| Sani | Abacha | Army officer, dictator and former de facto President of Nigeria. |
| Dr. | Achufusi | Family doctor. |
| Mr. | Agbo | Ifemelu's former teacher. |
| Mrs. | Akin-Cole | Old woman from a famously old family. |
| Lawrence | Anini | Nigerian bandit who terrorised Benin City in the 80's. |
| Ibrahim | Babangida | Retired Nigerian Army General and former President of Nigeria. |
| Dr. | Bingham | One of Laura's doctors. |
| Miss | Brown | Dike's babysitter. |
| Aunty | Chinelo | Obinze's mother's friend. |
| Kayode | DaSilva | The coolest boy in school. |
| Baba | Flower | Uju's gardener. |
| Kelechi | Garuba | Shan's Nigerian friend. |
| Pastor | Gideon | Pastor at Guiding Assembly. |
| Dr. | Hoffman | One of Laura's doctors. |
| Professor | Hunk | One of Ifemelu's teachers. |
| Obinze | Maduewesi | Ifemelu's first love. Aka The Zed, Ceiling. |
| Miss | Margaret | Cashier at the cafeteria. |
| Professor | Moore | Ifemelu's teacher. |
| Olusegun | Obasanjo | Former President of Nigeria. |
| Vincent | Obi | The man who sold Obinze his National Insurance number. |
| Mrs. | Ojo | One of the members of Miracle Spring. |
| Okoli | Okafor | Obinze's former classmate. Aka: Okoli Paparazzi. |
| Ngozi | Okonkwo | One of Uju's friends. |
| Uche | Okoye | One of Obinze's friends. |
| Onenu | Onenu | Publisher of Zoe. |
| Onyeka | Onwenu | Nigerian singer. |
| Mekkus | Parara | Used to have a crush with Ginika. |
| Tunde | Razaq | Lagos playboy. |
| Crystal | Smith | Okoli's soon to be wife. |
| Mervin | Smith | Taxi driver. |
| Roy | Snell | Obinze's boss. |
| Mr. | Tolu | Photographer. |
| Cristina | Tomas | Member of the student affair. |
| Don | Turner | Kimberly's husband. |
| Kimberly | Turner | Ifemelu's propected employer. Aka: Kim. |
| Mr. | White | Security guard at the library. |
| Abe | | Ifemelu's crush at school. |
| Adamma | | One of the guests in Chief's party. |
| Adamu | | Uju's gateman. |
| Adesuwa | | One of Uju's friends. |
| Agnes | | House help. |
| Ahmed | | One of the Big Guys. |
| Aisha | | One of Mariama's braiders. |
| Akunne | | Ifemelu's father's almost-cousin. |
| Alexa | | One of Emenike and Georgina's friend. |
| Allison | | One of Ifemelu's roommates. |
| Alma | | Dike's babysitter. |
| Amara | | Uju's acquaintance. |
| Amy | | Ifemelu's co-worker. |
| Araminta | | Blaine's best friend. |
| Araminta | | One of Blaine's friends. |
| Ashanti | | Shan's friend. |
| Ashleigh | | Curt's cousin. |
| Athena | | Laura's daughter. |
| Augustina | | House help. |
| Awka | | Hezekiah's cousin |
| Ayo | | Ifemelu's driver. |
| Bartholomew | | Uju's new boyfriend. |
| Benny | | Marcia's husband. |
| Bill | | A writer. |
| Bisola | | One of Ifemelu's old acquaintances. |
| Blaine | | Ifemelu's boyfriend. |
| Bose | | One of Ojiugo's friends. |
| Boubacar | | Senegalese professor. |
| Brad | | One of Curt's friend. |
| Brown | | The man who sort out Obinze's driving license. |
| Buchi | | Obinze's daughter. |
| Bunmi | | Ifemelu's mother's colleague. |
| Chelcy | | One of the salesperson. |
| Chetachi | | Ifemelu's old neighbor. |
| Chidi | | One of Obinze's friends. |
| Chief | | Very rich man who helped Obinze earn his fortune. |
| Chijioke | | Cab driver. One of Aisha's boyfriends. |
| Chika | | One of Ojiugo's friends. |
| Chikodili | | One of Uju's house helps. |
| Chioma | | Kosi's sister. |
| Christiana | | Buchi's nanny. |
| Christie | | One of the girls in Guiding Assembly. |
| Claire | | Curt's aunt. |
| Cleotilde | | Work for the Angolans marriage for papers scheme. Aka: Cleo. |
| Curtis | | Kimberly's cousin. Aka: Curt. |
| Danny | | Dike's friend. |
| Dapo | | One of Ahmed's visitors. |
| David | | Shan's editor. |
| Dele | | One of Obinze's friends. |
| Dike | | Ifemelu's cousin. |
| Don | | Ranyinudo's boyfriend. |
| Doris | | One of the editors at Zoe. |
| Dorothy | | Waitress in Center City. |
| Duerdinhito | | One of Brazilian cleaning crew. Aka: Dee. |
| Edusco | | Obinze's business acuaintance. |
| Elena | | One of Ifemelu's roommates. |
| Elizabeth | | One of Jane's children. |
| Elohor | | Kosi's best friend. |
| Emeka | | Security guard. One of Aisha's boyfriends. |
| Emenike | | One of the Big Guys. |
| Esther | | Receptionist at Zoe. |
| Eze | | Owner of oil wells. |
