Renowned writer and author of Americanah hosted award winning actress Lupita Nyong’o at a lavish reception in Lagos. The event which took place on Saturday, 22nd February 2020 was not short of celebrity appearances, as some of the biggest names and faces in Nigeria’s corporate and creative industries were in attendance. Lupita’s visit to Nigeria, is in line with preparations for the screen adaptation of Chimamanda’s novel Americanah, published in 2013.
In September 2019, it was announced that Americanah had been picked by HBO as a TV series to be produced by Brad Pitt’s company, Plan B. The 10-episode limited series will see Lupita Nyong’o not only star in the series as lead actor but also as Executive Producer, alongside other Hollywood actors including Zackary Momoh, Uzo Aduba, and Corey Hawkins. Black Panther co-star, Danai Gurira wrote the pilot and will serve as show runner.
It is worthy to note that Americanah won the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award for 2013 and has gone on to receive several recognitions across the globe. In June 2019, it was named by the Washington Post as one of The best books to read at every age, from 1 to 100.
Chimamanda wowed everyone when she introduced over a hundred guests to Lupita, saying personal things about each person and their work.
Another notable moment of the night was when Lupita shared how much of a Chimamanda fan she has been over the years. Having read Chimamannda’s first two novels – Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun, and loved them, Lupita said she pre-ordered Americanah even before it was released in 2013 and went on to pursue the writer before getting the rights to the book.
While addressing the audience, Lupita expressed her admiration for Chimamanda and her writing “I was awestruck by her ability to capture such exquisite character in a way that made me laugh but also made me feel seen,” she said. “I remember finishing the book and falling madly in love with Obinze… At this point, he’s like the standard man that I’m still looking for, [which I’m yet to find] but I just felt like this is a character that I would love to embody on screen because what I do is act and her characters were just so actable” she added.
“… So, I’m here to immerse myself and learn as much as I can in order to do the story justice,” she added, disclosing that part of Americanah will be shot in Nigeria. She also revealed that she is learning Igbo language and Pidgin.
Each guest present at the event received a signed copy of Americanah, which contained a beautiful bookmark inserted in it, where Adichie wrote: “As writers, we write hoping that our work will touch another human being. When Lupita wrote to me, I was very much moved. She was genuine and true; it was clear my novel mattered deeply to her. Of course a screen adaptation is never going to be exactly like a novel but I think it’s important that whoever adapts a novel should care about it in a very personal way. AMERICANAH is my ‘baby’ and I’m happy leaving my ‘baby’ in Lupita’s care.”
Some of the guests present at the event included D’Banj, Dakore Egbuson-Akande, Ndidi & Mezuo Nwuneli; Ruth Osime, Waje, Omawumi Megbele; Richard Mofe-Damijo, Toolz O, Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi, Femi Kuti, Onyeka Onwenu, Seun Kuti, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, Omoni Oboli, IK Osakioduwa, tara Durotoye, Flavour and many others.
