The Village Headmaster, now better known as The New Village Headmaster, is a popular and widely viewed Nigerian television drama series, created by Olusegun Olusola and produced by Dejumo Lewis.
It had its origin as a radio drama series and widely adjudged the Nigeria’s longest-running television soap opera showed on the NTA from 1968 to 1988. The programme had the cast of Ted Muroko as the original headmaster.
The Village Headmaster was first produced in 1958 and aired on radio for six years before its format transitioned into a television series on NBC TV Lagos (later NTA).
A full series began in 1968 with an initial order of 13 episodes and ran until 1988.
The television series was developed by Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation and is considered one of the early viewed and celebrated television drama in the country. The television series was produced in 1968 after Nigeria gained independence.
The plot of the Village Headmaster centres on the fictitious Yoruba village of Oja, highlighting the social problems and effect of government policies in Oja. The first major television drama was cast from different ethnic groups across Nigeria.
The popular drama also highlights Nigerian Pidgin, mixed with standard English and Yoruba as the Oja residents’ language of choice, with most scenes occurring in the Oloja of Oja’s palace, the headmaster’s school, and Amebo’s palm wine shack.
The 1964 master-script by Segun Olusola was published by Ariya Productions in 1977 with a cover drawing by cartoonist Josy Ajiboye.
In 2023, a new revival of the show, ‘The New Village Headmaster’ was announced, with Chris Iheuwa in the lead role of the headmaster. Though a number of the pioneer actors are deceased, the programme has the cast of veteran actors both old and new including:
- Ted Mukoro as Headmaster No.1, an old-fashioned school headmaster
- Femi Robinsonas Headmaster No. 2 (replaced Mukoro)
- Justus Esirias Headmaster No. 3 (replaced Robinson)
- Dejumo Lewisas Kabiyesi, Oja’s traditional ruler
- Clara Olushola as headmaster’s wife (Clara Fagade)
- Albert Egbeas Lawyer Odunuga
- Ibidun Allison as Amebo, village gossip
- Jab Adu as Bassey Okon, supplies store owner
- Funso Adeolu as Senior Chief
- Joe Layode – Teacher Garuba
- Charles Awurum
- Albert Kosemasi as Gorimapa
The new Village Headmaster runs on television for 45 minutes and is viewed globally. It has a village African setting portraying ethics, values and everything that maintains a standard. The programme also brings out our roots and define our culture.
It also highlights our faults, history and how it has been gradually eroded over time and try as much as possible to correct them in a way.
In 2023, three decades after the short-lived 1991 revival, a new series of The Village Headmaster was announced. Shooting or filming commenced in 2020 and trailers were released on the NTA and YouTube. The revamped series in collaboration with the NTA and Wale Adenuga Productions started in April 2023.
We can rightly say that the Nigerian movie industry has evolved from analog to digital era. That is, an era which also produced a generation of Nigerian film and TV practitioners, who took matters into their own hands and started producing local content.
From 80s to date also witnessed an established industry hub for quality programmes.
The society is indeed dynamic. We note that “what is trendy today, may soon become a material for the archeologists tomorrow, coupled with the fact that the rate at which technological inventions is changing the face of the entertainment industry, makes one wonder what comes next and how” of which the New Village Headmaster is part.
A big thank you for your time, reading about the origin of the Village Headmaster and its present state. Your comments are also welcome.