Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was the guest of honor, opening the third La Nuit Des Idees, or The Night of Ideas, hosted by Institute Français.
She was in conversation with French journalist Caroline Broué, to discuss her "commitments to the fight against inequality between men and women, her convictions with respect to the role that African countries should play in globalization," and more.
However, things got a little awkward and side-eye worthy when Broué asked Adichie whether Nigeria has bookstores.
Here's the clip (the exchange begins around 0:28):
If you see closely, both Chimamanda and Broué are wearing earpieces to understand each other via translators in real time. With how this exchange is sparking discussion on Twitter, could there have been a slight misunderstanding (or misinterpretation)? The literal translation for librairies in French is "bookstore" in English, not "libraries"—but does that change the willful ignorance?
For some, Adichie could've also used this slight as an opportunity to acknowledge the disparity of public access that exists in Nigeria.
Watch the conversation in full below.
