Who gets to represent Africa and what they are permitted to represent to the world?Īfrican writers being portrayed as icons isn’t new. Because of this, their disagreement, and the way it’s been portrayed, raises age old questions. But this only served to titillate and manipulate readers into taking hard and fast ideological positions without the necessary effort of paying careful attention to the actual conversation.Īligned with the publishing industry’s own marketing logic, both authors are positioned as somewhat representative of supposedly disparate “African” concerns and ways of being. Their disagreements became sensationalised in the media. Emezi repeated that Adichie’s views inflict harm on the trans community. It appeared to be a deeply personal, indeed bitter, lament on strained and broken relations.Įmezi responded with biting social media comments, saying the essay was “designed to incite hordes of transphobic Nigerians to target me”. The post was about what she viewed as the unethical behaviour of and crossing of personal and professional boundaries by former (unnamed) mentees.

The latest public disagreement between them on the issue was triggered by Adichie’s reflections on her website.

Emezi, once mentored by Adichie, responded with hurt and anger amid accusations that Adichie is transphobic – prejudiced against transgender people. Rather than affirm their status as women, Adichie stated that “transwomen are transwomen”. The very public disagreement began when Adichie presented her views on transgender women – or transwomen – in an interview in 2017. The recent media furore surrounding the “feud” between the celebrated Nigeria-born African diaspora writers Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Akwaeke Emezi conflates issues too easily.

Bitter emezi