Chinua Achebe

I wouldn't put myself under the democratic dictatorship even of angels and archangels.

Charity is the opium of the privileged,

Those who mismanage our affairs would silence our criticism by pretending they have facts not available to the rest of us. Our best weapon against them is not to marshal facts, of which they are truly managers, but passion. Passion is our hope and strength.

That we may accept a limitation on our actions but never, under no circumstances, must we accept restriction on our thinking.

As the saying goes, the unexamined life is not worth-living.

While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.

Don't disparage the day that still has an hour of light in its hand.

a man should hold his compound together, not plant dissension among his children

At first Onitsha looked very strange to Chike. He could not say who was a thief or kidnapper and who was not. In Umuofia every thief was known, but here even people who lived under the same roof were strangers to one another.

A man does not speak a lie to his son,” he said. “Remember that always. To say My father told me is to swear the greatest oath

A man of worth never gets up to unsay what he said yesterday.

That’s all they cared for,’ [Max] said with a solemn face. ‘Women, cars, landed property. But what else can you expect when intelligent people leave politics to illiterates like Chief Nanga?