Anthills of the Savannah MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature
Updated on: November 12, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 19 min

Anthills of the Savannah MCQs

1. Chris’s initial refusal to go to Abazon was because he found the demand to be:

A. Too expensive
B. A waste of time
C. Undignified
D. Too political

B. A waste of time.
Chris clearly tells His Excellency, “YOU’R WASTING everybody’s time… I will not go to Abazon.”

2. During the Cabinet meeting, how did Chris show “ceremonial capitulation” to His Excellency?

A. Laughing loudly
B. Bowing deeply
C. Lowering his eyes
D. Agreeing to go

C. By lowering his eyes.
After their eyes met in combat, Chris lowered his eyes to the table, calling it a “ceremonial capitulation.”

3. What does Chris feel is the primary factor keeping him at his “silly observation post”?

A. Fear of exile
B. Sheer curiosity
C. Loyalty to Sam
D. Hope for reform

B. Sheer curiosity.
Chris continues his role partly due to “sheer curiosity: to see where it will all… end” in the collapsing political system.

4. His Excellency was a former soldier who often appeared at the Palace in what clothing?

A. A uniform
B. Mufti
C. A khaki safari suit
D. A three-piece suit

B. Mufti.
His Excellency typically wore mufti (civilian clothes), specifically a white danshiki and matching trousers, within the Palace precincts.
5. How did His Excellency react after being teased by Chris and the other commissioners?

A. Laughed it off
B. Filled with anger
C. Adjourned the meeting
D. Apologized for his tone

B. Filled with anger.
When Chris teased him, His Excellency was not amused, but instead filled with anger, turning his gaze away defiantly.

6. The crowd that rushed into the Presidential Palace courtyard was a delegation from:

A. Gelegele Market
B. Okperi
C. Abazon
D. The University

C. Abazon.
The large crowd outside were the “loyal and goodwill delegation” that had come all the way from Abazon. They needed water.

7. What does His Excellency suggest Chris should have done to achieve popularity regarding the Abazon drought?

A. Exploited their ignorance
B. Resigned immediately
C. Sent money instead
D. Consulted the elders

A. Exploited their ignorance.
His Excellency accused Chris of advising him to “exploit their ignorance for cheap popularity” concerning the rainmakers’ abilities.

8. Chris stated that the most unbridgeable division between himself and Ikem was over:

A. Money
B. Political ambition
C. Women
D. Style not substance

D. Style not substance.
Chris tells Beatrice that what divides him and Ikem is “style not substance. And that is absolutely unbridgeable,” showing their fundamental difference.

9. After Chris finally resigned, what did His Excellency say he would not accept?

A. Resignations
B. Disloyalty
C. Political niceties
D. Further debate

A. Resignations.
Sam laughed at Chris’s resignation, saying, “this boss here won’t accept resignations unless… he has taken the trouble himself to ask for them.”
10. The official statement claimed Chris fled the country disguised as a Reverend Father wearing:

A. A fake military uniform
B. A wig
C. A false beard
D. A large hat

C. A false beard.
An unconfirmed report printed in the Gazette claimed Chris was disguised as a Reverend Father wearing a false beard. This was a government fabrication.

11. Ikem’s editor column “String Along with Reggie Okong” was successful because it was full of:

A. New ideas
B. Clichés
C. Brutal honesty
D. Scholarly insight

B. Clichés.
Ikem’s column was a hit because it was full of cliché, which were new and exciting to the ordinary reader. The public enjoyed the simple style.

12. What radical shift did Ikem undergo that changed his view on public executions?

A. Religious conversion
B. Witnessing the event
C. Reading Fanon’s work
D. Advice from Chris

B. Witnessing the event.
Ikem was moved to write crusading editorials after he went to the public execution and saw the crowd’s brutal enjoyment. This changed his perspective.

13. What phrase did the princely robber shout just before his execution?

A. Long Live the President!
B. I shall be born again!
C. God forgive me!
D. Death to the traitors!

B. I shall be born again!.
The princely robber loudly proclaimed, “I shall be born again!” in the silence before the officer gave the command to the firing squad. This was a spiritual defiance.

