“Proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.”
Source: Igbo proverb, recorded in Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1958)
Traditional Nigeria Wisdom
Folk & Oral Tradition
Who is Traditional Nigeria Wisdom?
Traditional Nigeria Wisdom gathers the proverbs and sayings that have been passed down orally among Nigeria's many peoples for generations. Nigeria is one of the most linguistically rich nations on earth, home to hundreds of languages including the three largest, Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa, each carrying a deep and distinctive body of proverbs. Among the Igbo, proverbs are so central to eloquent speech that they are famously called "the palm-oil with which words are eaten", a saying recorded by the novelist Chinua Achebe. Yoruba oral tradition treasures the owe (proverb) alongside praise poetry and folktales, while Hausa culture preserves its own karin magana. These author-less lines are the shared inheritance of farmers, traders, elders, hunters and storytellers who compressed hard-won experience into a few memorable words about character, community, destiny, patience and respect for one's origins. Because they live in everyday speech rather than in a single fixed printed source, small variations exist between regions and retellings. This platform records the widely recognised forms and, in keeping with its accuracy rule, presents them as traditional or, where a written record exists, cites it honestly rather than attributing them to any one person.
Sources: Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1958) — records several Igbo proverbs · Nigerian oral tradition (Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa proverbs), public-domain folk wisdom
Quotes by Traditional Nigeria Wisdom
“When a man says yes, his chi (personal god) says yes also.”
Source: Igbo proverb, recorded in Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1958)
“The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did.”
Source: Igbo proverb, recorded in Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1958)
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“A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness.”
Source: Igbo proverb, recorded in Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1958)
“When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk.”
Source: Igbo proverb, recorded in Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1958)
“A single tree cannot make a forest.”
Source: Traditional Igbo proverb, public-domain oral tradition
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“However far the stream flows, it never forgets its source.”
Source: Traditional Yoruba proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“Wherever a man goes to dwell, his character goes with him.”
Source: Traditional Yoruba proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“No matter how long the night, the day is sure to come.”
Source: Traditional African proverb, public-domain oral tradition
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“It is not only giants that do great things.”
Source: Traditional Nigerian proverb, public-domain oral tradition