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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

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
Writers are human. I shudder to think how I must sometimes appear to others.
WOLE SOYINKA

Appear Human Other Shudder Sometimes Think Winter
The writer is the visionary of his people… He anticipates, he warns.
WOLE SOYINKA

Anticipate People Visionary Warm Water
And I believe that the best learning process of any kind of craft is just to look at the work of others.
WOLE SOYINKA

Believe Best Kind Learn Look Other Process Work
Arts and the Sciences are a natural symbiosis. They stem from the same human existential impulse – exploration. Exploration of what lies beneath the surface, and re-confuguration of elements of what we call reality.
WOLE SOYINKA

Existential Exploration Human Impulse Natural Same Science Stem Symbiosis
It’s the place to begin, always — to return to home, literally.
WOLE SOYINKA

Always Begin Home Literally Place Return
You accept whoever you are interacting with, directly, or indirectly.
WOLE SOYINKA

Accept Direct Indirectly Interact Whoever
I am a very curious person; I’ll always ask: is this thing true, is it not true? And I use my own means to investigate and come to my conclusion.
WOLE SOYINKA

Always Ask Curious Person Thing True Very
I have no money to give to you but I have ideas and organizational capacity.
WOLE SOYINKA

Capacity Give Idea Money Organizational You
Well, the first thing is that truth and power for me form an antithesis, an antagonism, which will hardly ever be resolved. I can define in fact, can simplify the history of human society, the evolution of human society, as a contest between power and freedom.
WOLE SOYINKA

Antagonism Anthisesis Even First Form Hardly Power Resolve Thing Truth Well
I rarely use mythology for its own sake because, as a theatre person, the mythological figures are in fact humanity to the ninth degree and Yoruba mythology in particular has fascination of being one of the most humanised mythologies in the world.
WOLE SOYINKA

Because Degree Fact Figure Humanity Mythological Mythology Ninth Own Person Rarely Sake Theatre
The hand that dips into the bottom of the pot will eat the biggest snail.
WOLE SOYINKA

Biggest Bottom Dip Eat Hard Pot Small
I’m not one of those writers I learned about who get up in the morning, put a piece of paper in their typewriter machine and start writing. That I’ve never understood.
WOLE SOYINKA

Learn Machine Morning Paper Piece Put Start Typewriter Writer Writing
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
See, even despite pious statements to the contrary, much of the industrialized world has not yet come to terms with the recognition of the fallacy of what I call the strong man syndrome.
WOLE SOYINKA

Come Contrary Despite Even Fallacy Industrialized Pious Recognition See Statement Term World

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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