A Man of the People MCQs
1. How did people describe Chief Nanga?
A. Unfriendly
B. Too busy
C. Most approachable
D. Too educated
2. What was the political party Nanga belonged to?
A. P.A.P
B. C.P.C
C. P. O. P.
D. People’s Alliance
3. What profession did Nanga hold when he was Odili’s teacher in 1948?
A. Headmaster
B. Scoutmaster
C. Farmer
D. Catechist
4. What motto was inscribed below the scoutmaster painting at the school?
A. My Nation, My Pride
B. What I do is my kingdom
C. Loyalty is everything
D. The people are my strength
5. What event caused Odili to become disillusioned with the P. O. P. in 1960?
A. Nanga’s election
B. The coffee market slump
C. Nanga’s bribes
D. The party’s loss
6. What action did the Prime Minister take that sparked the political crisis in 1960?
A. Raising coffee prices
B. Printing fifteen million pounds
C. Accepting foreign aid
D. Declaring war
7. What insult did the Daily Chronicle editor shout at the dismissed Minister of Finance?
A. Traitor!
B. Coward!
C. Doctor of Fork your Mother
D. Thief!
8. Odili realized Nanga was yapping shamelessly during the Parliament session to obtain what?
A. The ministerial prize
B. The people’s votes
C. Revenge on his critics
D. The Prime Minister’s favor
9. What was the popular nickname for the school principal, Mr. Nwege?
A. Nwege the Wise
B. Push me down and take my threepence
C. Anikilija
D. The Parrot
10. Odili’s friend Andrew was delighted in Britain when a white man did what?
A. Called him “Sir” and carried his bag
B. Offered him free beer
C. Invited him to dinner
D. Praised his education
11. What prestigious honor was Chief Nanga planning to receive in the United States?
A. A new ministry
B. A doctorate degree
C. A lifetime award
D. American citizenship
12. The journalist who praised Nanga was known for his ability to produce what, seconds ahead of Odili’s thoughts?
A. Headlines
B. Catchy phrases
C. Impressive addresses/titles
D. Poems
13. What did Mrs. John advise Odili to do regarding Nanga’s invitation?
A. Accept it quickly
B. Trust his kindness
C. Run away quickly
D. Ask for money
14. What action by his senior teacher displeased Mr. Nwege greatly at the reception?
A. Being rude to Nanga
B. Taking home free beer
C. Criticizing the food
D. Speaking poor English
15. What did Andrew call the Minister that greatly annoyed Nanga?
A. M.A. Minus Opportunity
B. The Buffoon
C. The Imposter
D. The Politician
16. What caused the near-fatal incident at Chief Koko’s house?
A. A gas leak
B. African poison
C. Local coffee
D. Bad whisky
17. What was the popular name for the government campaign to promote local products?
A. OHMS (Our Home Made Stuff)
B. Buy Local Now
C. Kangan Goods
D. Proudly African
18. What realization hit Odili as he admired the luxury of Nanga’s guest suite?
A. He needed more money
B. He wanted to be a teacher again
C. Wanted to remain a Minister forever
D. He needed a better car
19. Odili concluded that the problem with the nation was that people had not been “indoors” long enough to say what?
A. I am satisfied
B. To hell with it
C. I want a car
D. We need change
20. What did Nanga’s son, Micah, call his own grandmother?
A. Old witch
B. A dirty, bush woman
C. Mother of seven
D. Stúpid hag
21. What did Odili read in the newspapers from his comfortable suite, contrasting his location with the item’s topic?
A. A report on violence
B. A notice on excrement pails
C. Nanga’s speech
D. A report on inflation
22. Chief Nanga revealed he was planning to buy ten luxury buses using what financial arrangement?
A. Cash only
B. Never-never arrangement
C. Government loan
D. Foreign aid
23. Why was Odili shocked when Jean and John called Nanga “Micah”?
A. It was a secret name
B. It was disrespectful for Africans
C. It was his wife’s name
D. It was the name of a god
24. What claim did the American expert John make about the USA’s history?
A. They avoided all wars
B. They never sought global power
C. They had power to conquer but didn’t
D. They were entirely perfect
25. Why did Chief Nanga not hire the cook who could make steak and kidney pie?
A. He was too expensive
B. He couldn’t cook African food
C. He lacked proper papers
D. He was too rude
26. What specific activity did Odili find “unmanly” when discussing the cook?
A. Cleaning
B. Washing clothes
C. Cooking African food
D. Shopping
27. What did the British woman say she loved about Nanga, which Odili suspected was sarcasm?
A. His handsomeness
B. His unpredictability
C. His pidgin English
D. His robes
28. According to Odili, shaking the fist in his society is a sign of what?
A. Great disrespect
B. Great honor
C. Political anger
D. Confusion
29. What body part did Jean say Odili was shaking, which indicated he was desirous for a woman?
A. Hand
B. Head
C. Legs
D. Arms
30. Why did Odili’s mother die, making him an “unlucky child”?
A. During a fire
B. In her first childbirth
C. From fever
D. During a famine
31. Why did a man refuse to let young Odili stay in his house during a school holiday?
