Wole Soyinka quotes - page 3

Seven is the magic figure, because that's a symbolic figure of my favorite deity, Ogun. (Wole Soyinka)
I've always written plays for the purpose of getting something out of my system. View quote
Wole Soyinka
After the death of the sadistic dictator Gen. Sanni Abacha in 1998, Nigeria underwent a one-year transitional military administration headed by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, who uncharacteristically bowed out precisely on the promised date for military disengagement. Did the military truly disengage, however? No. View quote
Wole Soyinka
African film makers are scraping by on a mere pittance. View quote
Wole Soyinka
All religions accept that there is something called 'criminality.' And criminality cannot be excused by religious fervour. View quote
Wole Soyinka
I'm not sure I'm trying to communicate a message. I'm just trying to be part of the movement away from the unacceptable present. View quote
Wole Soyinka
Before you're a writer, you're a citizen, a human being, and therefore the weapons of the citizen are at your disposal to use or not use. View quote
Wole Soyinka
I'm not fond of biographies. I don't like writing about myself. View quote
Wole Soyinka
I don't have the sort of temperament that submits to Christianity or Islam. View quote
Wole Soyinka
Some people think the Nobel Prize makes you bullet-proof. I never had that illusion. View quote
Wole Soyinka
An excessive amount of my time is taken with political involvement. It's unavoidable; that's my temperament. (Wole Soyinka)
You always assume for some strange reason that you need three meals a day. View quote
Wole Soyinka
History teaches us to beware of the excitation of the liberated and the injustices that often accompany their righteous thirst for justice. View quote
Wole Soyinka
Some of the greatest uprisings and consequent civil wars in Mexico have centered squarely on the ownership of land. View quote
Wole Soyinka
Politics, I believe, is a full-time occupation. View quote
Wole Soyinka
Military dictatorship, you can focus on it, you can fight it directly. It's a band of power-driven people. View quote
Wole Soyinka
Writing in certain environments carries with it an occupational risk. View quote
Wole Soyinka
I'm an Afro-realist. I take what comes, and I do my best to affect what is unacceptable in society. View quote
Wole Soyinka
Education is lacking in most of those who pontificate. View quote
Wole Soyinka
I don't know any other way to live but to wake up every day armed with my convictions, not yielding them to the threat of danger and to the power and force of people who might despise me. View quote
Wole Soyinka
I am a glutton for tranquility. (Wole Soyinka)
Human life has meaning only to that degree and as long as it is lived in the service of humanity. View quote
Wole Soyinka
Being the first black Nobel laureate, and the first African, the African world considered me personal property. I lost the remaining shreds of my anonymity, even to walk a few yards in London, Paris or Frankfurt without being stopped. View quote
Wole Soyinka
I like my peace and quiet whenever I can grab it. View quote
Wole Soyinka
I take friendship very seriously. View quote
Wole Soyinka