Sesame Square

Sesame Square is the Nigerian version of Sesame Street. It launched in 2011 as West Africa's first Sesame Street adaptation.[1][2] Nigerians produce and voice the series in Standard English. It will be screened on Nigerian Television Authority network.[3]

It is the second foreign co-production of Sesame Street to be shown entirely in English, the first being Northern Ireland's Sesame Tree.

Production

The series was co-produced by Sesame Workshop and Ileke Media.[4] It was also produced in collaboration with education advisors from Nigeria's Ministries of Health and Education.[1] Production was challenging as the creators had to balance social norms and traditions of multiple ethnic and religious groups in addition to Sesame Workshop's guidelines.[4] There was also concern that emphasizing diversity over unity might be divisive.[4] English was chosen as the program's main language out of a desire for the show to be "ethnically neutral"; however, Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba words were taught in some segments.[4]

In 2013 Sesame Workshop was given resources to dub the three seasons of the program into Hausa.[1] 39 episodes were eventually dubbed for the newly-titled Dandalin Sesame.[1]

Characters and location

The set of Sesame Square resembles a traditional Nigerian village with a central mango tree.[3]

The series stars Kami, an HIV-positive Muppet (who was originally part of Takalani Sesame, the South African version of Sesame Street),[2] and Zobi, a blue, furry Muppet who is a 'Yam Monster' (the Nigerian version of the Cookie Monster in the American original).[1][3][5] Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie, all characters who originated in the American production, also appear.[1][3][6] The characters were revoiced, however, to give them Nigerian and American accents.

Human characters included Uncle Ado.[4]

The opening theme tune is "Welcome to Sesame Square" and includes the use of talking drums.[3] These are the segments were dubbed in Global Grover, Play with Me Sesame, Elmo's World, Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures, and Sesame Street English.[3]

Messaging

In addition to teaching letters and numbers, the show aims to educate children about malaria prevention, promote Nigerian unity through the representation of the diverse groups that make up the country, and to lessen the stigma of being HIV-positive.[3] Girls' education and vaccine education also feature as topics.[1]

Episodes

The first season contains 26 episodes, one for each letter of the English alphabet.[7]

The second season premiered in May 2012 and the third season was broadcast in September 2013.[1] As of 2014 the show had 78 episodes total.[4]

Nigeria's Independence Day was featured in episodes from the first and third seasons.[4]

Reception

In 2013 approximately 7.7 million children, aged 3-7, watched the program.[1]

References
  1. "Sesame Square - Nigeria". The Communication Initiative Network. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  2. Webster, George. "HIV-positive muppet to star in Nigeria's 'Sesame Street'." CNN. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  3. "Nigerians set to find out how to get to Sesame Square". BBC News. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  4. Moland, Naomi A. (1 February 2015). "Featured Article: Can Multiculturalism Be Exported? Dilemmas of Diversity on Nigeria's Sesame Square". Comparative Education Review. 59 (1): 1–23. doi:10.1086/679014. ISSN 0010-4086.
  5. Sangillo, Gregg (4 November 2019). "How to Get to Sesame Street…in Nigeria". American University. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  6. Moland, Naomi (15 November 2019). "After 50 years, it's past time to bring human LGBTQ+ characters to America's Sesame Street". USA TODAY. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  7. "Sesame Square to Debut in Nigeria." Ebru News. Retrieved 6 October 2010.


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