“Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.”

Each of my books is different. Deliberately. I wanted to create my society, my people, in their fullness.

If a child washed his hands, he could eat with kings.

The man that brings ant-infested faggots into his hut should not grumble when lizards begin to pay him a visit.

As a rule I don’t like suffering to no purpose. Suffering should be creative, should give birth to something good and lovely.

In fact, I thought that Christianity was very a good and a very valuable thing for us. But after a while, I began to feel that the story that I was told about this religion wasn’t perhaps completely whole, that something was left out.

People go to Africa and confirm what they already have in their heads and so they fail to see what is there in front of them.

While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.

We do not seek to hurt any man, but if any man seeks to hurt us may he break his neck.

An artist in my view is always afraid of extremists; he is always afraid of those who claim to have found the ultimate solution to any question.

The singer should sing well even if it is merely to himself, rather than dance badly for the whole world.

There is that great proverb – that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.

What a country needs to do is be fair to all its citizens – whether people are of a different ethnicity or gender.

The problem with leaderless uprisings taking over is that you don’t always know what you get at the other end. If you are not careful you could replace a bad government with one much worse!

When brothers fight to death a stranger inherit their father’s estate.

I prefer to go on trying all kinds of things, not to be told, This is the way it is done.

Every lizard lies on its belly, so we cannot tell which has a belly-ache

So many of our conversations (about affirmative action) have been dishonest

And surely one of the best rules in conversation is, never to say a thing which any of the company can reasonably wish had been left unsaid.

Argument is the worst sort of conversation.

You’re always in a rush, or else you’re too exhausted to have a proper conversation. Soon enough, the long hours, the traveling, the broken sleep have all crept into your being and become part of you, so everyone can see it, in your posture, your gaze, the way you move and talk.

Our inner conversations often block our natural energy of peace, happiness and love.

A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That’s why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.

Apply this simple rule to your conversations: If you wouldn’t write it down and sign it, don’t say it.

Our inner conversations often block our natural energy of peace, happiness and love.