Meanwhile, the late president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe was arguably one of the most enduring symbols of Africa’s struggle for liberation from colonial rule and has made so many pronouncements in that light. Some of his quotes include;

The white man is not indigenous to Africa. Africa is for Africans. Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans.

100 Black History Quotes From Famous African Leaders and Revolutionists

Quotes by Martin Luther King Jr

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• “You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.”
• “There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life’s July and left standing amid the piercing chill of an alpine November.”
• “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”
• “Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.”
• “We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now because I’ve been to the mountaintop… I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.”
• “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.
• Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”
• “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”
• “Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”
• “Hate is just as injurious to the hater as it is to the hated. Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Many of our inner conflicts are rooted in hate. This is why psychiatrists say, “Love or perish.” Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

Quotes by Barrack Obama

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• “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
• “The worst thing that colonialism did was to cloud our view of our past”
• “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”
• “A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things.”
• “We are the change we have been waiting for.”
• “In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it”
• “I’m inspired by the people I meet in my travels–hearing their stories, seeing the hardships they overcome, their fundamental optimism and decency. I’m inspired by the love people have for their children. And I’m inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man”
• “One voice can change a room, and if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city, and if it can change a city, it can change a state, and if it change a state, it can change a nation, and if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world.”
• “Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. it’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere”
• “Nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change”

Quotes by Malcolm X

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• “Don’t be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn’t do what you do or think”
• “I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.”
• “I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation.” as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn’t know what you know today.” “They put your mind right in a bag, and take it wherever they want.”
• “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.”
• “We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us.”
• “I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they’ll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action.”
• “If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.”
• “You don’t have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being.”
• “When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to acquire that freedom. Whenever you hear a man saying he wants freedom, but in the next breath he is going to tell you what he won’t do to get it, or what he doesn’t believe in doing in order to get it, he doesn’t believe in freedom. A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire… or preserve his freedom.”
• “We declare our right on this earth to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary”

SEE ALSO: 100 Most Powerful African Quotes And Proverbs For Daily Use

Quotes by Oprah Winfrey

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• “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams”
• “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”
• “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.”
• “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”
• “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.”
• “Turn your wounds into wisdom”
• “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
• “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
• “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
• “Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.”

Quotes by Marcus Garvey

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• “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”
• “If you haven’t confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started. ”
• “The pen is mightier than the sword, but the tongue is mightier than them both put together.”
• “The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself but the ends you serve that are for all, in common, will take you into eternity.”
• “The pen is mightier than the sword, but the tongue is mightier than them both put together”
• “Liberate the minds of men and ultimately you will liberate the bodies of men.”
• “I regard the Klan, the Anglo-Saxon clubs and White American societies, as far as the Negro is concerned, as better friends of the race than all other groups of hypocritical whites put together.”
• “We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, for though others may free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is our only ruler; sovereign.”
• “You at this time can only be destroyed by yourselves, from within and not from without. You have reached the point where the victory is to be won from within and can only be lost from within.”
• “Having had the wrong education as a start in his racial career, the Negro has become his own greatest enemy. Most of the trouble I have had in advancing the cause of the race has come from Negroes. Booker Washington aptly described the race in one of his lectures by stating that we were like crabs in a barrel, that none would allow the other to climb over, but on any such attempt all would continue to pull back into the barrel the one crab that would make the effort to climb out. Yet, those of us with vision cannot desert the race, leaving it to suffer and die.”

Quotes by Nelson Mandela

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• “Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people”

• “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

• “Many people in this country have paid the price before me and many will pay the price after me”

• “A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.”

• “Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”

• “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

•  “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again”

• “It is not our diversity which divides us; it is not our ethnicity, or religion or culture that divides us. Since we have achieved our freedom, there can only be one division amongst us: between those who cherish democracy and those who do not.”

