Based on the novel The Lekki Headmaster, what did Bepo's fellow tenant, Iya Matthew, pour on his head after he had embezzled the compound's electricity tari...

Answer Details

In The Lekki Headmaster, after Bepo uses the compound's electricity tariff money for his personal needs, his fellow tenant Iya Matthew publicly humiliates him. In her anger and frustration, Iya Matthew pours a bowl of elubo (yam flour) on Bepo's head.

Elubo is a powdery substance used in making amala, a traditional Yoruba food. Pouring it over someone's head is a dramatic, culturally loaded act of public shaming. It is messy, visible, and humiliating, drawing the attention of everyone in the compound. The act signals Iya Matthew's outrage at Bepo's betrayal of communal trust and serves as a form of community justice.

This incident marks one of the lowest points in Bepo's journey. It shows how his financial desperation has cost him his dignity and standing among his neighbours. The other items listed - a bowl of pie, a bucket of water, or fistfuls of sand - are not what the novel describes. The specific choice of elubo adds cultural realism and a distinctly Yoruba flavour to the scene.