by Remilekun Jordan
The Aristotelian school of thought that supposedly derides comedy, though worth studying and a plenitude of discursive labour, falters in the post-modern context of our age. Though the sum of his writings on comedy may be lost to the undercurrents of Atlantis, we know he famously postulated that comedy is the imitation of inferior people. Vis-à-vis the extant class gap between the moneyed and the impoverished, this is true — the kings are laughing at us and clamorous foibles.
On the tail end of the literary criticism spectrum is the venerable insight of Northrop Frye, who purported that comedy beheld a narrative structure that was propelled by myths and familiar archetypes —importantly, a depiction of societal misalignment. Deji-Folutile probably eschewed this level of theoretical analysis, but these disparate schools of thought surfaced when I saw ABLE LEADER at IFA 2024.
Wisdom Anuoluwapo Deji-Folutile’s ABLE LEADER is a political satirical mockumentary in the visual style of stock sitcoms like The Office with the deadpan black comedy of HBO’s VEEP. But the humorous charm lies in its scathing critique of the typical Nigerian government lackey whose job is to say nothing about anything and act as though they have said something noteworthy. The quotidian absurdism of the Nigerian state is the primary driver of the short film — a certain call to chuckle at the inner workings and inscrutable affairs of the run-of-the-mill parastatal.
Favouritism, cronyism, bureaucratic negligence, institutional incompetence; a cacophony of malfeasances that are not in the least funny on paper but elicit laughter when you watch it portrayed devoid of any undue exaggeration. Deji-Folutile stated that he was inspired by the headlines of newspapers reporting absurd stories pertaining to the Nigerian system and its perpetually rudderless political practices during his time as a journalist. His film is the prime definition of, Jesters do oft prove prophets as the bard states in King Lear. Deji-Folutile is the jester of the people.