• “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

• “A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy. The press must be free from state interference. It must have the economic strength to stand up to the blandishments of government officials. It must have sufficient independence from vested interests to be bold and inquiring without fear or favour. It must enjoy the protection of the constitution so that it can protect our rights as citizens.”

Quotes by Kofi Annan

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• “The skills you need to fight the colonial power and the skills you need to gain independence are not necessarily the same you need to run a country.”
• “More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can master it only if we face it together. And that, my friends, is why we have the United Nations.”
• “To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there”
• “Often we mistake stability, in terms of security and economic activity, to mean a country is doing well. We forget the third and important pillar: rule of law and respect for human rights.”
• “In their greatest hour of need, the world failed the people of Rwanda.”
• “We must ensure that the global market is embedded in broadly shared values and practices that reflect global social needs, and that all the world’s people share the benefits of globalization.”
• “We need to think of the future and the planet we are ging to leave to our children and their children.”
• “I have always believed that on important issues, the leaders must lead. Where the leaders fail to lead, and people are really concerned about it, the people will take the lead and make the leaders follow.”
• “My own advice to people who would be in office for two or three terms is that they must accept democratic rotation: ideally, not put themselves up for re-election and allow the system to work.”
• “I am a stubborn optimist and will remain an optimist.”

Quotes by Kwame Nkruma

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• “It is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems, and that this can only be found in African unity. Divided we are weak: united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world.”
• “It is far better to be free to govern or misgovern yourself than to be governed by anybody else”
• “Those who would judge us merely by the heights we have achieved would do well to remember the depths from which we started.”
• “The forces that unite us are intrinsic and greater than the superimposed influences that keep us apart.”
• “Capitalism is a development by refinement from feudalism, just as feudalism is development by refinement from slavery . Capitalism is but the gentlemen’s method of slavery.”
• “Countrymen, the task ahead is great indeed, and heavy is the responsibility; and yet it is a noble and glorious challenge – a challenge which calls for the courage to dream, the courage to believe, the courage to dare, the courage to do, the courage to envision, the courage to fight, the courage to work, the courage to achieve – to achieve the highest excellencies and the fullest greatness of man. Dare we ask for more in life?”
• “I am not African because I was born in Africa but because Africa was born in me.”
• “As far as i am concerned, i am in the knowledge that death can never extinguish the torch which i have lit in Ghana and Africa. Long after i am dead and gone, the light will continue to burn and be borne aloft, giving light and guidance to all people.”
• “We have awakened. We will not sleep anymore. Today, from now on, there is a new African in the world!”
• “Africa is a paradox which illustrates and highlights neo-colonialism . Her earth is rich, yet the products that come from above and below the soil continue to enrich, not Africans predominantly, but groups and individuals who operate to Africa’s impoverishment.”

Quotes by Chinua Achebe

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• “Nobody can teach me who I am. You can describe parts of me, but who I am – and what I need – is something I have to find out myself.”
• “The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.”
• “A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so.”
• “We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own. The Igbo, always practical, put it concretely in their proverb Onye ji onye n’ani ji onwe ya: ‘He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down.'”
• “In dealing with a man who thinks you are a fool, it is good sometimes to remind him that you know what he knows but have chosen to appear foolish for the sake of peace.”
• “People say that if you find water rising up to your ankle, that’s the time to do something about it, not when it’s around your neck.”
• “Become familiar with your home, but know also about your neighbors. The young man who never went anywhere thinks his mother is the greatest cook.”
• “A man of worth never gets up to unsay what he said yesterday.”
• “It is praiseworthy to be brave and fearless, but sometimes it is better to be a coward. We often stand in the compound of a coward to point at the ruins where a brave man used to live.”
• “If you only hear one side of the story, you have no understanding at all.”

