The Making of Mr. Macaroni, Nigeria’s Famous Instagram Comedian-turned-activist

Profile | By Ruth Okwumbu

The Making of Mr. Macaroni, Nigeria’s Famous Instagram Comedian-turned-activist

Debo Adebayo is best known by the stage name Mr Macaroni or ‘freaky freaky’ a phrase he is known to use in his skits. Though very popular for his sugar daddy and politician roles in his comedy videos, there is a lot more to Mr Macaroni than meets the eye.

Adebayo was born on May 3, 1993 in Lagos state, Nigeria to a Journalistdad, and teacher-mom. He had his primary education in Lagos, and attended the Babcock University High School where he had his secondary education.

Getting a university degree was more than a little dramatic for this popular actor, activist and comedian, as he got admitted into four different universities before leaving the last with a degree. Debo first got admitted into a private university – Lead City University to read law. At this time, the activist in him hoped to make a career in the legal profession fighting for human rights. He soon discovered that the university did not have accreditation for Law and withdrew.

Next stop was the Houdegbe North American University, Cotonou where he was also admitted to study law. All seemed to be going well until he had to leave the institution, after getting into a fight with one of his lecturers. Most people would give up after this second attempt, but not Debo. He decided to try another route.

Debo decided to opt for Theatre Arts this time, since it appeared that fate was not dealing him good hands in his quest to be a lawyer. He sought admission at Afe Babalola University, at Ado-Ekiti, but ended up with English and Media Studies as the institution did not have an active Theatre Arts department. He tried sticking with this for a couple of years before he decided to try again.

His fourth admission came and this time he was admitted to study Theatre Arts at Redeemer’s University, Osun State. He stuck it out the entire four years, wrote his final examinations and defended his project before fate reared its ugly head again.

Shortly before the convocation ceremony, on the 12th of October 2017, he received a letter of expulsion from the university on the grounds of posting on social media “certain things that were offensive and put the University in bad light”. Adebayo responded that he never mentioned the name of the institution or any of her officials in his posts. There were suggestions from different corners that the school’s action was connected to Adebayo’s activities as Student Union president in his final year. His administration had stood against the management on several occasions, fighting for student’s rights. They had also refused to give the Vice-Chancellor and Director of Student affairs the traditional awards for leadership and excellence on Student’s Appreciation day, on grounds that they did not deserve it.

Debo Adebayo and his parents sued the institution, but both parties later opted for an out-ofcourt settlement and he eventually graduated with a second class upper degree in 2018. Long before Debo became a popular social media comedian, he had been

Most people thought I was possessed when I was jumping from one university to the other. I didn’t care how long it was going to take, but told myself I was definitely going to get a University degree. Long last, I got it.

involved in acting in short movies and soap operas. It was on the set of Face 2 Face that he took the name Mr Macaroni while playing the role of an extra, and the name stuck.

Even before this time, he had a flair for comedy, and made people around him laugh by mimicking popular figures. He recalls in an interview that one of such figures was Pastor Chris Oyakhilome whom he found inspiring. He would also mimic a lot of TV personalities, unconsciously honing what would later become a multi-million naira skill.

He seized every opportunity to act in school dramas and eventually got professional training from the Pencil Film and Television Institute (PEFTI Film Institute), Lagos. He has featured in several short movies and soap operas, and recently started acting in major movies.

He played the role of Uchenna in the 2021 movie Ponzi, a Kayode Kasum comedy movie based on actual experiences of victims of Ponzi schemes. Adebayo is also on set of Lugard, one of the most anticipated movies produced by 3 Knights Film Production in conjunction with B5Films and Monomania Entertainment. The movie is set to hit the cinemas on the 27th of August 2021.

He also recently announced on his handles that he will be featuring in Tunde Kelani’s new movie, to celebrate the life and time of the late Apala musician, Ayinla Omowura.

An uncommon genre of comedy

Adebayo brings a breath of fresh air into the comedy space with a genre of comedy that allows him to express his acting skills, without stifling the activist in him. His comedy dramas and skits see him take on the role of a lecherous sugar-daddy, or a corrupt politician and this allows him to critique core issues in Africa, while entertaining the audience.

In an Instagram Live session with Samuel Akinniyi Ajiboyede, where he was a guest on Exceptional with Sam, Adebayo explained that his drama concepts try to criticize sexual and moral issues, and societal ills while subtly promoting language and culture. The content creator explained that he is conscious of his audience coming from different regions of the world, and so infuses different Nigerian and African languages in his drama.

Since the start of his gradual rise to fame, he has also featured many Nigerian stars and celebrities in his comedy videos. What started as a childhood fancy has now become not only a full-time job but his springboard to fame.

Remarkably, Adebayo understands his talents and has defined his genre of comedy, as he says he has no plans to venture into standup comedy.

“I can hold a crowd, I do MC gigs, I host events and all of that but I don’t crack jokes. I am an actor but I can interpret comic roles to the best of my ability. I don’t think I’m gifted when it comes to stand-up comedy like the way Basketmouth and Bovi are. I can say some stuff that will make you laugh but not stand-up comedy”. Macaroni the activist

Debo always had his activist side to him from his school days but the most recent display was the OccupyLekkiTollgate protest on Saturday, February 13, 2021 where he was arrested along with some other protesters.

Tracing the money

With a huge following across social media with over 2.1 million followers on Instagram alone, Debo Macaroni qualifies as an influencer, and this gives his paid promotional posts from brands that seek his services. He also has his YouTube channel monetized, with over 200K subscribers and close to a million views on most videos.

There is also his acting career, and his MC and event host duties which fetch him some more bucks. Adebayo is certainly doing well for himself, and making money from doing what he loves.

Recognitions

He won The Future Awards Africa 2020 in the Content Creation (YouTubers, Vloggers) category. In the same 2020, he won the City People Music Award for Comedy Act of the Year. He has also been nominated into several categories for the City People Movie Awards in 2017 and 2020