Renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has revealed that her feelings towards Nigeria have changed following the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu.

Adichie made the disclosure during an interview with The New York Times, where she spoke about her grief, the death of her son and how the experience has affected her relationship with Nigeria.

Asked whether Nigeria still felt like a place close to her heart, the award-winning author gave a blunt response.

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“My feelings toward Nigeria have changed. I do not want to go back to Nigeria.”

Adichie Recalls Son’s Death

Nkanu, one of Adichie’s twin boys, died in December 2025 following a medical emergency at Euracare in Nigeria.

While recalling the circumstances surrounding her son’s death, Adichie said a doctor approached her in a state of panic after a procedure.

According to her, the doctor told her:

“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.”

Adichie had earlier, in June, publicly raised allegations of medical negligence concerning the treatment her son received at the hospital.

The allegations have become an important part of her account of the tragedy, although the circumstances surrounding Nkanu’s death remain a deeply painful and contested matter.

‘I Do Not Want To Go Back To Nigeria’

Speaking about whether she would return to Nigeria, Adichie said her children could potentially be the reason she might consider going back.

She disclosed that her daughter still considers Nigeria her “happy place.”

However, Adichie explained that the country’s place in her own life has changed significantly since the death of her son.

The author said Nigeria had previously been deeply connected to her identity and her work as a writer.

She described the country as the place where she received “everything” that helped shape her into a writer.

But the loss of Nkanu has profoundly altered that emotional connection.

‘It Is So Surreal’

Reflecting on the loss, Adichie said she still struggles to believe that she is speaking about her son in the past tense.

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

She added:

“You’re going through something, but you also feel like you’re outside of it.”

Her comments provide an insight into the emotional impact of losing a child and how the experience has affected her relationship with a country that previously occupied a central place in her personal identity and literary life.

Adichie is internationally recognised for her literary works and has frequently drawn inspiration from Nigeria and Nigerian experiences in her writing.

However, following the death of her son, she says her feelings towards the country have changed, particularly in the context of the circumstances surrounding his medical emergency.

Her statement that she does not want to return to Nigeria therefore reflects, in her account, a deeply personal response to grief and the events surrounding her son’s death.