Keywords
comic skits
Nigerian comedy
popular culture
Sabinus
How to Cite
Abstract
Comic skits, like stand-up comedy, have been invaluable sources of humour, education and sensitisation in Nigeria. Extant studies have acknowledged the informative and entertaining contents of Nigerian comic skits, with hardly any critical efforts on their humouring and demystification of degeneracies and distressing experiences that pervade the Nigerian sociopolitical space. This article examines the link between humour and misfortunes in selected comical skits of Sabinus (Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Ejekwu), one of Nigerian most famous skit-makers and comedians, showing how he euphemises repugnant behaviours, and dreadful, despairing experiences in Nigeria. Four hilarious skits of Sabinus were selected through purposive sampling from his Facebook wall and were subjected to qualitative literary analysis, paying attention to events, characters, and dialogues used to foreground them. The skits are: Sabinus Has Given up; Sabinus Enjoyment Man; Sabinus Meets His Longtime Facebook Lover and Sabinus Currently at the Psychiatric Home. The Relief Theory of Humour is adopted in this study, and it is complemented with Euphemisation Theory, to account for the mental reprieve derived from the comical effects of the skits as evident in their euphemisation of bad conduct, and morbid and agonising episodes. The analysis reveals that Sabinus appropriates light and dark humour in his comic skits, to euphemistically underscore the depravities and woes that characterise Nigerian society.
References
Abamara N. C., & Ozongwu O. E. (2024). The rising cases of suicide among Nigerians: What are the risk factors, prevention, and remedies? Consort Psychiatry, 5(3), 56-61.
Abrams, M. H. (2009). A glossary of literary terms. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Adetunji, T. (2024, February 19). Skit makers are solving practical problems in Nigeria. Techeconomy. Retrieved December 7, 2024 from: https://techeconomy.ng/skit-makers-are-solving-practical-problems-in-nigeria/
Alasuutari, P. (2010). The rise and relevance of qualitative research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 13 (2), 139–55.
Berlyne, D. E. (1972). Humour and its kin. In J. H. Goldstein & P. E. McGhee (Eds.), The psychology of humour (pp. 43–60). Academic.
Breuer, J., & Freud, S. (1895/2001). Studies on hysteria. Vintage Books.
Buijzen, M., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2004). Developing a typology of humor in audiovisual media. Media Psychology, 6(2), 147-167.
Buijzen, M., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2004). Developing a typology of humor in audiovisual media. Media Psychology, 6(2), 147–167.
Clewis, R. (2020). Kant's humorous writings: An illustrated guide. Bloomsbury.
Crawford, S. A., & Caltabiano, N. J. (2011). Promoting emotional well-being through the use of humour. Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(3), 237–252.
Creswell, J. (2006). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage.
Dionigi, A., Duradoni, M., & Vagnoli, L. (2023). Understanding the association between humor and emotional distress: The role of light and dark humor in predicting depression, anxiety, and stress. European Journal of Psychology, 19(4), 358–370.
Emama, E. O., & Mowarin, M. (2024). The language of Nigerian stand-up comedy. The European Journal of Humour Research, 12(2), 36-52. https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR.2024.12.2.756
Filani, I. O. (2016). Humour strategies and acts in Nigerian stand-up. [Doctoral Dissertation, Department of English, University of Ibadan].
Filani, I., & Williams, C. O. (2023). A preliminary sketch on intertextuality in Nigerian stand-up comedy. In T. Oloruntoba-Oju (Ed.), Humour theory and stylistic enquiry (pp. 271-301). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40387-3_12.
Hamilton, C., & Foltzer, A. (2021). On euphemisms, linguistic creativity, and humor. Lexis: Journal in English Lexicology, 17, 1-22.
Jing-Schmidt, Z. (2019). Cursing, taboo and euphemism. In C. R. Huang, Z. Jing-Schmidt & B. Meisterernst (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of Chinese applied linguistics (pp. 391-406). Routledge.
Kekeghe, S. E. (2017) “Creativity and the burden of thoughts: Deconstructing melancholia in Wumi Raji’s Rolling dreams”. Matatu, 49(2), 293-306.
Kekeghe, S. E. (2021). Exalted madness: Interrogating the paradox of lunacy and fame in Akpororo’s stand-up comedy. Tropical Journal of Arts and Humanities, 3(1), 10-19.
