Bovi

Bovi Ugboma is a Nigerian stand-up comedian,^[1][2] actor,^[3] and writer. He has organized popular stand-up comedy concerts like Bovi: Man on Fire across the globe.^[4]

Bovi Ugboma
Birth name	Bovi Ugboma
Born	(1979-09-25) 25 September 1979 (age 45) Benin City, Nigeria
Medium	Stand-up film television
Alma mater	Delta State University
Years active	2007–present
Genres	Observational comedy satire
Subject(s)	Nigeria Culture everyday life popular culture current events Nigeria politics marriage
Spouse	Kris Asimonye Ugboma ​ ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	3
Notable works and roles	Extended Family The Bovi Ugboma Show Bovi: Man on Fire

Early life and education

Bovi Ugboma was born in Benin City, the capital of Edo State. He attended UNIBEN staff school for his primary education. In 1991, he was enrolled in Government College, Ughelli in Delta State. For disciplinary reasons and fear from his parents of his development as a youth, he was removed from boarding school and transferred to Edokpolor Grammar School in Benin City, where they lived. That move proved unproductive and he moved to his third secondary school, Boys Model Secondary School, Onicha Olona, an all boarding school. After completing his secondary education, he gained admission in 1998 to Delta State University where he studied Theatre Arts.^[5]

Comedy career

2007

Bovi began his career in April 2007,^[6] starring in the sitcom Extended Family,^[7] which he also wrote and produced.^[8] The show was popular and fans loved it.^[9]

2008 - 2011

Bovi was an emerging force in comedy shows and events throughout Nigeria.^[10] he made his stand-up comedy debut in Nigeria's premiere comedy franchise, Night of a thousand laughs organized by Opa Williams.^[11]

2013 - 2014

His first stand-up special held at the Eko convention center.^[12] He would go on to stage the sequel in 2014. Bovi: Man on Fire 2014 also featured international superstars Ja Rule and Ashanti.^[13] Bovi took the one-man special to several cities in the United States, London, Melbourne, Kyiv, Brisbane, Sydney, Moscow and Toronto.

2017

He went on a break for three years after the 2014 edition of the show, after the hiatus, the Man on Fire franchise returned to Lagos and it was the most successful yet. The fourth edition in Lagos held in April 2019 and Bovi said it is the last of the man on Fire franchise.^[12] He says his next special will go by another title. Bovi began a series titled Back To School in 2018 which he uploads in his YouTube channel. Bovi has worked alongside other Nigerian comedians such as I Go Dye, I Go Save, Basketmouth, Buchi, Odogwu, Okey Bakassi, Julius Agwu and many others.^[14]

2022

In July 2022, Bovi held his latest comedy special, Bovi- Naughty By Nature in Lagos^[15] and it was sold out two days before the show.^[16]

Movies

2015–2018

Bovi premiered his first movie It's Her Day on 9 September 2016.^[17][18] The movie grossed 55 million Naira in the Nigerian box office.^[19] In 2016, he starred in the romantic comedy, 4-1-Love as the lead actor.^[20]

In 2017, he was nominated for the AMVCA awards as the best actor in comedy; his third individual nomination since the inception of the AMVCA and the fourth from his works. The movie, though lacking in mainstream publicity, went on to have a decent run in the cinemas and grossed 55 million naira at the box office.^[21]

2020

In 2020 he starred as a police officer in the remake of the Nollywood classic Nneka the Pretty Serpent.^[22][23]

2021

He also wrote, co-produced and starred in his second film, My Village People.^[24][25] The film went on went on to join the list of 17 Nigerian films to gross100 million naira in the local box office.^[26]

Personal life

Bovi is married to Kris Asimonye Ugboma, and they have three children.^{[27][28][29][30][31]}

in January 2022, his wife underwent surgery after an episode of ectopic pregnancy, which ruptured one of her fallopian tubes.^[32][33][34]

The two celebrated their 13th anniversary on 19 September 2022, with Bovi praising his wife for taming him and carrying his children for 27 months altogether.^[35][36]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref
2021	Net Honours	Most Popular Comedian	Won	[37]
2021	AMVCA	Best Actor in a Comedy	Nominated	[38]
2023	Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards	Best Television Series	Nominated	[39][40]

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Ref
2004	Indecent girl	Hotel manager
2004	Standing alone	Doctor	[41]
2016	4-1-Love	Osaze	[42]
2016	It’s Her Day	Victor Smith	[43]
2018	International Affairs	Segun
2020	Nneka The Pretty Serpent	Inspector Dan	[44]
2021	My Village People	Prince	[24]
2021	Visa on Arrival	Francis
2022	The Perfect Arrangement	Chidi	[45]
2023	Raised Apart	Bamidele / Ejiro

TV sitcoms

Year	Title	Ref
2007–2008	Extended family	[46]
2009–2010	The Bovi Ugboma Show	[47]

Web series

Year	Title	Ref
2018–2022	Back To School	[48]
2019–2022	Banana Republic	[49]
2021–present	Visa On Arrival	[50]