14. Ikem claimed that the best weapon against corrupt leaders is:

A. Facts and logic
B. Passion
C. Foreign intervention
D. Economic boycott

B. Passion.
Ikem stated that the best weapon against the authorities is “not to marshal facts… but passion.” He believed emotion was the most effective political tool.
15. Ikem’s editorial about executions was criticized by Chris for its tone and for appearing to:

A. Advocate violence
B. Command His Excellency
C. Criticize the police
D. Use poor English

B. Command His Excellency.
Chris rebuked Ikem for his “tactlessness in appearing to command His Excellency” to promulgate the decree. This was a serious political misstep.

16. During his lecture, Ikem suggested that a President foolish enough to put his head on a coin is inciting people to:

A. Worship him
B. Take it off
C. Buy the coin
D. Revolt immediately

B. Take it off.
Ikem declared that any serving President who puts his head on a coin should know “he is inciting people to take it off.” This was symbolic defiance.

17. What philosophical concept did Ikem believe was the “graveyard of creativity”?

A. Tradition
B. Conservatism
C. Orthodoxy
D. Nationalism

C. Orthodoxy.
Ikem argued that “Orthodoxy whether of the right or of the left is the graveyard of creativity.” He believed fixed thinking stifled freedom.

18. Professor Okong was characterized by Chris as a buffoon but also a former:

A. American Baptist minister
B. Foreign ambassador
C. British soldier
D. Trade unionist

A. American Baptist minister.
Professor Okong was described as a buffoon who began his career as an American Baptist minister before studying Political Science. This was a strange background.

19. Major Johnson Ossai (Samsonite) was the Director of what organization?

A. National Gazette
B. State Research Council (SRC)
C. Army Council
D. Ministry of Information

B. State Research Council (SRC).
Ossai was the young, aggressive Director of the State Research Council (SRC), which acts as the secret police for His Excellency’s regime.
20. Professor Okong apologized to His Excellency by comparing their relationship to a person who has to swallow their:

A. Pride
B. Food
C. Cough
D. Destiny

C. Cough.
Okong used the analogy that a man must not “swallow his cough because he fears to disturb others” to explain his political position.

21. The Attorney-General advised Sam to keep his boyhood friends at arm’s length based on the advice of which “wise old tortoise”?

A. Ikem
B. President Ngongo
C. Professor Okong
D. Chris

B. President Ngongo.
Sam’s mind was divided between the Attorney-General’s words and the advice of “old President Ngongo” to keep boyhood friends distant.

22. The Attorney-General believed Chris was disloyal because Chris saw Sam as merely the:

A. Boy next door
B. Traitor
C. Commander-in-Chief
D. Dictator

A. Boy next door.
The Attorney-General theorized that Chris “looks back to those days and sees you as the boy next door” rather than the Man of Destiny.

23. What promotion did Major Johnson Ossai receive after Ikem’s death was announced?

A. Lieutenant
B. Major-General
C. Colonel
D. Head of State

C. Colonel.
A Special Announcement from the Army Council stated that Major Johnson Ossai was promoted to the rank of full colonel. This was a reward for his actions.

24. Mad Medico (MM) was deported because his activities were deemed prejudicial to:

A. Public health
B. National debt
C. State security
D. The President’s family

C. State security.
MM was quickly deported for “activities prejudicial to state security” after his interrogation by Ossai. The government viewed his actions as a severe threat.
25. The Abazon delegation, due to the severe drought, came to petition His Excellency for:

A. Military assistance
B. Water
C. New leaders
D. Food

B. Water.
The delegation came because of the severe drought in their region and wished to ask the President to visit and see their problems. They desperately needed water.

26. What proverb did the white-bearded Abazon elder use to defend Ikem’s work?

A. A child cannot run faster than his legs
B. The cock’s voice is the neighborhood’s
C. The world is a market square
D. The story does not belong to the teller

B. The cock’s voice is the neighborhood’s.
The elder used the proverb to defend Ikem, stating “the cock that crows in the morning belongs to one household but his voice is the property of the neighbourhood.”

27. The Abazon elder emphasized that which element “takes the eagle-feather” because it endures beyond war?

A. The battle
B. The warrior
C. The story
D. The people

C. The story.
The elder stated that “the story is chief among his fellows” because it “outlives the sound of war-drums,” securing its spiritual preeminence.

28. After the coup, why did the police sergeant start drinking the truck’s beer?

A. Govt fell; beer was state property
B. He was hot and thirsty
C. Celebrating the kidnapping
D. The driver bribed him

A. Govt fell; beer was state property.
Since the government had fallen, the sergeant claimed the government-owned beer was now free for them to drink. This showed the immediate chaos.