Quotes by Robert Mugabe

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• “So, Blair keep your England, and let me keep my Zimbabwe”
• “The white man is not indigenous to Africa. Africa is for Africans. Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans.”
• “We don’t mind having sanctions banning us from Europe. We are not Europeans.”
• “We have this American president, Obama, born of an African father, who is saying we will not give you aid if you don’t embrace homosexuality. We ask, was he born out of homosexuality? We need continuity in our race, and that comes from the woman, and no to homosexuality.”
• “We have this American president, Obama, born of an African father, who is saying we will not give you aid if you don’t embrace homosexuality. We ask, was he born out of homosexuality? We need continuity in our race, and that comes from the woman, and no to homosexuality.”
• “If the choice were made, one for us to lose our sovereignty and become a member of the Commonwealth or remain with our sovereignty and lose the membership of the Commonwealth, I would say let the Commonwealth go.”
• “We are no longer going to ask for the land, but we are going to take it without negotiating.
• “Zimbabwe will never be a colony again”
• “We pride ourselves as being top, really, on the African ladder… We feel that we have actually been advancing rather than going backwards.”
• “Was it not enough punishment and suffering in history that we were uprooted and made helpless slaves not only in new colonial outposts but also domestically.”

The post Black History Quotes appeared first on WeAfrique.

More so, Nigeria is recognized for its diverse cultures, vibrant scene, and rich history. It is also known as the largest black nation in the world and the economic heartbeat of Africa, a nation endowed with a wealth of natural resources. Its people are considered to have amiable energy and hospitality.

Here are Some of The Great  Nigerian Quotes 

1. Hold a true friend with both hands.

2. A child does not die because the mother’s breasts are dry.

3. When the music changes, so do the dance.

4. Ugliness with a good character is better than beauty.

5. Without knowing a person we must not hate him.

6. One finger cannot remove lice from the head.

7. Love is better than a whip

8. What affects the nose must also affect the eyes that must weep for it.

9. When the laborer is praised, his cutlass begins to cut more keenly.

10. Marriage is like groundnut, you have to crack it to see what is inside.

11. It is the habit that a child forms at home, that follows them to their marriage.

12. If the owner of a calabash calls it a worthless calabash, others will join him to use it to pack rubbish.

13. He who does not mend his clothes will soon have none.

14. Even if a goat has a frown face, it cannot lack a buyer in the market.

15. The same sun that melts the wax is also capable of hardening clay.

16. No matter how hot your anger is, it cannot cook yam.

17. Horses have four legs though they often fall.

18 . That man who has one eye will only thank God if he sees a blind man.

19. He who sees an old hag squatting should leave her alone; who knows how she breathes?

20. Anger against a brother is felt in the flesh, not in the bone.

21. Maize bears fruits once and dies because it is not rooted in the ground.

22. He who will swallow the Udala seed must consider the size of his stomach.

23. The fly that has no one to advise him follows a corpse into the grave,

24. When a handshake passes the elbow, it becomes another thing.

25. When a mighty tree falls, the birds are scattered into the bush.

26. No matter how a log stays in the water, it does not become a crocodile.

27 The little bird that hops off the ground and lands on anti-hill may not know it but is still on the ground.

29. A common snake, which a man sees all alone, may become a python in his eyes.

30. The very thing that killed a mother rat is always there to ensure its young ones never open their eyes.

31. A boy who perseveres in asking what killed his father before he has enough strength to avenge may be asking for his father’s fate.

