•Chimamanda Adichie
Iconic Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says the suffering of ordinary Nigerians is what worries her most about the country’s current economic situation.
Chimamanda lamented that the ongoing hardship has reduced many middle-class Nigerians, who were previously managing to get by, to the point of begging.
In an exclusive interview on Channels Television, Adichie stated that the most important political judgment one can make is based on how ordinary citizens are faring.
“Life has become so hard in Nigeria, and me I can see it. For example, people who were formerly kind of securely middle class, not that life was rosy for them, but they got by — are now people who beg and are in need. That worries me greatly,” Adichie said.
“The level of suffering, how expensive food has become… I think the biggest political judgment one can make is about the lives of ordinary people.
“People talk about the stock market. Personally, I don’t really care about those sorts of things. What I care about is: that person earning minimum wage, how is that person getting on in this economy? It’s the suffering that worries me the most. And it’s terrible.”
While not excusing crime, the writer noted that when life becomes difficult, people often begin to consider actions they wouldn’t ordinarily contemplate.
“It’s not to excuse crime, but I think when life gets very hard, even people who before would not have considered certain things suddenly are willing to, and that’s dangerous to society,” she said.
Adichie also spoke on her writing career, saying that despite receiving as many as 25 rejections for her debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, she never considered giving up.
She emphasised that she would have continued writing even if she had never been published.
According to Chimamanda, writing is a divine gift, something she considers spiritual and believes to be her primary purpose on earth.
“The thought of quitting writing is never an option for me because writing is my vocation. Writing is really what I believe I am here to do; it’s a bit spiritual.
“I feel that is a gift that I am given, and so even if I hadn’t been published, I would still be writing today. So, the idea of giving up writing was never an option. But it (the rejection) was demoralising,” Chimamanda said.
