Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu, has profoundly changed her relationship with Nigeria, telling The New York Times that she no longer wants to return to the country.
In an interview with the newspaper sighted by PUNCH Online on Sunday, Adichie said the loss of her son had altered the way she viewed her home country.
Asked whether Nigeria still felt close to her heart, the award-winning author responded bluntly: “My feelings toward Nigeria have changed.”
“I do not want to go back to Nigeria,” she said.
Nkanu, one of Adichie’s twin sons, died in December 2025 following a medical emergency at Euracare, a private hospital in Nigeria.
According to Adichie, Nkanu initially developed a fever and was placed on antibiotics by her husband, Ivara Esege. When his condition did not improve, the couple took him to the hospital for further evaluation.
She said the child was subsequently sedated with propofol during an MRI examination. He later suffered cardiac arrest and died the following day.
Adichie recalled that shortly after the procedure, a doctor approached her in a visibly distressed state and told her the child had been given too much propofol.
“He was very calm and he said to me, ‘Well, look, they gave him too much Propofol.’ Those were his exact words, which I will never forget until the day I die,” she said.
In June, Adichie publicly alleged that medical negligence contributed to her son’s death and raised concerns about the care he received at the hospital.
The circumstances surrounding Nkanu’s death are currently the subject of a coroner’s inquest. The proceedings have reportedly been complicated by delays and disagreements between the family and Euracare.
The hospital has also reportedly accused Adichie and her husband of destroying evidence by cremating their son’s remains, an allegation linked to the ongoing inquest.
Adichie and Esege have called for reforms to Nigeria’s healthcare system but, according to The New York Times report, have not filed a lawsuit against the hospital.
Asked whether she could see herself returning to Nigeria, Adichie said her children might be the only factor that could influence such a decision.
She noted that her daughter still viewed Nigeria as her “happy place.”
Before Nkanu’s death, Adichie said Nigeria was deeply intertwined with her identity and her career as a writer. She described the country as the place that gave her “everything” she needed to become a writer.
But the loss of her son, she said, has fundamentally altered that connection.
“I mean, it is so surreal, all of this. I still can’t believe we’re talking about my son who died,” Adichie said.
“You’re going through something, but you also feel like you’re outside of it.”
