Chinua Achebe Quotes & Sayings (Page 3)

“But I liked Yeats! That wild Irishman. I really loved his love of language, his flow. His chaotic ideas seemed to me just the right thing for a poet. Passion! He was always on the right side. He may be wrongheaded, but his heart was always on the right side. He wrote beautiful poetry.”

“When the British came to Ibo land, for instance, at the beginning of the 20th century, and defeated the men in pitched battles in different places, and set up their administrations, the men surrendered. And it was the women who led the first revolt.”

“People create stories create people; or rather stories create people create stories.”

“I don't care about age very much. I think back to the old people I knew when I was growing up, and they always seemed larger than life.”

“An artist, in my understanding of the word, should side with the people against the Emperor that oppresses his or her people.”

“Nigera is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be.”

“The problem with leaderless uprisings taking over is that you don't always know what you get at the other end. If you are not careful you could replace a bad government with one much worse!”

“The damage done in one year can sometimes take ten or twenty years to repair.”

“I think back to the old people I knew when I was growing up, and they always seemed larger than life.”

“They have not always elected the best leaders, particularly after a long period in which they have not used this facility of free election. You tend to lose the habit.”