Based on the novel The Lekki Headmaster, what does Bepo mean by the term "new slavery"?

Answer Details

In The Lekki Headmaster, Bepo uses the term "new slavery" to describe the voluntary migration of Nigerians to foreign countries to join their workforce. By calling it "new slavery," Bepo draws a provocative parallel between the historical transatlantic slave trade - where Africans were forcibly taken from the continent - and the modern phenomenon of Nigerians voluntarily leaving to work abroad under often exploitative conditions.

The term captures Bepo's critique of the migration trend. While historical slavery involved physical chains and forced transportation, the "new slavery" involves economic desperation and systemic failure that push people to leave their homeland. Once abroad, many migrants find themselves in low-status jobs, experiencing discrimination, isolation, and exploitation - conditions that echo, in Bepo's view, the dehumanisation of the old slave trade, even though the departure is technically voluntary.

The other options - forced labour in Nigerian schools, economic challenges from bad governance, and teacher exploitation by private school owners - touch on real issues in the novel but do not capture Bepo's specific meaning when he uses the phrase "new slavery." His term is specifically about the migration phenomenon and its resemblance to historical slavery.