Professor Johnbull shapes popular culture in Nigeria

These days, it is not uncommon to find someone calling friends ‘proximate people’, or someone exclaiming ‘Mon Dieu!’ during a conversation. These are some of the lexicon and mannerisms that have crept into the subconscious of followers of the highly regarded TV-Series, Professor Johnbull, sponsored by Nigeria’s foremost telecommunications company, Globacom.

In many youthful circles, especially in the Eastern part of the country where Professor Johnbull has gained immense acceptance, ‘proximate people’ replaces the word ‘neighbour’ in a fashion after the lead character of the TV series, Kanayo O. Kanayo who played Professor Johnbull, and enjoys using high-sounding words to express himself.

‘Mon Dieu!’ is French for ‘My God!’ It is Professor Johnbull’s favourite expression when he is surprised. Before the advent of Professor Johnbull TV Series, most Nigerians did not even know what it meant. But, after two exciting seasons of the TV series totalling 26 episodes, many young Nigerians can be heard using this exclamation in their interactions at informal settings.

Professor Johnbull would serve as a veritable proof of the renowned Irish playwright, Oscar Wilde’s assertion that “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life” in contra-distinction to the more popular school of thought which advocates the reverse. In reality, art and life both shape and mirror each other.

Professor Johnbull is a strong enough case study to underscore the fact that just as art feeds off the energy of society, it also sometimes shapes and influences societal ethos.

Professor Johnbull was introduced last June by the grandmasters of data, Globacom, as a tool to entertain, inform and educate the people as well as correct social ills.

With some of the best thespians in Nigeria’s movie industry including Kanayo O. Kanayo (KOK), who plays the lead role, Yomi Fash-Lanso, Mercy Johnson, Ime Bishop Okon, Queen Nwokoye, Junior Pope and Bimbo Akintola, the series from the very first episode, has treated a broad range of germane social issues.

The protagonist is Professor Eriweagwuagwu Macathy Macnwigwe Johnbull (KOK), a widower and retired academic, who relishes using grandiloquent expressions. He lives with his engineer son, undergraduate daughter and star-struck wannabe housemaid in an upscale neighbourhood in Enugu, South East Nigeria, where he serves as the voice and conscience of the people. 

Indeed, he demonstrates the traits of an opinion leader within his community populated with an admixture of various characters.  His house, by virtue of his pedigree, is a melting pot where people from different segments of the society often congregate to discuss, settle burning issues, and drink from Professor Johnbull’s fountain of wisdom.

The debut episode, entitled ‘Claimant’, treated the issue of impersonation of successful Nigerian celebrities by fraudsters who exploit the star power of celebrities to make quick money or get other benefits. The episode deplores deception in its entirety, advocating instead the virtues of honesty and integrity.

It was a poignant message that finds resonance in the moral conscience of a society grappling with an increasing incidence of fraudulence. The episode set positive tone for what was to come in subsequent episodes.

A few other important issues treated in subsequent episodes cut through the craze for a male child in Episode 7 of Season 1 titled Baby and Bomboy; trousers sagging and related objectionable fashion trends in Episode 8 of Season 1, Happening Guys; bleaching in Episode 10, Season 1 titled Beautiful Girls; football fanaticism and obsession with foreign football teams by Nigerian men in Episode 10 of Season Two titled Our Team, and neglect of home duties by working women in Episode 11 of Season 2 titled Kitchen On the Run, among others.

Because of the lessons the series impact and the hilarity with which the issues were treated, Professor Johnbull has become a darling of many young Nigerians and their parents alike.

Indeed, the programme creates bonding as it remains one of the few television programmes that parents watch with ease together with their children.  If only for the moral lessons of the series alone, many parents of impressionable youngsters would pray that the telecom company continues to sponsor this hilarious series for very many more seasons to come.