What is the main challenge that Mr Bepo faces in the novel?

Step 1: Analyze the question This is a literature-in-English question on the JAMB 2025 recommended novel, The Lekki Headmaster. It asks for the central struggle of the protagonist, Mr Bepo, not a minor incident.

Step 2: Concept In literature questions, the "main challenge" is the conflict that runs through the whole story and shapes the protagonist's decisions. The best option will be a theme-level struggle, not a single event or task.

Step 3: Eliminate the options

• A. Convincing parents to enrol their children: This is not the driving conflict. The story is set in an established school environment.
• B. Managing the school's finances: This may come up in passing, but it is not the central struggle.
• D. Starting his own school: Mr Bepo is already working as a headmaster, so this does not fit.
• C. Balancing his career with pressure to migrate: This fits the story's wider themes. Mr Bepo wants to stay and do his work as an educator with integrity, while the people and conditions around him push him to leave the country for a "better" life abroad.

Step 4: Answer I'm working from memory of the novel's themes, so check the exact wording against your copy of the text if you can.

Exam tip: For "main challenge" questions on a novel, drop options that are one-off tasks (enrolment, finances, setting up something). Pick the one that reflects a recurring theme like duty versus personal gain, which here is career versus migration.