05/25/2026
The Surprise Performance
By Nana Dadzie Ghansah
Maybe it is the Fante in me, but I love stand-up comedy. Not the slapstick kind, but those sessions where the comic holds up a mirror to society and exposes human behavior for the farce that it can sometimes be. Moreover, like the proverb goes, "Our wasted days are the days we never laugh.”
The latter may be why the organizers of yesterday’s MOBA 150th bash in Virginia, US, decided to surprise us with a comedic session. It was a risky move, but isn’t Mfantsipim all about taking risks? I mean, we've been taking risks for 150 years!
It was not on the program, and so the surprise element was the first gamble. The second was the comic they chose - none other than OB Amponsah. It's not that OB is not a good comic; he is excellent. It is just that Botwe has Old Boys; I mean old, and I wondered if they’ll get the humor of a Gen-Z comedian.
So when I saw OB sneak nicodemously into the hall, I was both excited and apprehensive. Excited because I knew I was going to be laughing nonstop for the next 10 - 15 minutes, and apprehensive because I didn’t know if he would ruffle some feathers.
And then OB did what OB does - he killed it.
Like, literally had the whole room of like some 150 people lol-ing like there was no tomorrow.
For like 15 mins, it was one great joke after another. The material was diverse and very insightful, covering pertinent issues of the day in both Ghana and the wider world.
I won’t detail any of the jokes, but suffice it to say the piece about what he plans to say if he ever auditioned for “America's Got Talent” nearly killed me. OB, you are so wrong for that! 😂
It illustrates his knack for seeing the farce I mentioned earlier and turning it into comedic gold.
I looked around the room, and there was no face without a smile or broken into spasms of laughter.
For those of you who don’t know him, OB Amponsah is a 36-year-old Ghanaian optometrist who discovered he can make people laugh and has turned it into a second career. In Ghana, he is a well-known name and has filled the sports stadium a time or two. Recently, he has been broadening his reach and has been making appearances at US venues.
Not everyone is a fan because he does make some edgy jokes and ruffles feathers every now and then. However, every good comic is going to do those things on occasion. When you polish a mirror and hold it up to society, things become evident that some do not want to see. And if there is something we humans hate, it is the truth. Like the English comedian Ricky Gervais once said, “The job of a comedian is to offend or have the potential to offend, and that's why it's not for everyone."
Add that edginess to original material and tip-top comedic timing, and you have a really good comic. The man is the real deal, and if you have never seen him perform or watched any of his skits, you need to rectify that ASAP.
Anyway, he finished the session to a standing ovation.
So OB, my man, thanks for the laughs yesterday, and keep polishing that mirror and holding it up. You are going places, and no matter where it all ends, never forget why you do this - to make people do something that heals the soul - Laugh!
MOBA USA FAMILY SUNSET PICNIC PARTY -=-Mem FRIDAY
MFANTSIPIM 150 Gala-Mem Wkd 2026
Mfantsipim 150th Anniversary Celebration @
