Renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has expressed concern over the economic situation in the country, saying many middle-class citizens who once lived modest but stable lives have now been pushed into begging for survival.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Amazing Africans, Adichie said the true measure of any political or economic success lies in how ordinary people are faring. She described the current reality as disturbing.
“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,” she said.
She noted that the cost of living, particularly food prices, has soared to levels that make survival a daily struggle for millions.
“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,” she added.
The award-winning novelist said while discussions about the stock market and other economic indicators dominate headlines, what truly matters is the well-being of those earning minimum wage or struggling to survive.
“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 is the suffering that worries me the most. And it is terrible,” she said.
Adichie warned that extreme hardship can push people into making desperate and dangerous choices.
“It is 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 is dangerous to society,” she said.
Reflecting on her career, Adichie revealed that her debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, faced up to 25 rejections before it was finally published. However, she never considered abandoning writing, describing it as a divine calling.
“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 is a bit spiritual. I feel that is a gift that I am given, and so even if I had not 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,” she said.
