JAMB

Prescribed novel · JAMB UTME Use of English (2025 and 2026)

The Lekki Headmaster

by Kabir Alabi Garba

Novel questions are part of the Use of English practice quiz.

The story in brief

Bepo Adewale has been principal of Stardom Schools in Lekki, Lagos, for 24 years and is loved enough to be called 'The Lekki Headmaster'. His wife Seri, a nurse, and their daughters already live in the UK, and they want him to join them. The novel follows his last weeks at Stardom as he weighs a better-paid life abroad against his love for his students and his country. On the way it looks at 'japa' (emigration), life in an elite private school, corruption and greed, and the memory of the slave trade. In the end Bepo boards his flight to the UK but returns to Stardom, deciding his mission there is not finished.

Chapter by chapter

1. Chapter 1: Dusk

   At a morning assembly, Bepo breaks down and cannot stop weeping. The Vice Principal, Mrs. Grace Apeh, takes charge, and the Managing Director, Mrs. Ibidun Gloss, arrives worried about him and the school. Mr. Wande, a physics teacher who is also a pastor, suggests calling Bepo's wife in the UK. Bepo is sent home to rest.

2. Chapter 2: The Enticement

   Bepo reveals that he is leaving Nigeria to join his wife Seri and their children in the UK. Colleagues compare the UK pay he has been offered (about £3,600 a month) with his Nigerian salary (about ₦400,000 a month). We learn why he is called 'The Lekki Headmaster' and about his dream of a business after retirement.

3. Chapter 3: Migration Tales

   Stories of people who have 'japa'd': Sola, a former colleague now in the UK; Jare, a former banker who now cares for an elderly couple in London; and Hope, whose wife stopped supporting him. Mr. Nku, a former staff member, fled abroad after taking a ₦2 million loan from the staff cooperative. Migration brings both gains and heavy costs.

4. Chapter 4: A Case of Visa Denied

   Mrs. Ignatius calls Bepo late at night. A DNA test done for the family's visa applications showed that her husband is not the father of their child Favour, a Stardom student. The visas were denied and the family broke apart. Another episode: a girl, Bibi, has nightmares about Mr. Ayesoro, a Government teacher with facial tribal marks, and he is moved out of the classroom.

5. Chapter 5: Snake in the Roof

   Mrs. Gloss finds staff cars parked on school land and learns they were bought with loans from the staff cooperative, which holds about ₦95 million. Seeing danger in staff growing financially independent, she compares it to a snake in the roof. The board caps cooperative loans at ₦250,000 and requires the MD's approval.

6. Chapter 6: Ade as Well as Jide

   On Open Day, a parent, Mr. Guta, objects to a sentence written by the English teacher Mr. Fafore: 'Ade as well as Jide comes early.' The MD wants Fafore punished, but Bepo defends him, and the sentence is shown to be correct: 'as well as' does not make a plural subject, so the verb agrees with 'Ade'.

7. Chapter 7: Ritualists

   Bepo remembers working at Beesway Group of Schools under the director Mr. Egi Meko, where one night he saw men burying a live cow in what looked like a ritual. He also recalls Fruitful Future, a school he co-founded that failed, and Mr. Ogo, a parent later exposed in the news over a ritual killing.

8. Chapter 8: Missions Unaccomplished

   Things Bepo must leave unfinished. In the prefect elections, Banky insults his rival Tosh on Speech Day by referring to Tosh's father, Chief Ogba, who had been detained; the families end up in court. Bepo also worries about the Invention Club's Breath Project, in which students build phones from recycled parts.

9. Chapter 9: Laughing Waterfalls

   Stardom's excursions take students to places such as Ikogosi Warm Springs, Erin Ijesha Waterfalls, Owu Waterfalls and Badagry. At Badagry's slave-trade sites, Bepo links the transatlantic slave trade to today's 'japa'.

10. Chapter 10: Passport Pains

    Bepo's passport has expired. To avoid Lagos, he renews it in Ibadan through an agent, Tai, who charges more than the official fee, and problems with his National Identity Number (NIN) delay him further. The chapter shows corruption and red tape.

11. Chapter 11: Point of No Return

    Stardom gives Bepo a grand farewell: a staff-versus-students football match, a debate on whether the arts or the sciences do more for national development, and cultural dances, including a canoe dance about the slave trade that moves him deeply. Mrs. Gloss presents him with a $10,000 cheque, the biggest gift the school has ever given a departing staff member.

12. Chapter 12: Dawn

    His landlord, Mr. Ogunwale, drives Bepo to the airport and colleagues see him off. On the plane he dreams of Badagry's 'Point of No Return'. On the Monday after he leaves, Bepo walks back into Stardom: he has chosen to stay and finish his mission, and the school celebrates.

Characters

Bepo Adewale

The hero: principal of Stardom Schools for 24 years, called 'The Lekki Headmaster'. Torn between joining his family abroad and staying with his students.

Seri

Bepo's wife, a nurse in the UK, who wants him to join her and their daughters.

Nike and Kike

Bepo and Seri's daughters, living in the UK.

Mrs. Ibidun Gloss

Managing Director of Stardom Schools. Strict about money; gives Bepo the $10,000 farewell cheque.

Mrs. Grace Apeh

Vice Principal; takes charge when Bepo breaks down at assembly.

Mr. Wande

Physics teacher and staff pastor who counsels Bepo.

Mr. Audu

Teacher who gave Bepo his nickname and brings humour.

Mr. Fafore

English teacher wrongly accused of a grammar error ('Ade as well as Jide comes early').

Mr. Guta

Wealthy parent who complains about Fafore's sentence.

Mrs. Ignatius

Parent whose family breaks apart after a DNA test during visa processing.

Favour

Stardom student; the DNA test shows Mr. Ignatius is not her father.

Mr. Ayesoro

Government teacher with facial tribal marks, moved out of the classroom after a pupil's nightmares.

Bibi

Young pupil who has nightmares about Mr. Ayesoro.

Sola

Former Stardom teacher now in the UK, who tells Bepo about life there.

Mr. Nku

Former staff member who fled abroad with a ₦2 million cooperative loan.

Mr. Egi Meko

Director of Beesway Group of Schools, where Bepo saw a cow buried alive in a ritual.

Mr. Ogo

Parent from Bepo's failed school, Fruitful Future, later exposed over a ritual killing.

Banky and Tosh

Students in the prefect election; Banky's insult about Tosh's father leads to a court case.

Chief Ogba

Tosh's father, who had been detained over alleged embezzlement.

Tai

Agent in Ibadan who helps Bepo renew his passport for more than the official fee.

Mr. Ogunwale

Bepo's landlord, who drives him to the airport.

Themes

• Migration ('japa'): The pull of better pay abroad and its hidden costs: broken families, hard jobs, debt and loss of identity.
• Dedication and service: Bepo's love for teaching and his students finally outweighs money and comfort.
• Corruption and greed: Bribery in passport renewal, ritualism, misuse of loans, and owners who fear their staff growing richer.
• History and identity: The slave trade (Badagry, the 'Point of No Return') is set against today's migration.
• Life in an elite private school: Demanding parents, school politics and the pressure on teachers.

Study tips

• Read the whole novel at least twice. JAMB questions often test small details, names and who did what.
• Learn the chapter titles in order: they help you remember the plot.
• Know the main characters' jobs and how they are related to Bepo.
• Practise with the novel questions in Use of English, then check any answer you are unsure of against your own copy.

This guide is written in our own words from several published study guides. The novel itself is the final authority, so check details against your copy.