32. When death wants to take a little dog, it prevents him from perceiving even the smell of excrement.

33. A man who sees a hen scattering excrement should stop it. Who knows who will eat the leg?

34. If that rat cannot flee enough, let it make way for a tortoise.

35. You cannot beat a drum with one finger.

36. Look for a dark goat first in the daytime because you may not find it at night.

37. What an elder saw while sitting, a youth could not see it standing.

38. When a man makes a fence, you will know his level of wisdom.

39. A fowl does not forget who trims his feathers during the rainy season.

40. Send your child where he wants to go, and you will see his pace.

41. A child’s fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam, which his mother puts into his hand.

42. A chick that will grow into a rooster can be spotted the very day it hatches.

43. When two elephants meet on a narrow bridge, they cannot go anywhere until one them lies down.

44. When you are crying for rain, you are crying for mud too.

45. Knowledge is like a garden: if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.

46. A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness.

47. Wherever a man goes to dwell, his character goes with him.

48. It takes a whole village to raise a child.

49.  Do not call the forest that shelters you a jungle.

50. If you offend, ask for a pardon; if offended, forgive.

51. Don’t set sail using someone else’s star.

52.  He who sleeps with an itchy anus must wake up with smelly fingers.

53. If you cannot look ahead, you will always remain behind.

54. When the mouse laughs at the cat there is a hole nearby.

55. Water may cover the footprint on the ground but it does not cover the words of the mouth.

56. Until lions have their own historians, accounts of the hunt will always celebrate the hunter.

57. The only insurance against fire is to have two houses.

58.  The hunter does not rub himself in oil and lies by the fire to sleep.

59. The mouth that eats pepper is the one that the pepper influences.

60.  The disobedient fowl obeys in a pot of soup.

61. The frog does not jump in the daytime without reason.

62. The death that will kill a man begins with an appetite.

63. The day on which one starts out is not the time to start one’s preparations.

64. Rain does not make friends with anybody- it falls on any person it meets outside.

65. No sane person sharpens his machete to cut a banana tree.

66. No matter how dark it is, the hand always knows the way to the mouth.

67. It is the fear of offense that makes men swallow poison.

68. If you fill your mouth with a razor, you will spit blood.

69 Grass does not grow on the nose of a thief.

70 From the well of envy, only a fool drinks the water.

71. Fowls will not spare a cockroach that falls in their mist.

72. Choose your neighbors before you buy your house.

73. Birth is the only remedy against death.

74. Ashes fly back into the face of him who throws them.

75. Abundance will make cotton pull a stone.

76 A tree does not move unless there is wind.

77. A traveler to distant places should make no enemies.

78. A person always breaking off from work never finishes anything.

79. A man does not wander far from where his corn is roasting.

80. A hunter who has only one arrow does not shoot with careless aim.

81. A fowl does not forget where it lays its eggs.

82.  A rat is not born a rabbit.

83. He who marries beauty marries trouble.

84. Guilt is like the footprint of a hippopotamus.

85.

86. Only the thing for which you have struggled will last.

87. The child of an elephant will not be a dwarf.

88. One who has been bitten by a snake lives in fear of worms.

89. One who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness.

90. The roaring lion kills no prey.

91. Familiarity breeds contempt; distance breeds respect.

92. However far the stream flows, it never forgets its source.

93. A man who swallows a whole coconut has to compete with faith in his anus.

94. He who wanders away must come back.

95. You can’t Judge that a market would be bad in the morning.

96. The okra cannot grow taller than the planter.

See Also: 100 Most Powerful African Quotes And Proverbs For Daily Use

97. What else is expected of cigarettes if not smoke?

98. White ant is beautiful but can’t be eaten by a hen.

99. If a snake fails to show its venom, little kids will use it in tying firewood.

100. There are various eaves in the forest, but people go in to look for Okazi leaves.

100. If the yam used in sacrifice does not die prematurely, it will eventually germinate.

The post 100 Nigerian Proverbs appeared first on WeAfrique.

