Wole Soyinka Quotes

Wild Christian shushed him, but I saw no difference in both their attitudes. I was overwhelmed by only one fact- there was neither justice nor logic in the world of grown-ups

Yes, you know damned well what you should have done if you sincerely desired their surrender. You could have dropped it [the atom bomb] on one of their mountains, even in the sea, anywhere they could see what would happen if they persisted in the war, but you chose instead to drop it on peopled cities. I know you, the white mentality: Japanese, Chinese, Africans, we are all subhuman. You would drop an atom bomb on Abeokuta or any of your colonies if it suited you

Things do not always happen as one plans. There are many disappointments in life. There is always the unexpected. You plan carefully, you decide on one step after another, and then...well, that is life. We are not God. So you see, one cannot afford to be weighed down by the unexpected. You will find that only determination will bring one through, sheer determination. And faith in God. Don't ever neglect your prayers....

Because he could not bear to let honour fly out of doors, he stopped it with his life. The son has proved the father Elesin, and there is nothing left in your mouth to gnash but infant gums.

Then I slowly realised that your greatest art is the art of survival. But at least have the humility to let others survive in their own way.

Is there now a streak of light at the end of the passage, a light I dare not look upon?

You know this business has to be stopped, Simon. And you are the only man who can do it.

When they get this way there is nothing you can do. It's simply hammering against a brick wall.

This market is my roost. When I come among the women I am a chicken with a hundred mothers.

A tiger doesn't proclaim his tigritude, he pounces

I have always held the view that when you have that situation, you must refuse to be part of it

The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism

For me, justice is the first condition of humanity.

Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't going away

Books and all forms of writing have always been objects of terror to those who seek to suppress truth.