The New Masquerade was a Nigerian

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

that aired on the Nigerian Television Network on Tuesday nights from 8:30pm – 9:00pm during the 1980s until the mid-1990s. It was created and written by James Iroha who also acted in the sitcom. It is one of Nigeria's longest running sitcoms. The TV show started out as radio program known as The Masquerade transmitted on the East Central State Broadcasting Corporation, Enugu.

Synopsis

The show started out a segment called Masquerade aired on ''In the Lighter Mood'', radio program of the East Central Broadcasting Corporation. It was created after the civil war as a means to bring laughter to the homes of citizens after the devastation caused by the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...

.Timothy-Asobele, S. J. (2003). Nigerian top TV comedians and soap opera. Lagos: Upper Standard Publications. The creator was James Iroha who also played Giringori on the TV show. The protagonist of the show is Chief Zebrudaya, a World War II veteran who has visited various foreign countries and he is perceived by other characters to have attained some level of sophistication and enlightenment. Many of the shows' plot take place in Zebrudaya's sitting room. Zebrudaya has a wife, Ovuleria, a daughter, Philo and two houseboys, Clarus and Giringori. Though a comedy, the show also incorporate melodramatic plots about teaching morals and the consequences of some of society's problems if they are not corrected.

Cast and characters

Chika Okpala Chief Chika Okpala (born 10 June 1950) is a Nigerian comedian. He is popularly known as Chief Zebrudaya a sobriquet he got from his role as Chief Zebrudaya in a TV comedy series, ''New Masquerade'' which aired from 1983 to 1993. Education He at ...

as Zebrudaya - also known by his alias 4:30 is a domineering husband; he has a range of experience as an ex-serviceman and resident in foreign countries. He uses a mixture of Queens English,

Igbo language Igbo ( , ; Igbo: ''Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò'' ) is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, a meta-ethnicity from Southeastern Nigeria. The number of Igboid languages depends on how one classifies a language versus a dialect, so ...

and

Pidgin English Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles. English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have ...

as a means of communication * Lizzy Evoeme as Ovuleria - Zebrudaya's submissive wife who takes care of the house and engages in petty trading * Claude Eke as Jegede Sokoya - Zeburudaya's friend whose arrogance and the quest for easy money is a source of conflict between him and the more honest Zeburudaya. He calls himself a doctor and the youngest millionaire in the universe. He likes to demonstrate his ability to speak in Queens English by using a bombast or pretentious style of speaking, albeit with a thick

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

accent. *James Iroha as Giringory Akabogu - Houseboy, speaks in

. Iroha was also the creator of the sitcom. *

Christy Essien-Igbokwe Christiana Uduak Essien-Igbokwe, MFR (11 November 1960 – 30 June 2011) was a Nigerian musician and actress. Called "Nigeria's Lady of Songs", she was known for her songs "Seun Rere" Tete Nula, Ife, Hear the Call and Give me a Chance. Sh ...

as Apena - Sokoya's wife. * David Ofor as Clarus - Giringory's fellow houseboy

References

{{reflist Nigerian comedy television series Nigerian Television Authority original programming