The Author : Khadija Abubakar Jalli
Khadija Abubakar Jalli holds a Bachelor of Science(Mathematics) Education degree. She is an entrepreneur and the CEO of She’s Boutique Afrique. She is happily married with children.
The Life Changer is a novel by Khadijat Abubakar Jalli, and it can only be assumed that life changer readers are those who have read the book.
The novel is the story of campus life, or rather the story of university life of such students as Ummi, Salma and their friends. It is said to have underlying optimism, with the emphasis on hope and redemption in the life of the young man.
Other issues thought to be remarkable about the book include the fact that it is the first book by Khadijat Abubakar Jalli and that it presents a strong female voice in African literature.
The life Changer Core Details.
| Context | Details & Description |
|---|---|
| Name of the Novel | The Life Changer |
| Author | Khadijat Abubakar Jalli |
| Content | A campus novel that explores life on a university campus through the stories of Ummi, Salma, and their friends. |
| Themes | Hope and redemption, particularly directed toward the youth. |
| Significance | This is Khadijat Abubakar Jalli’s first published work. It represents a growing voice among female authors in African literature. |
| Reader Experience | “Life Changer readers” may refer to those who have read the book and found its themes and story thought-provoking or personally impactful. |
| Additional Note | As described on Goodreads, the novel follows the exploits of Ummi, Salma, and others, providing insights into challenges and experiences of campus life. |
Summary of The Life Changer-Chapter one:
Bint, a five years old girl and also the spoilt of the Ahmed family recounts her experience with her pesky social studies teacher; Mallam Salihu who usually thinks he knows every single detail about every single thing to her siblings. This however meant that he was in some way ridiculed when Bint replied to his query on how to say good morning in French and told him to say in French that that is very good. This failure by Mallam Salihu to interpret that is very good in French makes him walk out of the class taken by Bint and he never came back until after the break time. As she and her siblings were laughing at her story, their mother comes barging in their room to participate in their discussion. She then urges them not to ridicule Mallam Salihu but praise his humility to admit his ignorances by using the French mistress help to give Bint the answer to her question.
The entry of Omar with the news of his admission in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria to study Law switching their discussion to more of a torrent stream of thoughts on life issues that worries Ummi children and most particularly to Omar who had just secured an opportunity to study Law.
Chapter Two
In this chapter, we are told of how Ummi who has secured an offer in the university has accepted the condition of her father to get married before graduating. But her husband chose to marry her off even before she went to university. She narrates of the time she met Salma, and how she shamefully talked mean things about the University official at the faculty registration office.
Ummi shown an unappreciated attitude towards the hospitality of Dr. Samuel Johnson, when she went to his office to receive her matriculation number. Later she came to know through her husband that Dr. Samuel Johnson was a very good friend of his and it was he who assisted him to straighten out her admission at the University. Ummi was shameful and she asked her husband to go to Dr. Samuel Johnson and apologize to him on her behalf.
Chapter Three
Ummi narrates the stories of the quiet one to warn her children and Omar in particular because he was her firstborn child and the only son who had just secured an opportunity to study in the university. Talle is a native and a resident of Lafayette. Members of the community knew the circumstances that surrounded his birth. Talle had lost his mother soon after he was born and he had not reached the age of twenty years when he lost his father and stepmom in a grisly car collision. This event added to his condition that he isolated himself altogether. Talle got so much lonely to an extent that he invested his enthusiasm in his job at the local government where he worked as a driver.
However, one day, his life took a theatric turn because people at the grocery store he visits to buy foodstuffs realized that his purchasing power has become above normal. The grocer complains to the District head, Hakimi, that Talle is now purchasing more than he can possibly eat within a week in days, knowing that he has no one that stays with him. Hakimi called Talle to the palace to do some questioning.
Talle however was unable to give a straight forward answer to a question and that gave him away. This was going on at the palace of Hakimi when the police came in with military escort. They informed Hakimi that Talle, one of his subjects is engaging in kidnapping, armed robbery and extortion. Talle was captured and he was taken by the police to his home where he had concealed his victim. He and Zaki were condemned to a few years of imprisonment and hard labor.
