To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up The Lekki Headmaster, I just knew it was the new JAMB novel and that I had to read it, I have always read every jamb novel even though I am not writing Jamb but I read them because each of them have some great lessons to be learnt.
Looking at the cover page of the book, it did not look interesting at all to me but I just had to read it and as I read through the pages, I found myself getting more and more interested not because it was full of drama or action, but because I could fully relate with everything that happened in the novel.
The story is written by a Nigerian author, Kabir Alabi Garba. He’s a journalist and a writer who clearly understands this country. The book was published in 2023 and is now the official JAMB novel for 2025. I think JAMB made a smart choice with this one.
What the Story Is About
The main character is Mr. Bepo Adewale, he is a headmaster of a
school in Lekki, Lagos, specifically in a public primary school that is in very poor condition. He is not rich but he is very passionate about education, he believes education can change lives, and he tries his best to do what is right even when it was not easy.
But he’s also going through his own struggles, his wife and children are already living abroad, and they want him to join them. Meanwhile, there are problems at the school, some of the staff are misbehaving, some are greedy, and Bepo noticed that the people managing the school are not very honest.
So he finds himself stuck between two big decisions, should he leave Nigeria to join his family aboad or should he stay and fight to make the school better? well this was a hard decision to make.
Mr. Bepo was still considering relocating to the UK to reunite with his wife and two children but at the same time the school needed him more. The children sitting on bare floors, teachers not coming to school, and funds being misused by officials who are supposed to be helping, all these made Mr. Bapo see the need to stay and do the right for the benefits of the young children and he refuses to join the circle of corruption.
But even when he tried putting things in place the people who have been benefiting from the decay don’t like him and they begin to frustrate him at every turn. Despite everything they did, the gossip, the betrayal, and the pressure to give up, Mr Bepo still instilled real and lasting change in the school.
He reawakened a dying school, he brought order, cleanliness, and discipline back to a place that had almost been forgotten. He encouraged pupils to dream beyond their environment and the pupils began to believe in themselves again, he revived learning, introduced excursions and taught not just through words, but lived by example.
The part that left me speechless the most was when his visa was approved but he choose to remain in Nigeria, to continue the fight, to stay with the school, and keep building what he started. Honestly, it took lots of courage to do that.
You know, while I was reading the novel it reminded me of my secondary school days, I actually went to a Public Secondary school and so I can truly relate with what happened in the novel. Students sitting on the floor to attend classes, incompetent teachers who would use their lecture period to market their business in the staff room. I really hope we could have more people like Mr. Bapo in our Public schools as things would really change for good.
Initially, I had been wondering why JAMB choose this novel but now I realize, I think JAMB pickedThe Lekki Headmaster because it talks about real issues that many students and families in Nigeria are facing. It’s not just about school it’s about doing the right thing in a difficult world.
Personally, I learnt a whole lot of things like honesty, sacrifice and above all choosing what matters which is purpose rather than pleasure.
Thank you all for reading!