Question Library

The boarding fee is N165,000 per session. This is a reduction from the original N250,000. This can be found on page 6 of the novel.

The boarding fee at Stardom school was reduced as a strategy to encourage punctuality among students. A lot of the students live very far away from school and so are not able to make it on time. The reduction of the boarding fees allowed a lot of parents to afford to enrol their students at the boarding houses. This can be found on page 6 of the novel.

The novel's central focus is the discussion of migration challenges and the crisis of identity. Bepo, as he prepares to relocate abroad, contemplates the different tales of those who migrated abroad. He also considered the impact this migration has on his identity. At the Heritage Museum in Badagry, he is reminded of the brutal history of slavery and feels that this voluntary migration to the lands of those who once colonised us is a form of "new slavery".

The novel portrays the "Japa" issue as a personal and moral dilemma. The protagonist's journey throughout the novel is a personal journey. He contemplates every step he has made in both his personal and professional life to see how far he has come and to determine whether or not it would be a good idea to relocate abroad. Bepo understands that, on the one hand, travelling abroad has its benefits, such as increased pay, access to better healthcare and being closer to his family. But, he also understands that leaving Nigeria would mean abandoning his students whom he had nurtured. This is the personal and moral dilemma that most Nigerians face when they try to decide whether or not to relocate abroad.

The central physical setting of the novel is Stardom Schools, Lagos. It is here that most of the events in the novel occur.

The setting that serves as a source of psychological conflict for Bepo is the Black Heritage Museum in Badagry. Here, he contemplates the brutal history of black slaves and begins to draw a parallel between this history and the contemporary voluntary migration of Nigerians to countries of those who once colonised us. This becomes a source of psychological conflict for Bepo.

The most common narrative technique used in the novel is flashback. The writer uses this technique to relate events that happened in the past to the readers.

This can be page 12 of the novel where it is revealed that Bepo, amongst other things, has thought of establishing his own school after having garnered a lot of experience in teaching and school management. His only fear was if he would have enough money to "float a standard school, given the taste he had already imbibed at Stardom." He had initially built a school - "Fruitful Future" but it had crumbled due to socio-economic challenges in the location.

Chief Ogba, Tosh's father, demanded that Banky and his parents write separate letters of apology to both him and his son. He also insisted that the letters be published in the school magazine. This was after Banky had called Tosh "the son of an ex-convict" during his speech for the position of Social prefect. This can be found on page 43 of the novel.

Irony is a powerful tool in the novel, used to critique societal norms and highlight the contradictions in modern Nigerian life. Bepo reflects on the irony of Africans willingly migrating to the countries of their former colonial masters, describing this as a “new slavery.” The tales of Nigerians thriving or struggling abroad illustrate the irony of migration dreams. Stories like Jare’s regret over leaving a banking job to care for the elderly in London highlight the unpredictability of these pursuits.

The emergency meeting of the board of Directors was called because the MD was concerned that the Cooperative allowed the teachers to be financially independent. She believes that the staff could rebel and jointly establish their own school with the money and steal the school's band ideal. This can be found on page 26 of the novel.

The Board of Directors at Stardom Schools is made up of the MD's family members: the chairman, Chief Mrs Solape Bayo is the MD's mother, Martins Bayo is a non-executive director; and Oya Bayo, the last born, was the board's secretary. This can be found on page 26 of the novel.

Bepo moved his belongings out of his room and the staff room the next morning before he went to see the director. This can be found on page 40 of the novel.

Bepo recalls the poem titled "Ibadan" by J.P. Clark as he journeyed through the capital city on his way to renew his passport. The poem gives an apt description of the Ibadan landscape that he sees as the Sienna he was in reached the top of the hilly bridge after Bere. Ibadan, grinning splash of rust and gold-flung and scattered among seven hills like broken china in the sun. This can be found on page 51 of the novel.

Although Mr Fafore lives quite far away, he always prepares his day so that he arrives very early. He wakes up as early as 4:00 am and sets out for school at 4:30 am. He would get to the school premises around 6:00 am, rest his head on his desk and snooze for about an hour before his colleagues arrived. This can be found on page 30 of the novel.