This week, the popular TV drama series sponsored by Globacom, Professor Johnbull, is zeroing in on the excesses of some military and paramilitary officers who use their uniforms to intimidate bus drivers and deprive them of their money.
Aptly entitled “Staff and Award”, the episode captures the unwholesome practice by people in uniform to decline payment when asked to pay for rides in commercial vehicles. Rather than pay like every other commuter, the men in uniform, including private security guards, show off their uniforms and ranks to the drivers and simply respond, “Staff” (in the South-West) and “Award” (in the Eastern parts).
The programme tries to expose this anomaly and calls on security agencies and those in the paramilitary to educate their personnel on civil conduct as their uniform does not entitle them to free ride in public transportation.
Scheduled for broadcast on NTA Network, NTA International on DSTV Chanel 251 and NTA on StarTimes at 8.30 p.m on Tuesday, the new episode of the Series is a satire of the arrogant attitude of some people in uniform.
In the episode, Samson (Ogus Baba) and Jeroboam, a.k.a. Boam (Osita Iheme), claim Award in a commercial vehicle where two other men, a Forest Guard and a security guard, had earlier claimed to be Staff. However, the driver and his conductor vow to resist that. In order to collect the transport fare from the so-called staff who merely had mufflers round their necks, the driver abducts and illegally detains them, but Boam manages to escape. It takes the intervention of the academic and incorruptible judge, Professor Johnbull (Kanayo O. Kanayo), to secure their release, but not until after chastising them for being impostors and attemptingto deprive others of their means of livelihood.
A senior police officer who is invited to shed light on the Staff and Award syndrome, says it is illegal for anyone in uniform to refuse to pay for any service he or she has enjoyed, and draws the attention of the public to the recent policy statement by the Lagos Police Command banning its personnel from refusing to pay when they board public transport.
A major highlight of Staff and Award is the love proposition by Abadnego (Martins Nebo) to Elizabeth (Queen Nwokoye), Professor Johnbull’s daughter, who takes exception to Abadnego’s temerity and threatens to report him to her father.
A repeat broadcast of Staff and Award is due on Friday at 8.30 p.m. on the same channels.
