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Intolerance has always been with us, you know. The moment you have ideology, we have intolerance, whether it’s the secular ideology or, you know ideocratic ideology, which always brings with it some kind of intolerance.

Wole Soyinka

. . . as far as the regime is concerned, well, the play is sheer terror for them. Because they feel, How dare – how dare anybody lift his or her voice in criticism against us? We have the guns. Their level of paranoia and power-drunkenness is unbelievable.
WOLE SOYINKA

Concern Far Feel Play Regime Sheer Terror Well
Governance can dig itself into a huge hole and not even know it’s in there.
WOLE SOYINKA

Dig Even Governance Huge Itself Know There
The media owes the responsibility to constantly tell the public the truth.
WOLE SOYINKA

Constantly Media Public Responsibility Truth
Looking at faces of people, one gets the feeling there’s a lot of work to be done.
WOLE SOYINKA

Done Face Feel Get Look Lot People Work
I said: “A tiger does not proclaim his tigritude, he pounces”. In other words: a tiger does not stand in the forest and say: “I am a tiger”. When you pass where the tiger has walked before, you see the skeleton of the duiker, you know that some tigritude has been emanated there.
WOLE SOYINKA

Other Prince Proclaim Say Stand Tiger Tignitude Word
Don’t take shadows too seriously. Reality is your only safety. Continue to reject illusion.
WOLE SOYINKA

Continue Illusion Reality Reject Safety Seriously Shadow
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
The hand that dips into the bottom of the pot will eat the biggest snail.
WOLE SOYINKA

Biggest Bottom Dip Eat Hard Pot Small
Very conscious of the fact that an effort was being made to destroy my mind, because I was deprived of books, deprived of any means of writing, deprived of human companionship. You never know how much you need it until you’re deprived of it.
WOLE SOYINKA

Being Book Conscious Deprive Destroy Effort Fact Made Mean Mind Very Writing
I believe that each writer must decide in which language he or she is most comfortable.
WOLE SOYINKA

Believe Comfortable Each Language Most Must Decide Writer
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
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
A tiger does not proclaim his tigritude, he pounces.
WOLE SOYINKA

Does Proclaim Pounce Tiger Tigribute
The media must be used effectively to reach the masses. You have to find a new language in which to address the people and demonstrate what is possible.
WOLE SOYINKA

Address Demonstrate Effectively Find Language Mass Media Must New People Reach Use
Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth.
WOLE SOYINKA

All Book Form Suppress Terror Truth Wish Write
Power is domination, control, and therefore a very selective form of truth which is a lie.
WOLE SOYINKA

Control Domination Form Lie Power Selective Therefore Truth
My father used to tell me stories before I fell asleep. When the children would gather, at a certain point, I had a tendency to make up my own elementary variations on stories I had heard, or to invent totally new ones.
WOLE SOYINKA

Asleep Certain Children Father Fell Gather Point Story Use
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
I consider the process of gestation just as important as when you’re actually sitting down putting words to the paper.
WOLE SOYINKA

Actually Consider Gestation Important Process Put Sitmsown Word
Writers are human. I shudder to think how I must sometimes appear to others.
WOLE SOYINKA

Appear Human Other Shudder Sometimes Think Winter
For me, a writer is already being the deuce of his mission, his occupation to society.
WOLE SOYINKA

Already Being Deuce Mission Occupation Society Writer
For me, justice is the prime condition of humanity.
WOLE SOYINKA

Condition For Humanity Justice Prime
It is the human potentials that interest me. I travel and everywhere I go I am amazed at the presence of Nigerians. The intelligence, integrity, productivity, initiative.
WOLE SOYINKA

Amaze Country Everywhere Human Interest People Person Potential Presence Travel
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
I think that feeling that if one believed absolutely in any cause, then one must have the confidence, the self-certainty, to go through with that particular course of action.
WOLE SOYINKA

Absolute Believe Cause Certainty Confidence Feel Must One Self Think Through
I began writing early – very, very early… I was already writing short stories for the radio and selling poems to poetry and art festivals; I was involved in school plays; I wrote essays, so there was no definite moment when I said, ‘Now I’m a writer.’ I’ve always been a writer.
WOLE SOYINKA

Began Early Festival Poem Poetry Selling Short Story Very Writing
We live in a materialist world, and materialism appeals so strongly to humanity, no matter where.
WOLE SOYINKA

Appeal Humanity Live Materialist Matter Strongly

Intolerance has always been with us, you know. The moment you have ideology, we have intolerance, whether it’s the secular ideology or, you know ideocratic ideology, which always brings with it some kind of intolerance.

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Popular Authors

Intolerance has always been with us, you know. The moment you have ideology, we have intolerance, whether it’s the secular ideology or, you know ideocratic ideology, which always brings with it some kind of intolerance.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Wole Soyinka Quotes