“I want to be thoroughly used up when I die for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.”

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”

“[H]e is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature.”

“The only way to avoid being miserable is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not.”

“The man with toothache thinks everyone happy whose teeth are sound.The poverty stricken man makes the same mistake about the rich man.”

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

“I am a person before I am anything else. I never say I am a writer. I never say I am an artist...I am a person who does those things.”

“The point, I decided, wasn't to have the autobiography or even the memories. The point was who I became when I wrote.”

“The willingness to reach inside every part of yourself opens the door to total understanding. You place your entire identity on the line, not just an isolated part. This may sound daunting, but act...”

“Nigeria is one country, one people and one nation.”

“For a nation to be truly wealthy, it must possess a wealth of virtues.”

“If we want our nations to be truly great we must lay less emphasis on material wealth, natural resources or even human resources.”