Nigeria Quotes

• Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no 'Nigerians' in the same sense as there are 'English,' 'Welsh,' or 'French.' The word 'Nigerian' is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do not.

  Obafemi Awolowo

  Expression, Politician, Boundaries

  352 Copy quote

• There is no country in the world with the diversity, confidence and talent and black pride like Nigeria.

  Binyavanga Wainaina

  Country, Pride, Diversity

  "Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan Author, Comes Out As Gay To Challenge Homophobic Laws", www.huffingtonpost.com. January 21, 2014.

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• The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.

  Chinua Achebe

  Responsibility, Air, Land

  Chinua Achebe (1984). “The Trouble with Nigeria”, p.1, Heinemann

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• We want to lead a country where people will be less greedy. Where people will know that the commonwealth of Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians, where people's wealth depends on the people around you. If you become a rich person and everyone around you is poor you are very poor.

  Goodluck Jonathan

  Country, People, Want

  Interview with Isha Sesay, www.cnn.com. September 30, 2010.

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• The worth of a child born and bred in Nigeria cannot be compared to that in the United States.

  Yakubu Gowon

  Children, Usa, United States

  56 Copy quote

• Nigeria is one of the best-kept secrets.

  Aliko Dangote

  Best Kept Secrets, Secret, Kept Secrets

  45 Copy quote

• Nigeria has no business with poverty. With our human and material resources, we shall strive to eradicate poverty from our country.

  Olusegun Obasanjo

  Country, Poverty, Strive

  20 Copy quote

• Change Won’t Happen Immediately, as Nigeria’s Problems Didn’t Start Overnight

  Mo Abudu

  Starting Over, Problem, Happens

  5 Copy quote

• In Nigeria, there is energy, whether it is Lagos, which is sheer anarchy, but it is not lethargic. It is strong, even aggressive and if that energy could be directed to work it will produce really enormous results.

  Chinua Achebe

  Strong, Energy, Anarchy

  Source: www.ehlingmedia.com

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• The work of making Nigeria great is not yet done, because I still believe that change is possible, this time through the ballot, and most importantly, because I still have the capacity and the passion to dream and work for a Nigeria that will be respected again in the comity of nations and that all Nigerians will be proud of.

  Muhammadu Buhari

  Dream, Believe, Passion

  38 Copy quote

• Even Jesus Christ cannot conduct a free and fair election in Nigeria.

  Olusegun Obasanjo

  Jesus, Election, Christ

  35 Copy quote

• I think anyone who isn't investing in Nigeria is missing out. If you look at Nigeria today, literally all of the business class cabins are full of foreigners, because these guys see opportunity.

  Mo Abudu

  Opportunity, Thinking, Class

  Source: www.ebony.com

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• Each one of us, and, indeed, all those who aspire to national leadership must bring their own visions, views and styles to the business of reforming Nigeria, and the search for solutions.

  Ibrahim Babangida

  Views, Mind Your Own Business, Style

  7 Copy quote

• I think I have become a very strong person. If you’re able to grow up in Nigeria and go through certain things, you’re able to tackle anything around the world because you’re able to live wherever, if you can survive in a city like Lagos or Warri or Niger Delta, as far as I’m concerned.

  Nneka

  Strong, Growing Up, Thinking

  "The Wrap Up" with Nonny Orakwue, www.mtv.co.uk. January 4, 2012.

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• The work of Nigeria is not complete for as long as there is any one Nigerian who goes to bed on empty stomach.

  Ibrahim Babangida

  Long, Bed, Empty

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• Nigeria is so peculiar and dramatic. Even talking about the potentials before we talk about the negativities, Nigeria is a nation for perpetual study. I think in Nigeria, it is the potential which hits people and makes them believe in Nigeria. It tends to make them react when they see potentials being wasted and it is a tragedy to see potentials wasted. But paradoxically, it is a realization of the existence, that positive, that keeps many Nigerians and even foreign people going.

  Wole Soyinka

  Believe, Thinking, Talking

  Source: saharareporters.com

  55 Copy quote

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• I was told stories, we were all told stories as kids in Nigeria. We had to tell stories that would keep one another interested, and you weren't allowed to tell stories that everybody else knew. You had to dream up new ones.

  Ben Okri

  Dream, Children, Kids

  "Ben Okri", www.theguardian.com. July 22, 2008.

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• Nigeria is a West African nation of over 100 million energetic people. It is endowed with lots of natural resources but lacks human resources.

  Philip Emeagwali

  People, West, Natural

  5 Copy quote

• My political ambition
  is not worth the blood of any Nigerian

  Goodluck Jonathan

  Ambition, Blood, Political

  17 Copy quote

• I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.

  Muhammadu Buhari

  Ghana, Presidential, Inauguration

  Twitter post from Dec 7, 2017

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• The process of decolonisation in Nigeria was a very untidy one. The British, when they were leaving finally and knew exactly who they wanted to take over, they wanted pliant government, figures, structures, they wanted to continue indirectly in effect their control over much of their colonial possessions and this was one of the very early causes of conflict.

  Wole Soyinka

  Government, Leaving, Causes

  Source: www.nobelprize.org

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• Nigeria has had a complicated colonial history. My work has examined that part of our story extensively.

  Chinua Achebe

  Stories, Complicated, Nigeria Independence

  6 Copy quote

• Well, Nigeria has played a constructive role in peacekeeping in various parts of West Africa. But unless and until Nigeria itself is democratic and respects human rights, it too may well be a source of much greater instability as political repression limits the ability of the people of Nigeria to achieve their full potential.

  Susan Rice

  Rights, People, Political

  62 Copy quote

• An up-close portrait of middle-class Nigeria exploring the boundaries of morals and public decorum. Pitched between humor and despair, with stripped-down, evocative prose, A Bit of Difference bristles with penknife-sharp dialogue, but its truths are more subtle, hiding in the unspoken. Ultimately, A Bit of Difference explores – with a hint of mischief–the problem of how to look like you have no problems when you have abundant problems–the universal problem of the socially-motivated classes.

  Nii Parkes

  Class, Differences, Despair

  4 Copy quote

• I live half the year in Nigeria, the other half in the U.S. But home is Nigeria - it always will be. I consider myself a Nigerian who is comfortable in the world. I look at it through Nigerian eyes.

  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

  Home, Eye, Years

  "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: 'My new novel is about love, race... and hair'" by Kate Kellaway, www.theguardian.com. April 6, 2013.

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