NTA DG: We maintained originality in ‘The Village Headmaster’ reboot

Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, the director-general of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), says the originality of the iconic ‘The Village Headmaster’ was maintained in the production of the reboot.

The comedy-drama series aired between 1968 and 1988 on NTA.

The TV station, however, relaunched the series after it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Wale Adenuga Productions (WAP) in 2021.

Speaking at an event in Abuja on Friday, Mohammed said Dejumo Lewis (Kabiyesi) and Ibidun Allison (Amebo), founding members of the series, were brought back to feature in the new production.

“NTA and WAP productions set out to work and commenced preparations for The Village Headmaster,” the DG who worked as an executive producer of the repackaged series, said.

“As I talk to you right now, many episodes of the programme have already been produced and are waiting for transmission and the viewing pleasure of Nigerians.

“The village headmaster will start showing by the grace of God, this Sunday on NTA, AIT and WAP TV. On the network service of the NTA, it is scheduled for 5:00 pm every Sunday. This is made possible by Globacom limited, the sole sponsor of this series and it will show in the next one year.

“In our efforts to maintain originality, quality and philosophy, the new series is packed with the choicest names in the industry. It also features some of the founding members of the series such as the Kabiyesi who is Dejumo Lewis, Amebo who is Ibidun Allison.”

Chris Iheuwa (village headmaster), Mr Latin, Funky Mallam, Jide Kosoko, Omo Ibadan, Okele, Fathia Balogun, Rycardo Agbor, and Yemi Shodimu are some of the actors and actresses that made the cut.

Also speaking at the event, Wale Adenuga, movie producer, appreciated NTA and Globacom Limited for ensuring that the comedy series was relaunched back to television screens.

The popular TV drama began its life as a radio program on Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) before migrating to television.

It ran for over three decades and became a purveyor belt of acting talents. The programme also became one of the most popular Nigerian TV soap operas until 1988.