Chinua Achebe – Quotes

It is difficult to

It is difficult to express the reality of Ibo society in classical English. Chinua Achebe

I find Nigeria very frustrating. I am not alone in this. There are many Nigerians abroad. As you know, the brain drain is just incredible. And when we talk to one another and there is a certain sense of frustration and but I struggle not to let the frustration degenerate into dispair. Chinua Achebe

What kind of power

What kind of power was it if it would never be used? Chinua Achebe

Colonial rule means that

Colonial rule means that power, initiative is taken away from you by somebody else who makes your decisions. If that goes on long enough, beyond one generation, then the habit of self-rule is forgotten. People are no longer able to realize what it means. To be dependant for a hundred years! And suddenly when this … Read more

Almost nobody dances sober,

Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane. H. P. LOVECRAFT, attributed, Telling It Like It Is Dancing is very important nowadays. No girl will look at you if you can’t dance. Chinua Achebe

I feel that the

I feel that the English language will be able to carry the weight of my African experience. But it will have to be a new English, still in full communion with its ancestral home but altered to suit new African surroundings. Chinua Achebe

We have heard stories

We have heard stories about white men who make the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas, but no one thought the stories were true. [said Obierika]There is no story that is not true, said Uchendu. The world has no end, and what is good among one people is … Read more

I know that an

I know that an important message is not a novel. To say that we should all be kind to our neighbors is an important statement; it’s not a novel. Chinua Achebe

Good leaders, competent leaders

Good leaders, competent leaders must see it as primary task to create friendliness. This something within the scope of most people. Now artists, like writers and sort of course have an added option of using their scale and talent with this in view. It is their business to create an environment in which our people … Read more

If I say look

If I say look unless you change your leaders I will not give you any aid, you are likely to have people who say: To the hell with you, we will struggle on the way but we will do it. Therefore what I am saying is – and I do not whether it is coming … Read more