Kfrerer, M. L., Martin, N. G., & Schermer, J. A. (2019). A behavior genetic analysis of the relationship between humor styles and depression. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 32(3), 417–431. https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2017-0098
King, G., Keohane, R. O., & Verba, S. (2021). Designing social inquiry: Scientific inference in qualitative research, New Edition. Princeton University Press
Linfoot-Ham, K. (2005). The linguistics of euphemism: A diachronic study of euphemism formation. Journal of Language and Linguistics, 4(2), 227-263.
Lucas, F. L. (1958). Tragedy: Serious drama in relation to Aristotle's poetics. MacMillan.
Malyuga, E.N., & Orlova, S. N. (2018). Theoretical concepts and notions of euphemy. Linguistic pragmatics of intercultural professional and business communication (pp. 79-103). Springer.
Mark, T. G. 2024. Social media and the form and content of Nigerian comic skits. Comedy Studies, 15 (2), 171–195.
Martin, R. A. (2019). Humor. In M. W. Gallagher & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and measures (pp. 305–316). American Psychological Association.
Martin, R. A., & Ford, T. (2018). The psychology of humor: An integrative approach. Elsevier/Academic Press
Mbanefo, S. E. (1991). Psychiatry in general medical practice in Nigeria. Ibadan University Press.
Meyer, J. C. (2000). Humor as a double-edged sword: Four functions of humor in communication. Communication Theory, 10(3), 310–331.
Morreall, J. (2023). Philosophy of humor. In E. N. Zalta & U. Nodelman (eds.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Summer 2023 ed.). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University.
Morreall, J. (2023). Taking laughter seriously. State University of New York Press
Mulder, M. P., & Nijholt, A. (2002). Humor in human-computer interaction. University of Twente.
Nowak-Michalska, J. (2020). The dynamics of euphemisation in legal language: An analysis of legal terms referring to people with disabilities used in Poland and Spain. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, 33, 559–580.
Obiechina, C. K. (2023). The mental health benefit of social media: The use of social media skits for depression treatment among women in Nigeria. Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 5(1), 1–10.
Ogba, M. O. (2021). Humour as a sensitisation tool in Nigerian comedy skits about covid-19. English Academy Review, 38(2), 93–104.
Olatawura, M. O. (2008). Psychology and psychiatry. Spectrum Books Limited.
Oloko, P. (2024). Ja Pa and jokes in Nigerian skits: Humour and the imagineering of a national dystopian consciousness. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 37(1), 37–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/13696815.2024.2368239
Polimeni, J., & Reiss, J. P. (2006). The first joke: Exploring the evolutionary origins of humor. Evolutionary Psychology, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/147470490600400129
Ruch, W., Wagner, L., & Heintz, S. (2018). Humor, the pen model of personality, and subjective well-being: support for differential relationships of eight comic styles. Rivista Italiana di Studi sull’Umorismo, 1(1), 31–44.
Samson, A. C., & Gross, J. C. (2013). The dark and light sides of humor: An emotion regulation perspective. In J. Gruber & J. T. Moskowitz (Eds.), Positive emotion: Integrating the light sides and dark sides (pp. 169-182). Oxford University Press
Shurcliff, A. (1968). Judged humor, arousal, and the relief theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8(4), 360–363.
Simione, L., & Gnagnarella, C. (2023). Humor coping reduces the positive relationship between avoidance coping strategies and perceived stress: a moderation analysis. Behavioral Sciences, 13(2) (179). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13020179
Sunday, A. B., & Bamgbose, G. A. (2021). Pragmatic analysis of humour strategies and functions in Jenifa’s Diary and Professor JohnBull. The European Journal of Humour Research, 9(4), 20–34. https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR2021.9.4.564
Tafoya, E. (2009). The legacy of the wisecrack: stand-up comedy as the great American literary form. Brown Walker Press.
Vandaele, J. (2002). Humor mechanisms in film comedy: Incongruity and superiority. Poetics Today, 23(2), 221–249.
Wellenzohn, S., Proyer, R. T. & Ruch, W. (2018). Who benefits from humor-based positive psychology interventions? The moderating effects of personality traits and sense of humor. Frontiers of Psychology, 9(821). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00821
Wellenzohn, S., Proyer, R. T., & Ruch, W. (2016). Humor-based online positive psychology interventions: A randomized placebo-controlled long-term trial. Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(6), 584–594.
Zhao, X., Roditis, M. L., & Alexander, T. N. (2019). Fear and humor appeals in “The Real Cost” campaign: Evidence of potential effectiveness in message pretesting. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 56(2), S31–S39.
Zillmann, D. (2000). Humor and comedy. In D. Zillmann & P. Vorderer (Eds.), Media entertainment: The psychology of its appeal (pp. 37–57). Lawrence Erlbaum.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 The European Journal of Humour Research