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I am convinced that Nigeria would have been a more highly developed country without the oil. I wished we’d never smelled the fumes of petroleum.

Wole Soyinka

History teaches us to beware of the excitation of the liberated and the injustices that often accompany their righteous thirst for justice.
WOLE SOYINKA

Accompany Beware Christ Excitation History Injustice Justice Liberate Other Righteous Tech
Intolerance has become, I think, the reigning ideology of the world today, the intolerance versus intolerance and it’s taken on lethal proportions.
WOLE SOYINKA

Become Ideology Intolerance Reigning Think Today Whole World
The man dies in all those that keep silent.
WOLE SOYINKA

All Die Keep Man Silent Those
Culture is a matrix of infinite possibilities and choices. From within the same culture matrix we can extract arguments and strategies for the degradation and ennoblement of our species, for its enslavement or liberation, for the suppression of its productive potential or its enhancement.
WOLE SOYINKA

Choice Culture Matrix Poosisblity
We live in a materialist world, and materialism appeals so strongly to humanity, no matter where.
WOLE SOYINKA

Appeal Humanity Live Materialist Matter Strongly
Romance is the sweetening of the soul With fragrance offered by the stricken heart.
WOLE SOYINKA

Fragrance Heart Offer Romance Soul Sticken Sweetening
The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism.
WOLE SOYINKA

Absence Criticism Freedom Greatest Threat
You accept whoever you are interacting with, directly, or indirectly.
WOLE SOYINKA

Accept Direct Indirectly Interact Whoever
But when you’re deprived of it for a lengthy period then you value human companionship. But you have to survive and so you devise all kinds of mental exercises and it’s amazing.
WOLE SOYINKA

All Companionship Deprive Devise Human Kind Length Period Survive
A tiger does not proclaim his tigritude, he pounces.
WOLE SOYINKA

Does Proclaim Pounce Tiger Tigribute
I can look violence in the face and either reject or accept it.
WOLE SOYINKA

Accept Can Either Face Reject Took Violence
You have the entire gamut of human experience captured in the mythology of the Yoruba. This is what makes the Yoruba mythology a natural source material for me in my creative endeavours.
WOLE SOYINKA

Capture Entire Experience Gamut Human Make Mythology Natural Yoruba
There’s a lot of insincerity about the actions of our legislators; they create distractions – like this anti-gay law you alluded to – and try to mobilise, to exacerbate people’s emotions. Until the legislators started making laws, people minded, generally, their own business.
WOLE SOYINKA

Action Anti Attitude Create Distraction Gay Insincerity Legislator Like Lot Mobilise Try
I cannot accept the definition of collective good as articulated by a privileged minority in society, especially when that minority is in power.
WOLE SOYINKA

Accept Articulated Collective Definition Good Minority Power Privilege Society Specially
Well, some people say I’m pessimistic because I recognize the eternal cycle of evil. All I say is, look at the history of mankind right up to this moment and what do you find?
WOLE SOYINKA

Cycle Eternal Evil People Pessimistic Recognizing Say Some
I never hesitated, as a student, in embracing the necessity of violence. In South Africa, I didn’t just accept it; I looked forward to it as a mission.
WOLE SOYINKA

Accept Country Entrance Forward Hesitate Look Mission Necessity Student Violence

I am convinced that Nigeria would have been a more highly developed country without the oil. I wished we’d never smelled the fumes of petroleum.

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I am convinced that Nigeria would have been a more highly developed country without the oil. I wished we’d never smelled the fumes of petroleum.

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