Accelerate TV comedy series, Visa on Arrival, currently in its third season, presents different scenarios of what transpires in the office of an imaginary visa issuing agency. Created by Bovi Ugboma, produced by Ann Obaseki and directed by Edan Victor, this series presents different situations that showcase the ridiculous extent to which those desperate to JAPA (travel out of the country) can go, in their attempt to jet out of Nigeria in search of the proverbial golden fleece. The bizarre scenarios presented in this hilarious program often generate raucous laughter – which is not surprising, because comedy thrives on ridicule.

The superb cast of Visa on Arrival is one of its strengths. All of them are stereotypical characters with distinct characteristics and ridiculous manners and attitudes that typify recognizable Nigerian traits. Like most Nigerians, they can be unpredictable, and their erratic behavior is one of the things that make the program interesting and fun to watch. One of the defining characteristics of the denizens of the world of Visa on Arrival is their barefaced lies about their personalities. There is a way in which all the characters self-consciously define themselves as the opposite of their true self. Even with her deceptively trademark smiles and warm visage, officer Hope, (Anita Afoke Asuoha), almost always ends the hope of many visa applicants with her sudden transformation into a vengeful adversary. Hope is always in a hurry to flaunt her married status. “I am happily married” is her common refrain. She represents the typical insecure Nigerian woman who vents her anger on the poor souls who cross their path.

Officer Charity (Albert Oluwatoyin) presents another interesting but funny character. She represents an interesting caricature of the born again Christian. Wearing her piousness like a visible necklace, she personifies all that is not desirable, which is ironically common in contemporary Nigerian society. Most people who bear the appellation of Christians are not Christlike. Officer Charity is a visible representation of charlatanism. Her life and actions present a dilemma faced by the no-so-innocent applicants, who are ready to do anything to get a visa. But not all the visa applicants are given to eye-service. In one of the recent episodes titled “Fake Respect, a female applicant used a combination of threats and ‘bold face’ to coerce Officer Charity to reverse her actions and approve her visa.

All the officers: Charity, Hope, Francis, and Okoro, showcase the myriad corruption currently affecting Nigeria. Visa on Arrival lampoons and comments broadly on power abuse by visa officers, and generally, those who wield vicarious power. It is a satire on current Nigerian society that critically examines both the visa applicants and the visa officers. While most of the things dramatized in the comedy appear bizarre and exaggerated, they reflect current Nigerian reality. It is precisely because of the way the program “accurately” reflects Nigerian situation that endears it to the audience.

The famous American television presenter says:

most comedies are based on getting a laugh at somebody else’s expense.

– Ellen DeGeneres.

Bovi Ugboma’s Visa on Arrival presents absurd situations that make the audience laugh at the expense of both the visa officers and the visa applicants. That is the beauty of the program.