Chapter Four
In this chapter, Salma narrates how she managed to find her way into the university when she was barely twenty years old. Of importance to this chapter is her meeting with Dr. Dabo who is the 100 level coordinator at the time.
Dr. Dabo is a highly disciplined lecturer and he has never involved himself in any sort of underhand with any female student. He is record of treating his students Justly. He never misses lectures and his lecture policy is quite straightforward” Donot enter after I do”. But when Salma looked married spectacularly attractive to his office he abandoned prudence and was not aware when he asks her to become his intimate friend. Salma turns down his request instantly and this made him feel so bad that he regretted and swore never to lose guard again.
Salma was assigned to the most popular Queen Amina Hall. She did not initially like her roommates; Tomiwa, Ngozi and Ada. She despises the thought that she did not have a choice on who would be her roommate and yet they later on gel so well that they lived like sisters. One evening, Salma was coming back home and she met Habib and Labaran at Kwangila. They also offer to give her a ride to the school campus and as they dropped her, Salma informed them that her name is Tomiwa and even gave them the number of Tomiwa.
Chapter Five
At 8 pm the following day, Habib phoned Tomiwa and told her that they are outside her hostel and asks her to come out and they can go and hang out. Tomiwa chose to satisfy her curiosity when she left her hostel to go and meet Habib. Habib however was intelligent enough to realise that Tomiwa was not the girl he had given a ride to last night.
Tomiwa proved his assumptions right and recognize that Salma had provided them with Tomiwa contact. Habib sent Labaran to bring them some provision and Suya to eat and Habib also gave her fifty thousand naira and told her to give her roommate Ten thousand naira each and she (Habib) retains the balance of twenty thousand naira.
Tomiwa was impressed and as she went back to the hostel with the cash and much goodies. She and her roommate started to ululate and scream with delight as they relished the chicken Suya she bought. Salma felt a little jealousy that almost slipped into a division between her and Tomiwa but through the intervention of Ada and Ngozi, the issue soon turned into a
forgotten issue.
Habib and Labaran have been childhood friends. Habib took the road of education whereas Labaran opted to attend a driving school and as a good friend, he occasionally assists Habib with some little money with his salary as a driver at the local government. However, Habib made his friend his driver when he (Habib) became a politician to recompense his intermittent assistance in the olden days.
Chapter Six
The routine of school had started again and the girls are in their last year. It is quite intriguing to mention that although the four girls are engaged in relationships with men, they do not in any way allow their education to be affected. They are in their best form to the extent that they are all striving at graduating with a second class upper degree although they are pursuing different courses. To her misfortune, Moral philosophy one of the easiest course to pass happens to be a hard course to her (Salma). She, as well as other students did not attend classes in this course because it is a general course. She however goes to the tutorial a day before the examiner because over some years the lecturer handling the course has been repeating the questions stupidly with very little variation and so Salma had revised the past paper and went in to take an exam.
When the invigilator offered questions, to her demise, Salma noted that she was the only one who was not writing since the lecturer had abridged her expectations. After some time, she started harassing the man who sat beside her, Kolawole Abdul to help her. He reluctantly opposed this but eventually relented, although he scribbled some code-like answer to the former two questions. But when Salma was busy copying the notes of salvation, the female invigilator was wondering how Salma had gotten the sudden inspiration to write after she had overstayed more than thirty minutes without writing.
She slowly followed her and observed where she was writing about some few minutes before she moved her attention and that of the security man outside the hall. They had to make Salma sign the exam malpractice form and Kola and the following female student sitting on the other side were made to sign as witnesses. Unfortunately to Kola, when Salma was called before the panel she implicated him and he was also kicked out of the school.
Chapter Seven
This chapter narrates how Salma opened up to her friend, Tomiwa, how she believes that pleading with Labaran to speak to Honorable Habib might work on anyone that is important to assist her out of the situation she is in. To her misfortune, the only person he knows that can help is Professor Dabo.
