You go to conferences, and your fellow African intellectuals – and even heads of state – they all say: ‘Nigeria is a big disappointment. It is the shame of the African continent.’
One, a mass movement from within, which, as you know, is constantly being put down brutally but which, again, regroups and moves forward as is happening right now as we are speaking.
A tiger does not proclaim his tigritude, he pounces.
It’s the place to begin, always – to return to home, literally.
I can look violence in the face and either reject or accept it.
There is not a special imposition on writers to be activists. All that does is encourage writers to write propaganda.
There is something really horrific for any human being who feels he is being consumed by other people.
The idea of having to make constant reference to politics is anathema to my calling as a writer.
As I grew older and more mature, I’ve been able to move beyond the immediate response of violence to a projection of the pragmatic, political consequences of that violence. So it’s an effort to attain equilibrium.
Writers who open up horizons for other people are performing a function every bit as important as a consciously politicized writer.
The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.
The arrogant elimination of the Djaouts of our world must nerve us to pursue our own combative doctrine, namely: that peaceful cohabitation on this planet demands that while the upholders of any creed are free to adopt their own existential absolutes, the right of others to do the same is thereby rendered implicit and sacrosanct. Thus the creed of inquiry, of knowledge and exchange of ideas, must be upheld as an absolute, as ancient and eternal as any other.
For the fire consumes all but the arsonist.
If you believe in democracy, are you not thereby obliged to accept, without discrimination, the fall-outs that come with a democratic choice, even if this means the termination of the democratic process itself?
Today, the constituency of fear has become much broader, far less selective.
The fault, of course, is not in religion, but in the fanatic of every religion. Fanaticism remains the greatest carrier of the spores of fear, and the rhetoric of religion, with the hysteria it so readily generates, is fast becoming the readiest killing device of contemporary times.
For now, let us simply observe that the assault on human dignity is one of the prime goals of the visitation of fear, a prelude to the domination of the mind and the triumph of power.
In one form or the other, the quest for human dignity has proved to be one of the most propulsive elements for wars, civil strife and willing sacrifice. Yet the entitlement to dignity, enshrined among the ‘human rights’, does not aspire to being the most self-evident, essential need for human survival, such as food, or physical health. Compared to that other candidate for the basic impulse of human existence – self-preservation – it may even be deemed self-indulgent.
A tiger doesn’t proclaim its tigerness; it jumps on its prey.
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...
Books and all forms of writing have always been objects of terror to those who seek to suppress truth.