See also

• List of Nigerian comedians

References

1. SilverbirdsTV (17 February 2014). "Comedy: Bovi says he's not an overnight success". SilverbirdsTV. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
2. "How I Was Almost Accused Of Theft By London Hotel Staff — Bovi". Daily Trust. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
3. "Comedy is a form of therapy, not just entertainment, says Bovi". Vanguard News. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
4. View Nigeria (8 July 2014). "Bovi Tells Us A Secret + A Revealing Birthday Message For Richard Mofe Damijo". View Nigeria. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
5. Daily Times NG (10 March 2013). "Comedian Bovi Ugboma Stages 'Man on Fire' tonight". Daily Times NG. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
6. nationaldailyng (14 February 2012). "BIG BOY BOVI". nationaldailyng. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
7. dailyindependentnig (13 March 2013). "I am my biggest competition – Bovi". dailyindependentnig. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
8. Modern Ghana (10 February 2014). "Bovi Ugboma Denies Saying He Is Richer Than Celebrities Who Are Endorsed". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
9. Okonofua, Odion (13 May 2021). "Buchi, Bovi and Basketmouth are the Bad, Baddo and Baddest of Nigerian comedy [Pulse Editor's Opinion]". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
10. Modern Ghana (12 March 2013). "The Bovi Ugboma Show". Modern Ghana. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
11. "How 'A Night of Thousand Laughs' died and resurrected — Opa Williams". Vanguard News. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
12. ""Bovi Man On Fire" Final Edition Is Set To Be An Unforgettable Experience". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
13. banah, namang (16 October 2014). "Bovi Man On Fire Ja Rule, Ashanti Rip The Stage [Photos]". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
14. Punchng (31 March 2013). "I would have been a footballer –Bovi". Punchng. Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
15. Ononose, Joshua (19 July 2022). "Bovi's Naughty by Nature: A night of laughs, unparalleled music, and soul therapy". YNaija. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
16. "Chike, Asake thrill at Bovi's 'Naughty by Nature'". Punch Newspapers. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
17. "Bovi's Movie Premiere "It's Her Day"". THISDAYLIVE. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
18. "Wedding Movie "It's Her Day" starring Bovi, Adunni Ade, Toni Tones, Omoni Oboli & more Premieres on Friday September 9! | BellaNaija". www.bellanaija.com. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
19. Ohwovoriole, Onome (20 January 2017). "Top 10 Nigerian Movies Gross Over N1 billion Naira in 2016". Nairametrics. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
20. "Bovi Earns Lead Role In Feature Movie, '4-1-Love'". Channels Television. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
21. "76', 93 days, top AMVCA nominations (Full nominee list)". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
22. "Nneka: The pretty snake, an unrealized Nollywood classic remake". Daily Trust. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
23. "'Nneka, the Pretty Serpent' Rises – THISDAYLIVE". www.thisdaylive.com. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
24. BellaNaija.com (10 June 2021). ""My Village People" premiered in Lagos with Bovi, Sophie Alakija, Rachel Oniga looking ?". BellaNaija. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
25. Nwogu, Precious (31 May 2021). "Watch the official trailer for 'My Village People'". Pulse Nigeria. Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
26. "Top 20 Films Report - 3rd-9th September 2021 - Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria". www.ceanigeria.com. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
27. Owolawi, Taiwo (19 September 2020). "Comedian Bovi and wife celebrate 11th wedding anniversary with romantic photos". Legit.ng - Nigeria news. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
28. "Its 11th anniversary for Bovi & Kris (pictures) - P.M. News". Retrieved 1 December 2022.
29. "Why I cannot marry a second wife – Bovi The Nation Newspaper". 27 April 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
30. Olusola, Oluwatobi (18 September 2021). "Comedian Bovi celebrates wife as she marks her birthday today". eelive. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
31. "Bovi's Wife Reveals How He Encouraged Her - AllNews Nigeria". allnews.ng. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
32. "How I underwent surgery due to ectopic pregnancy – Comedian Bovi's wife". Punch Newspapers. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
33. "Comedian Bovi wife narrate how she undergo surgery afta ectopic pregnancy". BBC News Pidgin. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
34. Okonofua, Odion (24 January 2022). "Bovi's wife recounts how ectopic pregnancy ruptured in one of her tubes". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
35. "Comedian Bovi, Wife Mark 13th Wedding Anniversary – Independent Newspaper Nigeria". independent.ng. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
36. "Weapon of mass destruction, Bovi flatters wife on 13th anniversary The Nation Newspaper". 19 September 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
37. "Net Honours – The Class of 2021". Nigerian Entertainment Today. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
38. "76', 93 days, top AMVCA nominations (Full nominee list)". Punch Newspapers. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
39. "Full List: Here are all our AMVCA 9 Nominees". AMVCA - Full List: Here are all our AMVCA 9 Nominees. Retrieved 23 April 2023.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
40. "AMVCA 2023: Anikulapo Wins Overall Best Movie". Radio Nigeria Ibadan Zonal Station - Uplifting the People and Uniting the Nation. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
41. sunnews (21 May 2017). "I don't have a grass-to-grace story – Bovi, Comedian, Actor". The Sun Nigeria. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
42. "Comedian Bovi, Lilian Esoro Set For '4-1 Love' Movie - P.M. News". Retrieved 8 August 2022.
43. It's Her Day, retrieved 8 August 2022
44. "Bovi: How I begged for role in 'Nneka the Pretty Serpent' remake". TheCable Lifestyle. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
45. Ogala, George (19 June 2022). "Movie Review: 'The Perfect Arrangement', another imperfect movie with complicated storyline". Premium Times Nigeria. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
46. "The rise and rise of Bovi". Vanguard News. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
47. Tv, Bn (13 February 2018). ""The Gamblers": Watch Episode 23 of The Bovi Ugboma Show on BN TV". BellaNaija. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
48. Tv, Bn (10 November 2021). "It's Graduation Season! Catch Up on Three Episodes of Bovi's Comedy Series "Back To School"". BellaNaija. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
49. "Bovi's President of 'Banana Republic' – THISDAYLIVE". www.thisdaylive.com. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
50. Tv, Bn (21 July 2021). "Watch Episode 4 of Accelerate TV's Comedy Series "Visa On Arrival" for a Good Laugh". BellaNaija. Retrieved 8 August 2022.

External links

• Twitter page