indicated interest in sending the boy to school and giving him a better life.
While speaking with Sunday Scoop, Elamefa explained that using such offensive word on the boy was his way of encouraging him. He said, “I am the one who called him ‘oloribu’, but I was just playing with him and trying to make him talk. He is like a brother; I cannot curse my brother. Though his father and mother are alive, he stays with his grandma and she does not have enough money to send him to school. I did the skit for people to see how intelligent the boy is.”
He noted that he was aware that certain celebrities had said they would help Taju, they were yet to receive cash as of Thursday. “We are still on Taju’s matter. We are yet to get anything from people who promised to help him. I also saw reports that Don Jazzy was ready to give him N500,000,” he stated.
Based in Ibadan, he described himself as a comedy skit writer and performing artiste. He said, “If you go to my Instagram page, you will see different skits I have done in the past. The last one I did was with Taju and it went viral. I know his parents because we stay in the same area in Ibadan. If you go to my Instagram page, you will see a picture where his father, mother and grandma appeared.”