A. Odili was rude
B. The man feared Nanga
C. Odili’s father was an Interpreter
D. The house was too small
32. Odili’s most serious quarrel with his father was over the father’s plan to do what?
A. Spend his pension
B. Enter politics
C. Marry a fifth wife
D. Sell his land
33. Mrs. Nanga confided that a woman who marries a Minister has married worse than a/an:
A. Elder
B. Soldier
C. Night-watchman
D. Teacher
34. Where was Edna, the intended parlour-wife, living in the Nanga household?
A. Odili’s guest suite
B. Mrs. Nanga’s bedroom
C. A servant’s quarter
D. In the lounge
35. What caused Odili to be certain that Chief Nanga had slept with Elsie?
A. Nanga told him
B. Elsie confessed later
C. Heard Elsie call his name
D. Elsie refused to come downstairs
36. What did Odili do to clear his nose after walking through Bori at night?
A. Used a handkerchief
B. Blew it into a drain
C. Asked for tissue paper
D. Wiped it on his clothes
37. What political party did Odili and Max establish to fight corruption?
A. People’s Organization Party
B. Progressive Alliance Party
C. Common People’s Convention
D. National Front
38. What did Max reveal was his real intention in forming the CPC?
A. To win the next election
B. To start something and wait for the blow-up
C. To organize trade unions
D. To educate the masses
39. What was Josiah the trader accused of stealing from the blind beggar, Azoge?
A. His money
B. His goat
C. His walking stick
D. His food
40. What was the consequence for Josiah after the villagers condemned him?
A. He was jailed
B. His shop closed; he was ruined
C. He was forced to pay a fine
D. He became an official elder
41. Mrs. Nanga warned Odili that Edna, the parlour-wife, would smell of what after being in Bori?
A. Fish and meat
B. Cigarette smoke and white people
C. Perfume and powder
D. Beer and palm-wine
42. What was the occupation of Edna’s father, Odo?
A. A trader
B. A yam rope maker
C. A farmer
D. A politician
43. What event caused Odili to lose his cool and crash his bicycle, ruining Edna’s food?
A. A passing lorry
B. A sheep and her lambs
C. Faulty brakes
D. A steep hill
44. What political event caused the government to split and chaos to erupt in the country?
A. Max’s resignation
B. A 20% rise in textile duties
C. Nanga’s new house
D. The Abazon drought
45. What did Nanga’s new four-storey building turn out to be?
A. A government loan
B. A “dash” from a European firm
C. A gift from the P.O.P
D. Odili’s old school
46. When Odili announced he would contest Nanga’s seat, what was the only person who did not laugh?
A. Mrs. Nanga
B. Josiah, the trader
C. Max Kulamo
D. Edna
47. How did Odili retaliate against Mr. Nwege after being dismissed from the school?
A. Cursed Nwege’s family
B. Laughed and called him “Mr. Push-me-down”
C. Slapped him
D. Set fire to the school
48. What excuse did Nanga give for trying to offer Odili a scholarship and £250 to step down?
A. He was afraid of losing
B. To be elected unopposed
C. To save Odili money
D. Paying back old debts
49. How did Max Kulamo die during the election?
A. Shot by a thug
B. Killed by a jeep at a polling station
C. Poisoned by Chief Koko
D. Died in a fire
50. What action did Eunice take immediately after Max’s death?
A. Shot Chief Koko in the chest
B. Ran to the police
C. Committed suícide
D. Organized a riot
Brief Overview
A Man of the People is a novel by Chinua Achebe, first published in 1966. It is a sharp political satire that examines corruption, greed, and the failure of democracy in a newly independent African nation.
The story centers on Chief Nanga, the country’s most approachable politician, who belongs to the governing People’s Organization Party (P. O. P.). The narrator is Odili, a young, idealistic teacher who once respected Nanga, who had been his former school teacher.
Odili becomes disillusioned with the P. O. P. after a 1960 financial crisis. Nanga shouts fiercely in Parliament to gain a ministerial seat, and he invites Odili to his luxurious capital city house. Odili is shocked that Nanga’s American friends call him by his first name, Micah, which is disrespectful.
The betrayal that drives the plot occurs when Nanga sleeps with Odili’s casual girlfriend, Elsie, in the house. This violation fills Odili with great anger.
Odili immediately leaves the house and joins a new opposition party, the Common People’s Convention (C. P. C.), to oppose Nanga. Odili vows to take revenge by marrying Edna, a beautiful girl Nanga planned to take as a “parlour-wife.”
Nanga offers Odili a scholarship and money to stop his campaign, but Odili refuses the bribe. Nanga’s thugs later beat Odili badly at a political meeting. Odili is hospitalized. Max, the C. P. C. leader, is killed by an opposing politician’s jeep.
Max’s fiancée, Eunice, shoots the politician immediately after. The Army stages a coup and arrests Nanga, who was trying to escape dressed as a fisherman. Odili finally secures Edna as his wife.
