Locate a copy of the first version of "In the Shadow of War" that appeared in the magazine West Africa in 1983. Compare and contrast this version with the one that appeared in the 1989 collection, Stars of the New Curfew. What are the most noticeable changes? Why do you think that Okri made these changes? Do you think Okri was trying to communicate the same things in both versions? If not, what is different about the two versions, and how do those differences make you arrive at different readings?

Have a debate about whether Omovo behaved admirably in this story. Consider whether he should have taken the ten kobo from the soldiers, whether he should have told them the truth about seeing the woman in the veil, whether he should have alerted the woman to danger, and whether he should have protested more...