African Proverbs On Beauty 

1. Anyone who sees beauty and does not look at it will soon be poor.

2. One who plants grapes by the roadside, and one who marries a pretty woman, share the same problem.

3. The skin of the leopard is beautiful, but not his heart.

4. Ugliness with a good character is better than beauty.

5. A beautiful one hurts the heart.

6. If there is character, ugliness becomes beauty; if there is none, beauty becomes ugliness.

7. You are beautiful, but learn to work, for you cannot eat your beauty.

8. The one who loves an unsightly person is the one who makes him beautiful.

9. Having beauty doesn’t mean understanding the perseverance of marriage.

10. You are beautiful because of your possessions.

11. Every woman is beautiful until she speaks.

12. Three things cause sorrow to flee; water, green trees, and a beautiful face.

13. Judge not your beauty by the number of people who look at you, but rather by the number of people who smile at you.

14. Patience is the mother of a beautiful child.

15. There is no beauty but the beauty of action.

16. Judge not your beauty by the number of people who look at you, but rather by the number of people who smile at you.

17. A pretty face and fine clothes do not make character.

18. A pretty basket does not prevent worries.

19. It’s those ugly caterpillars that turn into beautiful butterflies after seasons.

20. The most beautiful fig may contain a worm.

21. It is only a stupid cow that rejoices at the prospect of being taken to a beautiful abattoir.

22. A woman who pursues a man for sex loses her spiritual beauty.

23. A chicken with a beautiful plumage does not sit in a corner.

24. The cook does not have to be a beautiful woman.

25. Beautiful words don’t put porridge in the pot.

26. There is always a winner even in a monkey’s beauty contest.

27. She is beautiful; she has love, and understands; she respects herself and others; everyone likes, loves, and honors her; she is a goddess.

28. Your beauty may take you there, but your character will bring you back.

29. Why do they like an ugly person, it takes a long time for a beautiful person to know it.

30. Even the colors of a chameleon are for survival, not beauty.

31. He who loves, loves you with your dirt.

32. A woman’s polite devotion is her greatest beauty.

33. The most beautiful women in the world are like good coffee…black as hell strong as hope and sweet as love.

34. There are many colorful flowers on the path of life, but the prettiest have the sharpest thorns.

35. An ugly child of your own is more to you than a beautiful one belonging to your neighbor.

36. A man who hangs around a beautiful girl without saying a word ends up fetching water for guests at her wedding.

37. Beauty comes from within, a beautiful heart creates a beautiful person.

38. A beautiful thing is never perfect.

39. The surface of the water is beautiful, but it is no good to sleep on.

40. Youth is beauty, even in cattle.

41. Dress up a stick and it’ll be a beautiful bride.

42. He who marries a beauty marries trouble.

43. Greatness and beauty do not belong to the gods alone.

44. Beauty is not sold and eaten.

45. If you find Miss this year beautiful, then you’ll find Miss next year even more so.

See Also: 7 Female Warriors Who Led African Empires and Armies

46. Roosters’ tail feathers: pretty but always behind.

47. When a once beautiful piece of cloth has turned into rags, no one remembers that it was woven.

48. Beautiful discourse is rarer than emerald, yet it can be found among the servant girls at the grind at the grindstones.

49. Three things cause sorrow to flee; water, green trees, and a beautiful face.

50. Whoever tells you to go and bathe wants you to be beautiful.

The post 50 African Proverbs On Beauty appeared first on WeAfrique.

Some Funny And Deep African Proverbs

1. If you think you are too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.

2. As long as the bed shakes regularly, the home is at peace.

3. No matter how hot your anger is, it cannot cook yams.

4. Do not follow a person who is running away.

5. He who thinks he is leading and has no one following him is only taking a walk.

6. A snake that you can see does not bite.

7. When a needle falls into a deep well, many people will look into the well. But few will be ready to go down after it.

8. The earth is a beehive, and we all enter by the same door.

9. By crawling, a baby learns to stand.

10. Good palm wine and a pretty wife are two sweet poisons to a man.

11. Even the best dancer on the stage must retire sometime.

12. Every beetle is a gazelle in the eyes of its mother.

13. The chicken that digs for food will not sleep hungry.

14. Rain can soak a leopard’s skin but it doesn’t wash out its spots

15. It takes a whole village to raise a child.

16. The wise chief does not eat from two sides

17. If you run after two hares you will catch neither.

18. A chattering bird builds no nest.

19. Only a fool tests the river’s depth with both feet.

20. Marriage is like a groundnut, you have to crack it to see what is inside.

21. No person is born great-great. People become great when others are sleeping.

22. A flea can trouble a lion more than a lion can trouble a flea.

23. He who is being carried does not realize how far the town is.

See Also: Chinua Achebe Quotes- 100 Quotes From The Legendary Nigerian Writer

24. Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.

