My Feelings Toward Nigeria Have Changed, I Do Not Want To Go Back – Chimamanda

Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has said her feelings toward Nigeria have changed.

Naija News reports that the renowned author stated this during an interview with The New York Times while speaking on the loss of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu.

According to her, the loss has changed how she feels about her home country.

Asked whether Nigeria still felt like somewhere close to her heart, the author gave a blunt response.

“My feelings toward Nigeria have changed.

“I do not want to go back to Nigeria,” she said.

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

Recalling the incident, Adichie said a doctor approached her in a state of panic after the procedure.

“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 recalled.

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

Speaking about the possibility of returning to Nigeria, Adichie said her children could be the only reason she would consider doing so.

She said her daughter still regarded Nigeria as her “happy place”.

Before her son’s death, Adichie said Nigeria remained deeply connected to her identity and writing, describing it as the place where she received “everything” that enabled her to become a writer.

However, the pain of losing her son has 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.

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