Renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband, Dr Ivara Esege, have reportedly lost one of their twin sons, Nkanu Nnamdi.
According to Arise News, the 21-month-old passed away on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, after a brief illness.
Naijaonpoint reports that in February 2025, the author told The Guardian UK she kept the birth of her twin sons private to protect them.
Adichie, while speaking at the maiden edition of the ‘#WithChude Live’ concert, an event hosted by award-winning storyteller and media entrepreneur Chude Jideonwo, spoke about welcoming her boys through surrogacy.
The 47-year-old maintained that she chose to speak openly about her surrogacy journey to help more women feel less stigmatised about becoming mothers through non-traditional means.
Speaking at the event about the challenges of balancing motherhood and career, Adichie said: “I want more women to feel less ashamed of talking about reaching motherhood through non-traditional means. What I said about having my twins through surrogacy is true because there are some things you simply can’t hide. You can’t hide the existence of two perfect human beings. 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.
“I felt many women might be pressured and told, ‘Look, she’s 47 and has twins, what about you? Generally, there’s so much shame around fertility issues, and I think it’s too much of a burden for women. Women feel ashamed when they have fibroids or struggle to get pregnant. I don’t believe in that kind of shame. Some viewers even said I looked fantastic after just having a baby, and I couldn’t say thank you, because it wasn’t true. I said they were born via surrogacy. I heard there was a bit of noise about that.”