29. What was the meaning of the name Amaechina, given to Elewa’s baby girl?

A. The Path Never Closes
B. God’s Great Gift
C. Child of the People
D. New Hope

A. The Path Never Closes.
Beatrice chose the name AMAECHINA, which translates to the hopeful sentiment, “May-the-path-never-close.” This was a hopeful name.
30. The Abazon elder compared their current struggle against the government to the tortoise trying to:

A. Climb a hill
B. Escape the leopard
C. Dig a well
D. Seek a doctor

B. Escape the leopard.
The elder told a story of the tortoise scratching up the ground before being killed by the leopard to show that “a fellow and his match struggled here.”

31. What was Beatrice’s degree subject from Queen Mary College, London?

A. Law
B. English
C. Economics
D. Political Science

B. English.
His Excellency listed Beatrice’s qualifications, including a first-class honours in English from Queen Mary College, London.

32. What secret did Chris tell Beatrice to explain why he was deeply drawn to a girl named Gwen?

A. She was a dancer
B. She had an invigorating tongue
C. She was too ambitious
D. She was extremely rich

B. She had an invigorating tongue.
Chris broke his silence to tell Beatrice about Gwen, the girl with the “invigorating tongue” that Sam couldn’t forget.

33. Beatrice’s father’s name for her, Nwanyibuife, meant:

A. Child of Destiny
B. A Female is also Something
C. Good Woman
D. Pride of the Family

B. A Female is also Something.
Beatrice disliked her baptismal name, Nwanyibuife, which was given by her parents and means “A female is also something.”

34. What feeling did Beatrice harbor for Agatha, the housegirl, after Chris’s death and the crises?

A. Contempt
B. Fear
C. Pity
D. Resentment

C. Pity.
After her anger passed, Beatrice realized she felt “pity” for the sanctimonious and clearly unhappy girl. She recognized her underlying suffering.
35. When Chris asked Beatrice to marry him, she demanded he switch off the:

A. Television
B. Lights
C. Radio
D. Air-conditioner

D. Air-conditioner.
Beatrice asked Chris to switch off the air-conditioner because she claimed she was freezing to death from the cold. This was a direct, strong demand.

36. What religious sect did Agatha, Beatrice’s housegirl, belong to?

A. Anglican
B. Roman Catholic
C. YESMI
D. Baptist

C. YESMI.
Agatha belonged to the rapturous church sect called YESMI, which stands for Yahwe Evangelical Sabbath Mission Inc. This was her deeply held religious belief.

37. What common assumption did Beatrice make about the reason Chris had not called her on the Sunday morning after the Abichi dinner?

A. Busy reading papers
B. Feared she slept with boss
C. Already remarried
D. Planning to leave Kangan

B. Feared she slept with boss.
Beatrice accuses Chris of not calling earlier because he “didn’t want to find out if I slept in Abichi with your boss.” This showed their distrust.

38. Beatrice compared herself during the dancing ritual with Sam to what figure?

A. A faithful wife
B. A loyal batman
C. A modern Queen
D. A spy

B. A loyal batman.
She threw herself at Sam, comparing her move to a “loyal batman covering his endangered commander with his own body.” This was a desperate act.

39. The official report claimed Ikem was fatally wounded because he seized a gun during a scuffle in a:

A. Police station
B. Moving vehicle
C. Crowded market
D. SRC detention cell

B. Moving vehicle.
The SRC announcement claimed Ikem seized a gun from his escorts in a “moving vehicle” and was fatally wounded. This was the government’s lie.
40. Who officially signed the letter suspending Ikem from the National Gazette?

A. Chris Oriko
B. Colonel Ossai
C. The Attorney-General
D. The Chairman, Board of Directors

D. The Chairman, Board of Directors.
The letter suspending Ikem was signed by the Chairman, Board of Directors of Kangan Newspapers Corporation, showing institutional control.

41. What name did Ikem call his suspension letter to Chris, due to its unusual source?

A. A treasure map
B. A trophy
C. A death warrant
D. A declaration of war

B. A trophy.
Ikem carried the letter, which he had never expected to receive from that source, “like a trophy to Chris’s house.”

42. What object did Major Ossai, Director of SRC, allegedly use for torture in preliminary interrogations?

A. A knife
B. A paper-stapler
C. Electric wires
D. A rubber hose

B. A paper-stapler.
Rumour suggested that Ossai had invented a torture method using a tiny piece of office equipment—a Samsonite paper-stapler. This was a chilling detail.