Salma was so helpless on realizing that the only person who can help her is the same Professor Dabo who she insulted in her l00level when he asked to be her girlfriend. She desperately begged immediately that honorable Habib provide her with some money to bribe the chairman of EMEC who she termed could sell the soul of his mom to money.
Honorable Habib offered to give her some money but he asks her to give him something. She surrendered in his office itself. Having received the money Habib, she was equipped to meet the Chairman of the EMEC in a hotel and she only handed over one hundred thousand naira to one Dr. Mohammed Kabir as the Chairman of EMEC. She later found out at the panel that she had been cheated by Dr. Kabir who is an impostor. He is neither a lecturer at the University nor the chairman of the EMEC.
Chapter Eight
This chapter reveals how Dr. Mohammad Kabir acquired the title of a Doctor. It is a secondary school nickname. He worked at the university as an L.T Laboratory Technician but his people-friendliness earned him the attention of all the right people at the University.
When Salma wept to Labaran and told him her fate of how she had been duped by a fraudster. Labaran subsequently hired the services of Zaki to follow Mohammad Kabir and he retrieved three hundred thousand naira from him immediately after he had won big in a gambling game using the money he had stolen Salma.
Chapter Nine
In chapter nine, Ummi narrates the experience of Salim, the fiance of Salma, on the use of smartphones. One bad experience that nearly took his life away. On one of the social media, he met a girl called Natasha. The day that they have arranged to meet physically, turns out to be a terrible event. Salim had accepted to come and see her at about right to nine in the evening because she said that she would not be permitted to go out in the afternoon.
But the attendance of their meeting made Salim understand that Natasha was a bait for kidnappers and armed robbers. His getaway for the planted trap by Natasha and her gangs was divine.
[ Source: Examkit.com]
Main Characters in “The Life Changer”
Salma
The protagonist of the life changer is Salma. She is smart, assertive and outspoken, which serves to make her the center of her family and the university. The life experiences of Salma can be considered as a center of discussion of the intersection of education and the life choices.
Ummi
Ummi is a mother of the main character. A quintessence of wisdom, she tends to be the voice of reason in the novel. Most of the lessons about life, values, and education that can be found in the novel are based on the advice and teachings of Ummi to her children.
Talle
Talle is a silently reserved kind of character, who gets involved in a corruption scandal. His character line develops on the theme of how even the most unlikely individuals can be consumed by the underbelly of life when they are not careful.
Habib
Habib is an important contributor to corruption theme in the novel. He is portrayed as a person who bends the system to suit his own interests and it reveals how people can affect institutions in a negative way provided they do not have the moral standing.
The University Pals
The various friends that Salma has at the university, such as Tomiwa, Ngozi, and Ada, symbolize the diversity of backgrounds and experiences that surround the life of a student. In their relations, the novel demonstrates multiplicity and plurality of friendships regardless of the problems they encounter.
Major Themes in “The Life Changer”
Life Changer- Education
The name of the novel gives away one of the themes of the novel Education. The novel demonstrates the power of education and how it can be used to change lives because one of the major characters, Salma, is used to alter the course of the future of her family and friends. The author gets deep into the discussion of how getting an education opens new horizons and alters the manner in which people think and behave.
Corruption
One of the significant themes in the life changer is corruption particularly in institutions such as universities. The book provides an insight on how corruption may ruin the aspirations of students and impede the justice in education. The theme can be quite relatable and provoking to a lot of students and even adults, so it has a strong resonance.
Friendship and Loyalty
We observe very touching friendship ties in the novel, particularly of Salma with her friends at the university. There are problems in these relationships, yet loyalty and support are common themes that characterize these friendships. These characters help the author to look at how friends may influence our lives and choices in life.
Love and Relationships
The novel also brushes through romantic relationships and complications that might come especially when education, culture, and society expectations are involved. It depicts love and relationship as it interplays with the bigger choices in life especially among the youths who are still trying to establish themselves.
Integrity
The value of integrity in life and education is offered through various characters in the story, The Life Changer. The story of Salma and the lives of other students impersonates the decisions that are right or wrong and how such decisions affect their future.
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