Renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has said the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu, has fundamentally changed her feelings towards Nigeria, saying she no longer wants to return to the country.
Adichie made the disclosure in an interview with The New York Times published on September 10, 2026, several months after the death of her son during a medical emergency in Lagos.
“My feelings toward Nigeria have changed,” Adichie said during the interview.
Asked whether Nigeria still felt like somewhere close to her heart, the award-winning author gave a blunt response.
“I do not want to go back to Nigeria,” she said.
The statement marks a profound change in Adichie’s relationship with a country that has played a central role in her life, identity and literary career.
For years, Nigeria has featured prominently in Adichie’s novels, essays and public conversations. Her works, including Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun, have explored Nigerian society, identity, migration, politics, family and the experiences of Nigerians at home and abroad.
However, the death of her son has left the author struggling to reconcile her long-standing affection for Nigeria with the circumstances surrounding his final medical treatment in Lagos.
Adichie’s son died after medical emergency in Lagos
Nkanu Nnamdi Esege, one of Adichie’s twin boys, died in January 2026 after becoming seriously ill while the family was in Lagos for the Christmas holidays.
According to the New York Times interview, Nkanu initially appeared to have a relatively minor illness before developing a fever.
His father, Dr Ivara Esege, who is a physician, started him on antibiotics.
When the child’s condition failed to improve, the family sought medical attention.
The family initially took Nkanu to Atlantis Pediatric Hospital in Lagos. Because of concerns about his condition, his father also contacted Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States, where doctors agreed to receive the child.
The plan was for Nkanu to travel to the United States for further treatment.
However, doctors at Johns Hopkins requested additional medical examinations before he could safely make the journey.
The family subsequently took Nkanu to Euracare Hospital in Lagos for an MRI and other procedures.
It was during the examination at Euracare that the situation reportedly deteriorated rapidly.
What happened at Euracare
According to Adichie’s account in the New York Times interview, Nkanu was sedated with propofol to keep him still during an MRI examination.
Adichie said she was waiting outside the room when she noticed a doctor rushing into the area where her son was being treated.
She recalled being told that the child had received too much propofol.
Nkanu subsequently suffered cardiac arrest.
Despite efforts to resuscitate him, his condition deteriorated, and he died within about 24 hours.
Adichie has previously alleged that medical negligence contributed to her son’s death.
In a statement released in January, she said Nkanu had been taken to Euracare for an MRI and the insertion of a central line ahead of his planned journey to the United States.
She alleged that her son was not properly monitored after being sedated and that he suffered serious complications following the administration of propofol.
Euracare has previously defended its clinical staff and rejected aspects of the allegations surrounding the case.
The circumstances surrounding Nkanu’s death have since become the subject of regulatory and legal proceedings.
Medical council found negligence involving doctors
The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria became involved following a complaint by Adichie and her husband.
According to the New York Times, an initial finding by the council identified negligence involving three physicians connected to the child’s treatment.
The doctors included Dr Tosin Majekodunmi, an attending physician at Euracare; Dr Titus Ogundare, the anaesthesiologist who sedated Nkanu; and a doctor from Atlantis Pediatric Hospital, where Nkanu was initially treated.
The three doctors were suspended pending further proceedings.
The doctor from Atlantis was subsequently cleared.
The disciplinary process is separate from the coroner’s inquest examining the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.
Coroner’s inquest faces delays
The death of Nkanu has also led to a coroner’s inquest in Lagos.
The inquest was initiated to examine the circumstances surrounding the child’s death and determine what happened during his treatment.
However, proceedings have faced delays.
Recent reports indicate that the Lagos High Court has intervened in the matter following a judicial review application, with proceedings concerning the inquest adjourned until September 2026.
The dispute surrounding the inquest has added another layer to the family’s grief.
According to the New York Times, Adichie and her husband have maintained that they are not seeking financial compensation from the hospital.
Instead, they have said they want answers and improvements in Nigeria’s healthcare system so that other families do not experience a similar tragedy.
Adichie says Nigeria now reminds her of her loss
The impact of Nkanu’s death has extended beyond the immediate grief of losing a child.
For Adichie, Nigeria itself has become closely associated with the tragedy.
The author had maintained strong connections with Nigeria despite living part of her life in the United States.
She and her husband had homes in Nigeria and Maryland and regularly brought their children to Nigeria during holidays.
