I grew beard to avoid my brother’s fans – Prince UC Ingawa
Prince UC Ingawa is the twin brother of MC Tagwaye, the comedian known for mimicking President Muhammadu Buhari. In this interview, he talks about what it’s like having a famous brother, growing up together, comedy, and more. Excerpts:
Daily Trust: How would you describe your brother, MC Tagwaye? Prince UC Ingawa: He’s a perfect gentleman. Humble and diligent in whatever he’s engaged in. I love him for that.
DT: What was growing up with him like?
Ingawa: While growing up we always had small fights about who is the senior between us. There was a day when we were fighting karate and we saw our mother and stopped. But she insisted the fight should continue and we fought until we got tired and spent and our dad separated us. I think since then we didn’t fight again. We were between the ages of seven and nine then.
DT: What early signs did he show of what he was going to become in future?
Ingawa: He always liked teaching. He loved talking to half. children. When he eventually left teaching as an adult, I am sure his students were not happy.
DT: When you two are together, what do you usually chat about?
Ingawa: Now that we are grown, we don’t spend much time together. While growing up we were both creative and innovative and always came up with something that is business related when together, particularly comedy. At times I write skits for him and we try to make sense of it.
DT: What traits of his do you particularly admire and possibly adopted? Ingawa: He’s a principled person who sticks to his words. He is also focused and hardly gets distracted.
DT: When have you seen him the most angry and why?
Ingawa: Whenever you annoy him or if he’s angry, he keeps quiet and wouldn’t talk to you until he has calmed down.
DT: Whom among your parents would you say your brother has taken after the most?
Ingawa: I would say he took after my dad because my dad is fun to be with. Whenever one is with him, he always tells stories. He is also principled.
DT: How funny was MC Tagwaye while you both were growing up?
Ingawa: My brother has been funny all his life. My mum said even when we were a few months old, he liked to play and wake me up.
DT: Do you have pet names you call each other?
Ingawa: We call each other my
DT: What is it like being twin to a famous brother?
Ingawa: It isn’t easy. One has to endure a lot of things. Because we are identical twins, people always assume he is the one when they see me. Even when I tell them I am not him, they insist and want to take photographs and I let them. Sometimes when I am in a shopping mall, they draw attention to me.
I realised how famous he was when I accompanied him to a program. When we stepped out of our hotel, people rushed to meet us and tried to get their photographs taken with us. We couldn’t go back to the hotel because of the crowd. That was when I realised how serious it was. I had to start keeping a beard to differentiate myself from him, but even at that I still don’t escape attention.
DT: Is there an aspect to his personality you care to reveal that people don’t know about?
Ingawa: He’s not extravagant and is very careful with his spending. He also helps the needy but isn’t a show-off. However, he does things that shock at times. On social media people occasionally post about being sick or a hospitalised and Tagwaye would send a private message, and then surprise them by visiting at that same location. He’s that kind of person. DT: What’s his favourite food?
Ingawa: He likes egusi soup with semovita and at times miyan kuka and dan wake.
DT: When he isn’t working, how does he relax?
Ingawa: He reads or sleeps. He’s an indoor person.
While growing up we always had small fights about who is the senior between us