sheer tenacity and determination, Adah eventually completes a four-year course at the Methodist Girls' School.

Knowing she would never be permitted to live on her own and further her studies at a tertiary level, Adah marries Francis Obi. Francis is a student, and he is poor. In fact, his family later comes to rely on Adah's income once she starts working.

One of Adah's children—a son named Victor—becomes ill, and his illness, together with the way that both Adah and Victor are treated by Francis, becomes a catalyst for Adah's realization that she cannot accept anything but the best for her children.

Adah's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ofili, are other minor characters worth mentioning. It is thanks to the negligence of Mrs. Ofili, who gets distracted by something one fateful morning, that Adah is able to sneak away and get her first taste of what school was like. This first taste, of course, would fuel the fire of her lifelong passion for learning. Mr. Ofili, Adah's father, is a minor character in the early parts of this novel, until he goes to the hospital and never returns.

The main characters in Second-Class Citizen are Adah Ofili and her husband, Francis Obi.

Adah Ofili

Adah is born in Lagos in the 1940s and seeks a better life. She insists on becoming educated. In fact, she sneaks away from home, marries, and moves to the United Kingdom in order to do so. Even though her husband keeps insisting that they are second-class citizens in London, Adah focuses on fighting for her rights and the rights of her children. She eventually leaves her husband to become independent.

Francis Obi

The other main character is Francis Obi. He is a poor student in Lagos who Adah marries because she thinks the match will ensure her education. Francis Obi is originally an instrument in helping Adah achieve her dreams by moving the family to London, but it becomes apparent that Francis is not a good match for Adah when he insists on labeling the family as lower class and destroys Adah's manuscript.

There are minor characters in Second-Class Citizen as well.

Mrs. Ofili

At the beginning of the book, Mrs. Ofili is an important minor character in that she is accused of neglect when Adah sneaks off to go to school.

Mr. Ofili

Mr. Ofili is also a minor character until he "never returns" from the hospital. It is then that Adah's uncle becomes her guardian.

Victor

Yet another minor character is Adah Ofili's sickly son, Victor (who becomes the impetus for Adah to find better care for her children). Victor becomes sick because of the conditions in his day-care situation, so Adah fights to have him receive better care while she works. On Christmas, Victor becomes sick again and, when she cannot convince the Indian doctor to come, she convinces a Chinese doctor to tend to her child. Both doctors are also minor characters.

Our protagonist in this great story is Adah Ofili. As a child, all Adah wanted was the opportunity to get an education. Through sheer determination, she completes her secondary education and then marries because she knows she has no chance of being allowed to go to university as an unmarried woman.

The man she marries is Francis Obi, who is poor. He and his family come to rely on the income that Adah earns. Later, once the couple has relocated to the United Kingdom, Francis becomes abusive toward his wife.

Mr. Cole is another significant character who appears early on. He is a teacher at the Methodist Primary School, and he allows Adah to attend his classes even though she cannot pay school fees.

Adah's son, Victor, is another notable character. His illness makes Adah realize that she cannot settle for anything less than the best for her children.