The “ghost worker” syndrome in the nation’s private and public service system is being condemned in this week’s edition of TV drama series, Professor Johnbull, sponsored by national telecommunications operator, Globacom.
In the episode entitled Ghost Worker, the dangers of the phenomenon is highlighted just as its scope is expanded to include real people who are employed but who fail to actually deliver on their jobs.
The lead character in the drama, Professor Johnbull (Kanayo O. Kanayo), talks about heavy financial losses to ghost workers, idle workers and those who refuse to do the jobs they are engaged to do, and how the money lost in government and ministries could have been spent on other sectors of the nation’s economy.
According to him, “ghost worker” also covers those fake job agencies which advertise fake and non-existent job vacancies with the intention of duping genuine job seekers and applicants.
Viewers will see how street-wise Samson (Ogus Baba) and Elizabeth (Queen Nwokoye), Professor Johnbull’s daughter, end up being conned by a fake job agent who advertised non-existent local and international job vacancies.
While Elizabeth applies for the fake international job without her father’s knowledge, Samson resigns from his store-keeping job and goes for the fake domestic job offering N80,000 month. However, the two applicants are defrauded by the fake agents.
On the other hand, Flash (Stephen Odimgbe) secures a holiday job through the help of Professor Johnbull, but is fired just after two days because he was sleeping on duty. Ufoma (Bimbo Akintola) who assists Mai Doya (Funky Mallam) in hawking tubers of yam, is also caught by her master sleeping on the wheelbarrow of the tubers of yam. On being cautioned by Mai Doya, she abandons the hawking job to go for the fake househelp job which promises her N100,000 a month. Viewers will find out how she fares in her endeavour.
Professor Johnbull is aired at 8.30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays on NTA Network, NTA International on DSTV Channel 251 and NTA on StarTimes