I No Longer Want to Return to Nigeria – Chimamanda Adichie

Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has said the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu, has changed her feelings toward Nigeria, adding that she no longer wants to return to the country.

Speaking in a new interview with The New York Times, Adichie said her feelings toward Nigeria had changed, and when asked whether the country still felt close to her heart, she said plainly that she did not want to go back.

Nkanu, one of Adichie’s twin sons, died in December 2025 following a medical emergency at Euracare Hospital in Lagos. She said he had developed a fever and was placed on antibiotics by her husband, Dr Ivara Esege, and when his condition did not improve, the couple took him to the hospital for further examination. He was later sedated with propofol during an MRI scan, after which he suffered cardiac arrest and died the following day.

Adichie had in June publicly raised allegations of medical negligence over her son’s treatment at the hospital. The circumstances surrounding his death are now the subject of a coroner’s inquest, which has reportedly been marked by delays and disagreements between the family and the hospital, including an accusation from Euracare that the couple destroyed evidence by cremating their son’s remains. Despite the dispute, Adichie and her husband have said they are not suing the hospital, and have instead called for improvements to Nigeria’s healthcare system.

Asked whether she could ever return to Nigeria, Adichie said her children could be the only reason she would consider it, noting that her daughter still regards the country as her happy place. She reflected that before her son’s death, Nigeria had remained deeply tied to her identity and to her work as a writer, describing it as the place that gave her everything she needed to become the author she is. She said that connection has now fundamentally changed, and that the loss still feels surreal to her, as though she is speaking about her son’s death from somewhere outside of herself.