You know the last time I saw Papa Ajasco was honestly when I was much more younger than I am now, In fact, I think that time I was still in primary school or early secondary school, so yeah, It used to be one of those shows that would come on the TV and suddenly , the whole house would just calm down, Whether it was my mum cooking in the kitchen or dad doing something,once the theme song played “Papa Ajasco and Company , manufactured by Wale Adenuga Production, Nigerians Number one …..!” everyone knew that it was time for laughter.
See that sitcom was something else,
each episode came with its own kind of drama and confusion,lol .. but the kind of confusion that made you laugh till your stomach aches…, You see Papa Ajasco tapping his bald shiny head whenever he is in trouble ( ojigbijigbijigbi) that's what he always said with every head tapping, lol.. , then Boy Alinco will enter the scene walking like he owns the entire planet.. see ehn that walk alone deserves its own award , so If you watched the show, you would understand what I am saying, even now, I can imagine his chest up, hands on his waist, swinging his legs with confidence, Omo just remembering this now ehn , I am just laughing.
Also there was Pa James, The man ehn! His own English was something else, I remember one episode where he was trying to speak one big grammar and ended up confusing himself and everybody around him ,the way he talked, the way he ate, the way he acted like he knew everything even when he clearly didn’t it was just pure comedy, again you would just laugh..
And let’s also not forget Mama Ajasco, always shouting and overreacting to things , The woman was the real boss in the house, a normal African mother, see her facial expressions alone could pass a message without her saying one word, that kind thing… lol.. All the characters just blended so well, and their personalities were exaggerated in the most hilarious way , I think that is what made the sitcom such a classic , it was not trying too hard. It was just simple comedy that everybody enjoyed
Yeah , another thing that made me love the show was how relatable it was, you get ? It had that everyday Nigerian feel, You would see people in their small homes, school environments, market scenes, all the things we knew Normally, It was not foreign or anything or trying to impress with too much packaging, it was just raw, funny, and entertaining too
I remember one particular evening like that, my siblings and I were done with dinner and already stretched out on the mat in the living room, That day’s episode was about Papa Ajasco trying to impress a rich visitor ,I can't remember the details anymore , but I remember he ended up embarrassing himself as usual,.see ehn we laughed so hard that day, so that’s how deep the show was, it was part of our weekend routine you get?.
So now looking back now , I just really appreciate how shows like Papa Ajasco and Company made our childhood do much fun, I know a lot of newer sitcoms have come up now, and some are doing great too, but Papa Ajasco holds a special place for me and also for many, yeah It reminds me of a time when life was much more simpler, When your biggest worry was whether NEPA would take light before your favourite show came on.
It’s been a long time since I watched it, but those characters still live rent-free in my head, so the show might not be on TV like before, but the memories…They are still very much alive.
So I had to attach a video from YouTube so you all can laugh alonh to this.
Here is my entry to the CineTV Contest, Find link to contest here
Images are screenshots from YouTube