| Ferdinand | | One of Chief's acquaintances. |
| Fred | | A guy Ifemelu's met at the bar. |
| Funke | | Ranyinudo's friend. |
| Gabriel | | Obinze's driver. |
| Georgina | | Emenike's wife. |
| Ghanaian | | Cleaning lady. |
| Ginika | | Ifemelu's close friend. |
| Grace | | Korean-American woman who taught African-American studies. |
| Hadome | | Obinze's schoolmate. |
| Haley | | Dike's group leader at camp. |
| Haley | | Nigel's girlfriend . |
| Halima | | Mariama's sister. |
| Hannah | | One of Emenike and Georgina's friend. |
| Hari | | Ginika's Indian friend. |
| Hezekiah | | One of Obinze's acuaintance. |
| Ibinabo | | One of the officers of Guiding Assembly. |
| Ibrahim | | A guy Ranyinudo used to date. |
| Ifemelunamma | | Lifestyle blog writer. Aka: Ifemelu, Ifemsco, Ifem. |
| Ijeoma | | Funke's friend. |
| Ikenna | | One of Ifemelu's old acquaintances. |
| Iloba | | Obinze's cousin. |
| Inyang | | One of Uju's house helps. |
| Isioma | | One of Kosi's friends from church. |
| Jackie | | One of Ifemelu's roommates. |
| Jamal | | Apartment super. |
| Jane | | Uju's neighbor. |
| Jecinta | | Ifemelu's former house help. |
| Jennifer | | One of the salesperson. |
| Jerry | | Shan's boyfriend who died. |
| Jessica | | Ginika's Japanese American friend. |
| Joan | | Maribelle's girlfriend. |
| Jonathan | | One of Kosi's friends from church. |
| Jorge | | Doorman at Shan's apartment. |
| Junior | | One of Jane's children. |
| Kavanagh | | Assistant history professor. |
| Kelsey | | One of Mariama's customer. |
| Kemi | | One of Uju's friends. |
| Kofi | | One of the members of the African Students Association. |
| Kosi | | Obinze's wife. |
| Kweku | | Divorced Ghanaian doctor. |
| Laura | | Kimberly's sister. |
| Luc | | French man Shan met at the airport. |
| Marcia | | Blaine's friend. |
| Mariama | | Owner of Mariama African Hair Braiding. |
| Maribelle | | Shan's friend. |
| Marie | | Kosi's housegirl. |
| Mark | | Georgina's old friend. |
| Marlon | | Jane's husband. |
| Martha | | Kimberly's former babysitter. |
| Michael | | Photographer. One of Blaine's friends. |
| Mofe | | Ifemelu's ex-boyfriend. |
| Mohammed | | Obinze's gateman. |
| Morenike | | Olu's ex-wife. |
| Morgan | | Kimberly's daughter. Aka: Morg. |
| Mwombeki | | Double major student. |
| Nathan | | Literature professor. |
| Ndudi | | A guy Ranyinudo met at Ijeoma's wedding. |
| Nicholas | | Obinze's cousin. |
| Nigel | | One of Obinze's co-workers. |
| Nkechi | | One of Uju's friends. |
| Nna | | One of Ojiugo's children. |
| Nne | | One of Ojiugo's children. |
| Nneoma | | Obinze's cousin. |
| Nosa | | One of Obinze's friends. |
| Obianuju | | Ifemelu's aunt. Aka: Uju. |
| Odein | | Student activist. |
| Oga | | Uju's lover, benefactor. Aka: The General. |
| Ojiugo | | Nicholas's wife. |
| Okwudiba | | Obinze's closest friend. |
| Olga | | Uju's Russian friend. |
| Olu | | One of Ahmed's visitors. |
| Olujimi | | Uju's ex-boyfriend. |
| Omar | | The sexiest man in New York according to Shan. |
| Osahon | | One of the Big Guys. |
| Ovidio | | Shan's boyfriend. |
| Ozavisa | | One of Uju's friends. |
| Patrick | | One of Obinze's co-workers. |
| Paula | | Blaine's ex-girlfriend. |
| Pee | | Paula's girlfriend also named Paula. |
| Peter | | A guy from Wisconsin. |
| Phillip | | One of Emenike and Georgina's friend. |
| Priye | | One of Ginika and Ifemelu's friends. |
| Ranyinudo | | Ifemelu's old friend in Lagos. Aka: Ranyi. |
| Rob | | The man Ifemelu cheated with. |
| Ruth | | Ifemelu's counselor at the career services office. |
| Samantha | | Ifemelu's class friend. |
| Shan | | Blaine's sister. |
| Sike | | Ahmed's wife. |
| Sola | | Uju's driver. |
| Stephanie | | Ginika's friend. Aka: Steph. |
| Stephanie | | Ginika's Chinese American friend. |
| Taylor | | Kimberly's son. |
| Tendai | | The woman Obinze met at a party. |
| Teresa | | One of Ginika's friend. |
| Tochi | | One of Ginika and Ifemelu's friends. |
| Uche | | One of Uju's friends. |
| Vivian | | Ifemelu's old classmate. |
| Wale | | One of Obinze's friends. |
| Wambui | | President of the African Students Association. |
| Yagazie | | One of Ifemelu's old acquaintances. |
| Yemi | | Newspaper journalist. |
| Yinka | | Kayode's girlfriend. |
| Zemaye | | Assistant editor at Zoe. |
