The celebrated novelist is grieving the death of her 21-month-old son, which she blames on medical negligence at a Lagos hospital.
Acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is grieving after the death of one of her 21-month-old twin sons, which she attributes to medical negligence at a hospital in Lagos.
Adichie and her family traveled from the United States to Nigeria for the holidays when her son, who was being treated for an undisclosed infection, died on Jan. 6—one day before he was scheduled to be transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for further care, the New York Times reports.
In a private WhatsApp message to family and close friends that later leaked online, Adichie alleged that an anesthesiologist at Lagos’s private Euracare Hospital administered a fatal overdose of a sedative to her child.
“Suddenly, our beautiful little boy was gone forever,” Adichie wrote. “It is like living your worst nightmare. I will never survive the loss of my child.”
Family representative Omawumi Ogbe confirmed Adichie’s account.
Adichie said her son initially had what seemed like a cold, which developed into a severe infection. After being treated at Atlantis Pediatric Hospital in Lagos, he was set for medical evacuation to Johns Hopkins. Doctors requested a lumbar puncture and MRI first, so Atlantis referred him to Euracare.
According to Adichie, her son’s father carried him into the hospital, where staff said he would need sedation for the MRI. She described seeing staff rush into the theater and learning that the anesthesiologist had given her son too much propofol, leaving him unresponsive before being quickly resuscitated.
“But suddenly Nkanu was on a ventilator, he was intubated and placed in the ICU,” she wrote. “The next thing I heard was that he had seizures. Cardiac arrest. All these had never happened before.”
“Some hours later, Nkanu was gone,” the writer added.
Traveling with her husband, Dr. Ivara Esege, and their children—including a 9-year-old daughter—Adichie’s family tragedy has fueled widespread criticism of Nigeria’s struggling health care system on social media.
“Nigeria can happen to anyone, regardless of financial or social status. In America, Nkanu would still be alive,” one X user wrote.
Nigeria can happen to anyone, regardless of financial or social status. In America, Nkanu would still be alive.
— Aji Bussu Onye Mpiawa azụ 🇨🇮 (@AfamDeluxo) January 10, 2026
“2 Prominent Nigerians came to Nigeria for the holidays & their lives turned upside down, putting their families in disarray – Chimamanda & Anthony Joshua,” another user wrote. “Even if you have money in Nigeria, Nigeria can happen to you & mess you up. It’s not about money, it’s about sanity & survival.”
Nigerian officials have tried to improve health care through funding and training, but many urban hospitals remain overcrowded, and rural areas often lack basic services. Wealthy Nigerians, including President Bola Tinubu, whose office denies it, are known to seek treatment abroad.
Kemi Ogunyemi, Lagos State Governor’s special adviser on health, said the office has launched an investigation into the death of Adichie’s son, emphasizing a “zero tolerance for medical negligence or unprofessional conduct.”
Over the weekend, President Tinubu offered his condolences: “As a parent myself who has suffered the loss of a loved one, no grief is as devastating as losing a child.”
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Source: Black Enterprise