25. Crying a lot does not give you peace of mind.

26. He is a fool whose sheep runs away twice.

27. Wealth is like a hair in the nose: it hurts to be separated whether from a little or from a lot.

28. A boat cannot go forward if each rows his own way.

29. Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped.

30. Ashes fly back into the face of him who throws them.

31. Knowledge is like a Garden: It cannot be harvested if it is not cultivated.

32. No water without waves.

33. Between true friends, even water drunk together is sweet enough.

34. All monkeys cannot hang on the same branch.

35. When God cooks, you don’t see smoke.

36. A tree does not move unless there is wind.

37. If you want to know the end, look at the beginning.

38 . Even the mightiest eagle comes down to the tree tops to rest.

39. Even the best cooking pot will not produce food.

40. It is not what you are called, but what you answer to.

41. It is not work that kills, but worry.

42. Without fools there will be no wisdom.

43. However much the buttocks are in a hurry, they will always remain behind.

44. Before you go out with a widow, you must first ask her what killed her husband.

45. A child can play with its mother’s breasts, not its father’s testicles.

46. There is no virgin in a maternity ward.

47. If a man wants to grow a long tooth, he should have the lip to cover it.

48. An agama lizard in the village will always remain an agama in town.

See Also: 12 Most Iconic And Greatest African Presidents Ever

49. It requires a lot of carefulness to kill the fly that perches on the scrotum.

50. No matter how far you urinate, the last drop always falls at your feet.

The post 50 Funny And Yet Deep African Proverbs appeared first on WeAfrique.

Aside from its powerful quotes, the Zulu people are the largest ethnic group in South Africa, who refer to themselves as the “People of the heavens”. Their origin can be traced to the Nguni ethnic group that belongs to the branch of southern Bantu. They also share certain cultural similarities with the Swazi and the Xhosa. The people are known for their great fighting spirit, and excellent craftsmanship especially beading and weaving.

Zulu Proverbs on Love, Relationships, and Marriage 

1. One who marries for love alone will have bad days but good nights.

2. Do not treat your loved one like a swinging door: you are fond of it, but you push it back and forth.

3. He who loves, loves you with your dirt.

4. The quarrel of lovers is the renewal of love.

5. One who loves the vase also loves what is inside.

6. Don’t try to make someone hate the person he loves. For he will go on loving but will hate you.

7. Love doesn’t rely on physical features.

8. If the full moon loves you why worry about stars.

9. Love like rain does not choose the grass on which it falls.

10. Let your love be like the misty rain coming softly but flooding the river.

11. Getting married is like putting a snake in your pocket.

12. You are in a hurry to plant, where has it been raining?

13. A good thing is pulled both ways.

14. The cry of a bird that looks down at its own feet.

15. When a person is not forgotten, they are not killed.

16. The brightness of a nation does not depend on the death of one person. 

17. A person is a person because of other people.  

18. Loving someone who is not of your age causes strife

Zulu Proverbs on Life and Death

19. The impatient person eats goat; the one who hesitates eats beef.

20. Children are like plant offshoots that ever go forward.

21. A nice plate is not long eaten off.

22. When you become wise of the healer, also become wise of the sickness.

23. No man can perfectly empty a boy with a ladle.

24. Orphans mourn for each other.

25. One short sleep past, we wake eternally, death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

26. The wrong-headed fool who refuses counsel will come to grief.

27. Flowers are born, and they wither.

28. The child’s sack is not thrown away after the death of the child.

29. As great birds die, the eggs rot.

30. When you shoot a zebra in the black stripe, the white dies; shoot it in the white, and the black dies.

31. No death is different.

32. When you become wise of the healer, also become wise of the sickness.

33. The nice fig is often full of worms

34. Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; love leaves a memory no one can steal.