The family had spent Christmas, Easter and summer periods in Nigeria, allowing their children to maintain a connection with the country.
But Nkanu’s death has fundamentally changed that relationship.
Adichie told the New York Times that she had not returned to Nigeria for six months when the interview was conducted.
The author described the loss of her son as an experience that had changed the way she viewed her homeland.
“My feelings toward Nigeria have changed,” she said.
She later added: “I do not want to go back to Nigeria.”
Her children remain connected to Nigeria
Despite Adichie’s personal feelings following the tragedy, her surviving children still have a strong emotional connection to Nigeria.
The family has a daughter and Nkanu’s surviving twin brother.
According to the New York Times, Adichie’s daughter has continued to view Nigeria positively and has described the country as her “happy place.”
Adichie said her children are among the reasons the family may eventually return to Nigeria.
“They’re the reason we’re going,” she said.
The author’s comments illustrate the complicated relationship she now has with Nigeria — a country she says she does not currently want to return to, but one her children continue to regard as an important part of their identity.
Nigeria gave Adichie the foundation for her writing
Despite her painful experience, Adichie did not dismiss the importance Nigeria has had in her life.
During the interview, she acknowledged the significant role the country played in shaping her as a writer.
Adichie moved to the United States at 19 to study at Drexel University in Philadelphia and later earned master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Yale University.
She has frequently spoken about the importance of both Nigeria and the United States in her development.
In the New York Times interview, she said America made it possible for her to write, describing writing as her life’s vocation.
But she also acknowledged that Nigeria provided the experiences and foundation that enabled her to become the writer she is.
“I think that America made it possible for me to write, which is my life’s vocation,” she said. “But Nigeria gave me everything I needed to be able to write. And I feel grateful for that.”
Her comments underline the contradiction at the centre of her current relationship with Nigeria.
The country remains deeply embedded in her identity and creative work, even as the circumstances surrounding her son’s death have made returning there emotionally difficult.
Grief continues to shape Adichie’s life
Adichie also spoke extensively about the physical and emotional effects of losing her son.
She described grief as something she feels physically, particularly in her stomach and chest.
The author said everyday activities had become difficult and that she sometimes had to suppress the full expression of her grief because she still had children to care for.
She also spoke about the difficulty of watching her surviving children process the loss of their brother.
Nkanu’s absence remains visible in the family’s home.
According to the New York Times, his highchair remained beside that of his surviving twin brother, while his clothes were still kept upstairs.
Adichie also described moments when she would instinctively put two of an item into an online shopping cart before remembering that she now needed only one.
Such experiences, she said, serve as constant reminders of the child she lost.
The family wants answers, not compensation
Adichie and her husband have continued to push for accountability over what happened to Nkanu.
The couple has said they are not suing the hospital or doctors for financial compensation.
Instead, they want the circumstances of their son’s death properly investigated.
They have also expressed concern about Nigeria’s healthcare system and the need for better standards and accountability.
For the couple, the issue extends beyond their own family.
They want the circumstances surrounding Nkanu’s death to lead to improvements that could protect other children and families.
The New York Times reported that the couple hopes their efforts can help prevent other Nigerians from suffering similar experiences, particularly families who may not have the resources or public profile to demand answers.
A painful change in Adichie’s relationship with Nigeria
Chimamanda Adichie’s decision to speak publicly about her changed feelings towards Nigeria comes after months of grief, regulatory proceedings and an ongoing dispute over the circumstances surrounding her son’s death.
Her statement that she no longer wants to return to Nigeria is particularly significant because of the country’s place in her life and work.
Nigeria has been the setting and inspiration for much of her writing and remains central to her public identity as one of the country’s most internationally recognised authors.
Yet the death of her son has created a painful association that has changed how she relates to the country.
“I do not want to go back to Nigeria,” she said.
At the same time, Adichie’s comments show that her relationship with Nigeria is not necessarily one of complete rejection.
She continues to acknowledge the country’s importance to her upbringing and writing, while her children retain their own affection for the country.
For now, however, the author’s relationship with her homeland remains deeply affected by the loss of Nkanu.
The 21-month-old’s death has left a permanent absence in the Adichie family and has also changed the way his mother sees the country where she was born and raised.
As the coroner’s proceedings and other investigations continue, the family remains focused on understanding what happened to their son and seeking accountability.
For Adichie, the pain is both personal and deeply connected to Nigeria itself — a country she once regarded as home, but which she now says she does not want to return to.
