Nobody should be forced into marriage of convenience —Professor Johnbull

The issue of matchmaking and its attendant hassles is the thrust of this week’s episode on Professor Johnbull, the didactic TV drama series sponsored by the fully integrated telecommunications solutions provider, Globacom.

The episode tagged “Arranged Marriage” dissects the age-long tradition whereby parents or relations arrange  partners for their children or relations considered to be of marriage age but have refused to take partners to raise families of their own.

In this edition, three “proximate people” of Professor Johnbull (Kanayo O. Kanayo), Mai Doya (Funky Mallam), Etuk (Imeh Bishop) and Olaniyi (Yomi Fash-Lanso), worried by the single status of the scholar, arranged to have the retired don marry Etuk’s sister, who resides in Abuja.

Similarly, the mother of Abadnego (Martins Nebo), convinced that “a man who can grow beards is old enough to marry”, arranges a village girl for him and pays the bride price before bringing her to Enugu for Abadnego.

Arranged Marriage rises to its crescendo when Etuk’s sister arrives Enugu to discover that Professor Johnbull has no such proposal and Abadnego rejects the village girl brought to him by his mother.

Posers that would be unraveled in the episode include: how does Professor Johnbull receive Etuk’s sister? Is Abednego’s mother’s assertion that “love comes to marriage when children begin to come in” valid? Can two complete strangers make good marriage partners? Is matchmaking old fashioned or still relevant in contemporary time? And what is the place of compatibility in matchmaking?

Viewers should not miss Arranged Marriage as it shows at 6.00 p.m. on Sunday on DSTV Africa Magic Family and GOTV Channel 2, with repeat broadcast on Thursday at 9.30 p.m. and on NTA Network, NTA International on DSTV channel 251 and NTA on StarTimes at 8.30 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday. It is also aired on Anambra Broadcasting Service at 8.30 p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday.