Kazeem Abimbola, popularly called Jigan Babaoja, is a talented actor, musician, and a comedian. The originator of sho mo age mi, that has gone viral, tells Ademola Olonilua how he came about the slang in a recent interview
How did you come up with the phase, Sho mo age mi?
I have actually done several skits but it’s just that God had mandated that I would become popular with this ‘Sho mo age mi’ slang. I was on a movie location with some of my friends when we started talking about our actresses that were celebrating their 40th birthday; we said that some of them were either not up to 40years or they were above the age. That was how we started arguing and I cited myself as an example, asking them if they knew if I was up to 40 years old. That’s how I started asking them if they knew my age in Yoruba. From there, something urged me to do a skit about it and that’s how it went viral.
How did you meet Davido?
I was wowed when it happened. I was home one day posting some of my skits on the same trending topic when I received a direct message from him. I wasso happy and while I was still basking in the euphoria, I received a call from my manager, Danku, who told me to hold on for Davido. In his distinct voice, I heard him say, “Hello, Sho mo age mi, sho mo age mi ni,” then he laughed and invited meto meet him at Lekki. I went to meet him at Lekki and he told me he appreciated mywork. He was traveling to America on that day but he still made out time to receive me.
People are actually interested in knowing your age. How old are you?
The whole idea behind the skit is the suspense I have built around my age and I have decided that I am never going to tell anybody my age. I am going to keep it to myself forever.
