Nigerian novelist and writer of short stories, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has shared a story from a few years back of how her dad was kidnapped. The Half of a Yellow Sun writer made the revelation in a recently published article in the United States. According to a profile article written by The New Yorker, In 2015, during her pregnancy, Adichie was informed by her husband and brother (Kene) that her father had been kidnapped during his journey from Nsukka to Aba.
"Her husband told her that her father had been kidnapped, and she screamed, then vomited, then started to cry," writes The New Yorker.
The suspected kidnappers phoned her mother two hours after the incident to confirm that elder Adichie had been truly kidnapped, they did not make any demands till the next day.
During this period of silence, Chimamanda Adichie called the Governor of Anambra state, her home state and the US consul-general in Lagos because her father is a citizen.
The consul provided her with a kidnapping expert from the F.B.I. who assisted her mum when the kidnappers demanded a ransom of N5M, which they increased to N10M the next day.
"Okey drove to a point on the highway near Nsukka, then, as instructed, set off on a motorcycle taxi for the designated meeting place, carrying ten million naira in a sack. Nobody knew if he would be seen again" writes the New Yorker.
Thankfully he was seen again and Chimamanda's father too. After the cruel ordeal, Chimamanda's parents got on a flight to America to meet their daughter.
According to the article, the ordeal made Professor David Adichie look frail and jumpy. "He rambled when he spoke" further writes The New Yorker.
Owing to the bad experience, Chimamanda Adichie did not go to Nigeria or read news about Nigeria for six months.
