The Nigerian comedy industry has witnessed a significant shift from stand-up comedy to digital skit-making in recent years. Sabinus, who is easily recognized for his royal blue shirt and black trousers which he uses in his skits, has made a name for himself as one of the most successful online social content creators in Nigeria. In this article, we will discuss the biography of Sabinus, right from his childhood days in Port Harcourt to now as an award-winning online content creator. Let’s dive right in.
The biography of Sabinus would be discussed below:
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Early Life and Education of Sabinus
Sabinus, whose real name is Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Ejekwu, is an indigene of Rivers State who was born on January 30, 1995, in the city of Port Harcourt. He had his elementary and secondary school education in Port Harcourt, during which he was mostly the class jester among his peers. After he had obtained his Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE), Sabinus enrolled in the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) to study Linguistics and Communication Studies. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Communication Studies after completing his undergraduate programme at UNIPORT.
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Age
Sabinus is 28 years old as of 2023, being that he was born on January 30, 1995.
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Sabinus’ Career
Sabinus had always been a funny person right from his early education days, however, it was during his time as a student at the University of Port Harcourt did he delve into comedy. It was specifically in 2015, during a Student Union Week organized by UNIPORT SUG at the time. Then, he started posting short comedy skits he produced on his various social media pages. Instagram was the social media platform on which Sabinus posted his comedy skits the most.
In no time, Sabinus began to earn increased visibility on Instagram as some notable influencers on the platform shared his skits. He got his big break in 2019 when Don Jazzy, Tunde Ednut, and other celebrities shared his skits on their pages. He then relocated from his home state, Rivers State to Lagos State, to build upon his new-found recognition in mainstream comedy.
Since then, Sabinus has consistently created and shared comedy skits from various genres such as insult comedy, observational comedy, and satire in subjects including Nigerian culture, everyday life, current affairs, popular culture, and trick comedy. In his skits, he is widely known as Oga Sabinus, Mr. Funny, or Mumu Man, who appears in a royal blue shirt and black trousers, and makes silly exclamations. One such catchphrase attributed to the Sabinus brand is “Something hoodge”, which became viral. He has since shared dozens of skits on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter handles, and his YouTube channel.
Some of the skits of Sabinus that went viral across Nigerian cyberspace in recent years, include: Oga Sabinus and Woman; Sabinus and the Fake Life; End of the Road for Sabinus; My Problem is in Nigeria; Sabinus Goes to Church; Sabinus in Love; Sabinus and Chi-Chi Baby; Sabinus the Mumu Gateman; Sabinus What Do You Want; and Investor Sabinus, among others.
Sabinus’ popularity has earned him various mouth-watering endorsement deals with some notable brands, such as Oddstackr, MultiChoice, Shawn Exchange, and 1XBet.
Sabinus’ success as an online skit maker has earned him various awards and nominations, such as winning the Best Online Comedian in 2019 as well as the AMVCA Awards for the Best Online Content Creator in 2022. In 2021, his comedic talent earned him a nomination at The Humor Awards Academy.
Aside from comedy, Sabinus has starred in several Nollywood movies such as Billionaire’s Bride and Man of War, in which he interpreted comedic roles. He mentioned that Mr. Ibu and Charles Inojie influenced his desire to do comedy. Sabinus has also been featured in several music videos of A-list Afrobeats singers such as Patoranking. He is also a Master of Ceremony (MC).
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Copyright Infringement Lawsuits Against UAC and Friesland Foods in 2022
In 2022, Mike Premium Talent Management, the talent management company of Sabinus, sued UAC and Friesland Foods for infringing on Sabinus’ intellectual rights. Mike Premium Talent Management demanded N100 million from UAC for using an animated image of Sabinus in the advert for the Gala Sausage Roll.
On the other hand, the producer of Peak Milk, Friesland Foods Wamco Nigeria, received a legal notice from the talent management company of Sabinus for the unauthorized use of “Something Hooge”, a registered trademark of the comedian, to advertise their product. Friesland Foods Wamco Nigeria PLC, on May 24, 2022, used the “Something Hooge” catchphrase to promote the Peak National Breakfast Week. Mike Premium Talent Management demanded N1 billion in compensation and damages from Friesland Foods Wamco Nigeria PLC.
At the time of writing this article, both brands are yet to respond to these lawsuits.
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Awards
Sabinus has been nominated in various categories of several awards events, and he’s won some of them.
Here are some of those he’s won so far:
- Best Online Comedian Award at the 2019 Edition of BAE Awards
- Creative Social Media Award at the 2021 Edition of De Elite Nigerian Star Award
- Online Comedian of the Year Award at the 2021 Edition of the Leadership Excellence Awards
- Online Social Content Creators’ Award at the African Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) 8th Edition in 2022.
- Online Comedian of the Year at the 2022 Edition of the GAGE Awards
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Net Worth of Sabinus
In just about four years since Sabinus began to see mainstream success, he has managed to build for himself a considerable amount of fortune from earnings from endorsement deals, YouTube, acting, and other income streams. Oddstackr, MultiChoice, and Shawn Exchange are some of the notable brands Sabinus has been a brand ambassador for, in recent years. Although we cannot independently verify the estimated net worth of Sabinus due to varying information on his wealth status, we put his net worth to be between $250,000 and $500,000.