Prominent Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was one of the panellists at the 2018 edition of the Night of Ideas (Nuit Des Idees) in Paris where she served a French interviewer for asking an ignorant question about Nigeria.
The event, which held on Thursday, Jan. 25, was organised by the Cultural Office of the French Embassy and held at the Quai D’Orsay, a stone platform on the edge of the Seine river in Paris.
Chimamanda Adichie, who is most known as for her work as a novelist and social commentator, was interviewed regarding culture and ideas in her home country, Nigeria.
During the event, she was asked if Nigerians read her books to which she replied in the affirmative.
Although Chimamanda admits that the interviewer, Caroline Broue was intelligent, she was taken aback when she sprayed some ignorance on the podium.
WAIT, WHAT?!!
“Do they have libraries in Nigeria”, the interviewer asked.
“What?”, was the writer’s response.
The interviewer returned, “I ask because people in France don’t know about Nigeria. They only know about Boko Haram”.
Chimamanda, never one to shy away from setting the record straight, responded, “I think it reflects poorly on France that you asked that question.”
Adichie has since said that it appeared the French word “Librairie” was translated to “libraries”, when it actually means “bookshops”. Still, the baseless ignorant suggestion of Nigeria as a country of illiterates with no reading culture is painfully demeaning.
No-one expects the interviewer to know everything about Nigeria; it is the same way that few Nigerians can boast of knowing everything about France, but to suggest that Nigeria has no bookshops is utterly debasing.
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