How two Nigerian women are breaking into comedy’s boys club

In a brightly colored sitting room somewhere in Nigeria, a couple and their teenage daughter are gathered comfortably in front of the television, watching a foreign film. Suddenly, the two characters on the screen kiss, and everyone freezes.

“Go inside!” shrieks the mother in panic, as her daughter scurries out of the room. For the next two minutes, the same scene plays out several more times, each with a different awkward parental reaction. In one iteration, the mother deflects the room’s attention by chattering away about grocery shopping. In...