43. Chris claimed the overwhelming issue following Ikem’s death was how to counter the:

A. Grief of the people
B. Hideous lie
C. Political fallout
D. Military threat

B. Hideous lie.
Chris went into hiding because the key issue was finding a way to counter the government’s “hideous lie” about Ikem’s death. Truth was the priority.

44. What did the students of Bassa do to copies of the National Gazette after the regicide story broke?

A. Boycotted them
B. Publicly burnt them
C. Sold them for profit
D. Sent them to the President

B. Publicly burnt them.
Students, angered by the treasonous headline, were publicly seizing copies of the paper and burning them in Freedom Square. This was a clear protest.
45. What did Chris offer the soldier at the checkpoint that distracted him from his questions?

A. Money
B. Kolanut
C. A bribe of beer
D. A cigarette

B. Kolanut.
Chris gave the soldier half of a kolanut, which the soldier accepted, saying only poor people remember their brother. This was a small, meaningful gesture.

46. Beatrice described the three main friends (Chris, Ikem, Sam) as the “troika of proprietors” who thought they owned:

A. The Gazette
B. The Cabinet
C. Kangan
D. The Army

C. Kangan.
Chris acknowledged Beatrice’s old accusation that the three friends thought they owned Kangan, comparing them to “three green bottles.”

47. What creature’s story did Beatrice recall to explain survival through hardship to Chris?

A. A goat
B. A mosquito
C. A bedbug
D. A leopard

C. A bedbug.
Beatrice told the story of the bedbug, whose little ones survived the hot water because they believed “whatever is hot will become cold.”

48. In the end, what caused Chris’s death at the checkpoint?

A. Crushed by the crowd
B. Shot by a drunk civilian
C. Shot by a police sergeant
D. Murdered by Emmanuel

C. Shot by a police sergeant.
Chris confronted a police sergeant who was abducting a girl and the sergeant “unslung his gun, cocked it… and he did, point-blank.”

49. What physical sign did the driver Braimoh say was important for Chris to cultivate to appear poor?

A. Dirtier clothes
B. A straight walk
C. A relaxed countenance
D. Marching boldly

D. Marching boldly.
Chris’s companion advised him that the next time he should “march for ground with bold face” and not look timid. This was a survival tactic.
50. What final conclusion did Beatrice realize was unbearable but beautiful regarding Chris’s death?

A. He died for his country
B. He died with a smile
C. He was finally free
D. He won the argument

B. He died with a smile.
Beatrice understood Chris’s final act was beautiful because he dismissed his pain to “summon a smile” before dying. This showed his final peace.

Brief Overview

Anthills of the Savannah is a novel by Chinua Achebe, first published in 1987. The novel is a political tragedy set in the fictional African nation of Kangan. It focuses on the betrayal of ideals and the destructive cycle of dictatorship and corruption.

The story centers on three men who are now powerful friends. Sam is the Head of State (His Excellency), ruling like a dictator. Chris is the Commissioner for Information, and Ikem is a respected, rebellious newspaper editor.

The Head of State demands absolute loyalty. Chris often gives in to Sam to avoid conflict, staying in his post out of curiosity to see where the national crisis will end. Ikem uses his newspaper to criticize the government’s cruelty, such as public executions. He believes passion is the best weapon against corrupt leaders.

A delegation from the drought-stricken Abazon province visits the palace seeking help. Ikem supports these people. Sam becomes furious at both Ikem and Chris, questioning their loyalty. Chris refuses to suspend Ikem from the newspaper and finally resigns from his post.

Ikem is tragically arrested and brutally murdered by Colonel Ossai’s security forces. The official story claims Ikem was shot while trying to grab a gun. Chris risks his own life to expose this “hideous lie” and goes into hiding.

Chris tries to escape to Abazon with the help of a taxi driver, Braimoh. At a police checkpoint, Chris intervenes when a drunk soldier abducts a schoolgirl. The soldier shoots Chris “point-blank” in the chest. Chris dies smiling, achieving a final act of dignity.

Chris’s girlfriend, Beatrice, cares for Ikem’s pregnant partner, Elewa. Beatrice names the baby Amaechina, meaning “May the path never close.” Beatrice concludes that Ikem and Chris were “trailed travellers” whose fates were predetermined by a cruel history.

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