Renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and
her husband, Dr Ivara Esege, have lost one of their twin sons, Nkanu Nnamdi.
The child passed away on Wednesday, January 7, 2026,
after a brief illness. The family is said to be devastated by the loss and has
appealed for privacy as they mourn.
President Bola Tinubu has expressed his condolences to
the bereaved family in a personally signed statement issued on Thursday.
“With a deep sense of grief, I condole with Ms
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, her husband, Dr Ivara Esege, and the entire family on
the passing of their son, Nkanu Nnamdi,” the president said.
“As a parent myself who has suffered the loss of a
loved one, no grief is as devastating as losing a child. I empathise deeply
with the family at this difficult time and mourn this sad loss with them.”
President Tinubu described Adichie as a global
literary icon and prayed that she and her family would find strength and
comfort in God during what he called a trying and painful moment.
Adichie and Esege, who got married in 2009, welcomed
their first child, a daughter, in 2016.
In 2025, the award-winning author revealed that she
had welcomed twin boys through surrogacy, sharing the news publicly for the
first time during the maiden edition of the #WithChude Live concert in
May of that year.
Earlier, in April 2025, while speaking on the debut
live edition of the #WithChude talk show, Adichie explained her decision
to be open about her journey to motherhood, saying she hoped it would help
reduce the stigma many women face around fertility challenges.
“I want more women to feel less ashamed of talking
about reaching motherhood through non-traditional means,” she said. “People got
carried away with the idea that I’m 47 and have babies. But I don’t lie about
things that could have consequences for others.”
She also criticised the culture of shame surrounding
women’s reproductive health, describing it as an unnecessary burden placed on
women.
“There is so much shame around issues of fertility,
and I just think it’s too much of a burden for women,” she added.
The Half of a Yellow Sun author, who released
her latest book Dream Count in 2025, had previously announced the
arrival of her twins in February 2025 but deliberately kept their identities
private, consistent with her long-standing preference for protecting her family
from public scrutiny.
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