Description:Meet Mister Johnson, loyal servant to His Majesty the King of England…
Probationary
clerk to the District Officer at Fada, Nigeria, Johnson is fully alive
to the importance of his office. He knows he has a duty to be
well-turned out in the European manner, that his wife must wear English
gowns whether she likes it or not, and that they are obliged as a couple
to entertain lavishly on every conceivable occasion. Every tradesman in
town knows how seriously Johnson takes these duties; every tradesman in
town has a ledger full of his debts.
He may not spell too
accurately, but he writes a beautiful hand. He may not file very well,
but he replaces expertise with enthusiasm. Indeed, he may drive his
employers wild with exasperation, but there is something about having
Johnson around the place: his ingenuousness is so touching, his optimism
so infectious. To the core he is an official of the British Colonial
Service.
How, though, to protect the Empire from its most devoted upholder? How, come to that, to protect Johnson from himself?