SYLVESTER KWENYUA FROM VANGUARD
The skit-making industry in Nigeria in recent years has grown to be one of the major sources of entertainment for Nigerians. With just a little internet data and a good phone, getting access to good content to brighten up your day, will never be a difficult task.
For an industry that was birthed in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic period, it won’t be out of place to say that truly, skit-making and of course prank videos, have gradually become a big players in the entertainment industry, sadly overshadowing stand-up comedy shows, which reigned supreme several years ago.
However in recent times, the skit industry has been faced with a little criticism, every now and then. An industry that bid it’s time to gain the viewership of Nigerians, is gradually losing follower-ship unless something is done about it.
The skit industry needs to act fast to curb the perceived excesses of prank makers, who seem to be doing more harm than good, to a wonderful industry.
The Pranksters.
Pranksters are skit makers who make videos out of the reactions of members of the public to either a joke or real-life situation. In most cases, the public are not aware they are been pranked until the prankster calls their attention to a recording camera or a sound device. In some bizarre cases, these pranksters engage in life-threatening jokes.
Nigeria can currently boast of having some of the most famous pranksters around the world. However, these pranksters have built their stardom on the gullibility of the same people they tampered on their emotional and psychological health, so to speak.
For a long time, it seemed pranksters were getting away with toying with people’s mental health and cashing out on it, until recently when the Nigerian police raised an alarm over the excesses of a particular prankster who goes by the name, the Trinity Guy.
On Monday, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the public relations officer for the Nigerian Police Force, demanded the arrest of Trinity Guy.
After he disregarded earlier requests for skit creators to moderate their practical jokes because they jeopardize Nigerian lives, the FPRO issued the arrest warrant.
CSP Adejobi, who shared a Trinity Guy extreme prank film on his Instagram page, urged anyone who had been harmed by the skit creator’s pranks to report them to the police.
He said, “This doesn’t make any sense. I think the guy should have been arrested.
“Those individuals who feel the heat and fear of the pranks should be reporting the pranksters as many of their pranks are criminals, immoral, and evil”.
As soon as the CSP’s message started circulating on social media, this reporter, who was on the main campus of the Lagos state university, Ojo, to witness their convocation ceremony and activities, swung into action and proceeded to ask some students what they thought about pranksters and the call for there arrests.
Some of them, who requested to be known by only their first name, shared their experiences with pranksters.
Bola, who claims to be an art student in her third year, shared her experience with a prankster.
“I was in my area buying Coke and from nowhere, a boy brought a note to me. In the wrote was a threat message. The writer accused me of collecting money from him online to visit…
