JAMB 2026 · Recommended novel
The Lekki Headmaster: the JAMB 2026 novel, explained
JAMB has changed its Use of English reading text. If you are still revising The Life Changer, you are preparing for an exam that no longer exists. Here is what The Lekki Headmaster is about, who wrote it, and how to bank the ~10 questions it carries.
What changed for 2026, and why it matters
For the 2026/2027 UTME, JAMB's recommended Use of English reading text is The Lekki Headmaster by Kabir Alabi Garba. It replaces The Life Changer by Khadija Abubakar Jalli, which candidates read in previous cycles.
This matters more than most syllabus tweaks, because the novel is not optional background reading. Candidates can expect around 10 questions on the recommended text inside the Use of English paper. At roughly 2.22 marks per question, that is about 22 marks riding on a single short book. One of the best mark-to-effort ratios anywhere in the UTME.
It also means a common and painful mistake: using an older sibling's notes, a tutorial centre's old handouts, or last year's "likely questions" PDFs. All of that material covers The Life Changer. Every hour spent revising the old novel for the 2026 exam is an hour spent on questions JAMB will not ask.
The good news: the book is short, roughly 64 pages. Read at a normal pace, it is one or two evenings of work for about 22 marks. Nothing else on the syllabus pays that well per page.
Who wrote The Lekki Headmaster
Kabir Alabi Garba is an Osun-State-born writer and a PhD holder from the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos. JAMB has occasionally asked simple author-recognition questions on its recommended texts, so at minimum you should be able to match the title to the author's full name without hesitation, and not confuse him with the author of the previous novel.
Plot overview: what actually happens
The novel is set in Lagos, in the world of a private school in Lekki. Its central figure is Mr. Bepo Adewale, the long-serving headmaster of Stardom Schools, whose calm, wise handling of staff disputes and school crises over many years of service earned him the affectionate nickname that gives the book its title, "the Lekki Headmaster".
The story opens at a charged moment: at a school assembly, an emotional Bepo announces that he is stepping down. The reason is the pressure every Nigerian professional will recognise, the japa question. His wife, Seri, a nurse, has already relocated to the United Kingdom with their children, and the family wants him to join them. The separation has strained the marriage, and relatives and colleagues alike push the financial argument: what a teacher earns abroad against what decades of dedicated service pay at home.
From that opening, the novel moves between the present crisis and Bepo's years at Stardom Schools, how he rose, the conflicts he settled between teachers, the pressure from wealthy parents, the money problems and management tensions of running an elite private school, and the students whose lives his discipline and compassion shaped. These episodes are not padding; they are the evidence the book assembles for its central question: is a life of service in Nigeria's education system worth staying for?
The resolution lands on the side of purpose. Bepo ultimately chooses not to leave, declaring that his heart and his mission remain at Stardom Schools. A decision the school community celebrates. The ending reframes the japa dilemma: not as a judgment on those who leave, but as a portrait of what is lost when everyone does.
One practical note: we have deliberately kept this overview in our own words and at summary level. The novel is in copyright, and, more importantly for you, JAMB tests details a summary cannot carry. Treat this section as a map, not a substitute for the journey.
Main characters
| Character | Who they are | Why they matter |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Bepo Adewale | Headmaster of Stardom Schools, Lekki, the "Lekki Headmaster" | The protagonist. His resignation-or-service dilemma is the spine of the whole novel. |
| Seri Adewale | Bepo's wife, a nurse who has relocated to the UK with their children | Embodies the pull of migration and the family cost of Bepo's dedication. |
| Staff of Stardom Schools | The teachers, vice principal and management Bepo works with daily | Their disputes, loyalty and staff-room debates about leaving Nigeria carry much of the novel's argument. |
| Parents and students | The wealthy parents and the pupils of an elite Lekki school | Source of the pressures, money, entitlement, expectation, that test Bepo's principles. |
When you read the full text, keep your own character list: every named teacher, student and parent, with one line on who they are and what they do. Minor characters are exactly where detail questions come from.
Themes JAMB loves to test
- Education as transformation. The school is portrayed as a place that changes lives. The strongest argument the novel makes for why Bepo's work matters.
- Migration and the japa syndrome. The brain drain of Nigerian professionals, weighed honestly: real financial pressure on one side, national loss on the other.
- Moral values and integrity. Bepo's refusal to cut corners, even under pressure from money and status, versus the compromises of the world around him.
- Societal norms. The expectations of family, class and community in modern Lagos, what a "successful" man is supposed to choose.
- Individual growth and purpose. Bepo's journey is inward as much as outward: deciding what his life's work actually is.
How JAMB asks questions on the novel
Past papers on previous recommended texts show a consistent pattern. Expect these five question shapes:
- Character questions. Who did or said something; how a character is described; relationships between characters, including minor ones.
- Theme questions. Which theme a passage or event illustrates; the novel's central concern.
- Setting questions. Where events happen, the school, Lekki, Lagos, and the social world of the story.
- Plot-order questions. What happened before or after a given event. These punish anyone who only read a summary, because summaries compress the sequence.
- Moral-lesson questions. What the novel teaches or implies, usually answerable from the themes above, applied to a specific episode.
A revision method that covers all five: read the book twice. First pass, read it straight through like a normal novel. Second pass, read with a notebook, record every named character, every location, and the order of major events chapter by chapter. Then answer practice questions and go back to any chapter you got wrong.
Don't just read the summary
Summaries are everywhere online, and they are useful for revision. But JAMB deliberately asks detail-level questions. The kind only someone who read the actual text can answer. With the book at ~64 pages, reading it fully is the cheapest 22 marks you will earn all year. Read first, summarise after.
Reading The Lekki Headmaster inside JAMB Pro
The most common blocker is simply getting the book. You do not need to buy a paper copy or hunt for a dodgy PDF:
- The full text is built into JAMB Pro's offline Library. Download once, read anywhere. No data needed after that.
- A proper reading experience: adjustable font size, plus sepia and dark modes for long evening reading sessions.
- The other UTME literature texts are there too, The Life Changer, Sweet Sixteen and The Last Days at Forcados High School, so candidates for other exam years and Literature students are covered in the same place.
- Practise alongside: the app's 2,241 Use of English past questions let you drill the rest of the paper the novel sits inside.
The app is free. No sign-up, no ads.
Read the 2026 novel free, offline
The Lekki Headmaster is inside JAMB Pro's Library, with 16,000+ real past questions beside it. Free, offline, no sign-up.
Frequently asked
What is the JAMB novel for 2026?
The recommended Use of English reading text for the 2026/2027 UTME is The Lekki Headmaster by Kabir Alabi Garba. It replaces The Life Changer by Khadija Abubakar Jalli, which was the recommended novel in previous years.
How many JAMB questions come from The Lekki Headmaster?
Expect around 10 questions on the novel inside the Use of English paper. At roughly 2.22 marks per question, that's about 22 marks riding on one short book of around 64 pages.
Is reading a summary of The Lekki Headmaster enough for JAMB?
No. JAMB regularly asks detail-level questions, who said what, the order of events, minor characters, specific settings. A summary gives you themes and the broad plot, but it can't answer detail questions. Read the full text at least once, then use summaries only for revision.
Where can I read The Lekki Headmaster for free?
The full text is included in the offline Library inside the free JAMB Pro app, alongside The Life Changer, Sweet Sixteen and The Last Days at Forcados High School. You can read it with adjustable font sizes, sepia and dark modes. No separate book to buy or carry.