‘I do not want to go back to Nigeria’: Chimamanda Adichie speaks on son’s death and changed relationship with home

How the death of baby Nkanu changed Chimamanda Adichie’s relationship with Nigeria forever

One of Africa’s most celebrated literary voices has spoken about the grief that has severed her emotional bond with her homeland. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie — whose novels and essays have made Nigeria central to global conversations about identity, feminism and storytelling — told The New York Times in a recent interview that she no longer wants to return to the country that shaped everything she has written, according to The Punch.

“My feelings toward Nigeria have changed,” Adichie said. Asked directly whether the country still felt close to her heart, she was blunt: “I do not want to go back to Nigeria.”

The break follows the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi — one of her twin boys — who died on January 7, 2026, after receiving medical care at Euracare hospital in Lagos. Nkanu had developed a fever in December 2025 while the family was spending the holidays in Nigeria. When antibiotics prescribed by her husband, Dr. Ivara Esege, failed to improve his condition, the couple took the child to Euracare for further examination. During an MRI procedure, Nkanu was sedated with propofol — and a doctor rushed toward Adichie in what she described as “pure panic.”

“He was very calm and he said to me, ‘Well, look, they gave him too much Propofol,'” Adichie recalled. “Those were his exact words, which I will never forget until the day I die.” Nkanu suffered cardiac arrest and died the following day. He was 21 months old. Yahoo!

Adichie has publicly alleged medical negligence against Euracare. A coroner’s inquest is ongoing but has been complicated by delays and a dispute between the family and the hospital — with Euracare accusing Adichie and her husband of destroying evidence by cremating Nkanu’s body. The couple has said they do not intend to file a civil lawsuit, choosing instead to pursue accountability through the inquest.

Adichie and her husband maintained homes in Nigeria and Maryland, regularly bringing their children to Lagos for Christmas, Easter and summer visits. Their 10-year-old daughter recently told her mother that “Nigeria is my happy place.” Adichie said her children remain the only reason she might eventually return — but the country is now inseparable from the worst moment of her life. Complex

“I mean, it is so surreal, all of this,” she said. “I still can’t believe we’re talking about my son who died.”