35. There is no hillside without a grave.

36. He who has a milking pail should not be obliged to milk on the ground

37. The greatest death is laughter.

38. Even the maid has a family.

39. To grow is to see things.

40. When you climb the mountain and reach the top, do not forget the branches and shrubs that help your footing.

41. The day is worked while it is still fresh.

42. When there is honey, there are bound to be ants.

43. Hope does not kill; I shall; I have the hope of getting what I seek another day.

44. The one who makes the law doesn’t know the law.

45. The owl eats its eye, and the one with a misty eye dies of hunger.

46. The house of the bold talker lets in the rain, but that of the man with the little throat may be covered with mucus.

Proverbs on Wealth, Money, and Success 

47.  A rolling stone gathers no moss.

48. A leopard eats alone.

49. The word of the poor man is allowed afterward.

50. Height is not reached in a hurry.

51. The day is worked while it is still fresh.

52. One fly cannot provide for another.

53. The sitter in one place eats the skin scrapings.

54. Plenty sits still, while Hunger is a wanderer.

55. Time passes quickly.

56. A man’s beauty is in his cattle.

57. Time moves forward.

58. Growing up is difficult.

59. Happiness is in contentment.

60. Bad company brings back sins.

61. A leopard eats alone.

62. Power is in strength.

63. Death ends the journey.

64. African ropes tie the mountain.

See Also: African Proverbs: 100 Best And Their Deep Meanings

Zulu Proverbs on Family and Tradition

65. The farting of the head of the homestead is ignored by the commoner.

66. There is no snake that forgets its home.

67. The family circle eats and the lizard basks in the sun.

68. Women who bear children must exist in Zulu land only.

69.  Those that plan without the help of the spirit must plan again.

70. Respect is given in two ways.

71. A family war is never entered.

72. The calf of the wild buck leaps where its mother has leaped.

73. The cow licks the one that licks her.

74. The finest calf is liked by its mother.

75. The stick has no kraal.

Proverbs on Wisdom

76.  The winged termite is not by its head as soon as it appears.

77. A cow is milked by the one who knows it.

78. Once you have found your first diamond, you will never give up looking.

79. The Kafir-finch stands by its own stick (perch).

80. He who has no intelligence is happy with it.

81. Strike an enemy once and for all. Let him cease to exist as a tribe, or he will live to fly in your throat again.

82. A river is filled with its tributaries.

83. The one behind is the one ahead

84. The fool who owns an ox is seldom recognized as a fool.

85. Never leave an enemy standing.

86. By pounding the dough the bread will rise.

87. One who loves the vase also loves what is inside.

88. Ask for advice from those with more experience.

89. Learning never ends; it is the days that end.

90. Guessing breeds suspicion.

91. There is no sun that sets without its own affairs.

Other Proverbs on Different Subject Matters

92. There is no elephant that finds its trunk too heavy.

93. The house of the bold talker lets in the rain, but that of the man with the little throat may be covered with mucus from the throat.

94. I am sitting upon a hot hoe-iron.

95. The spittle has returned to the chest.

96. There is no partridge that scratches for another.

97. The body is felt by its owner.

98. Once hurt (the eye), it is always in fear.

99. A sheep kills an elephant.

100. There is no river that does not have its own sound.

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Before the quotes in detail, many African societies historically associate wealth with men because of the view that men are the sole providers of the home, while women are assigned to household activities and childbearing. The wealth of a man was estimated by achievements like being a good hunter, number of wives, and children, farmlands, titles, livestock, and virtues.

Over the years, there have been a lot of changes in African societies where wealth is gained on a person’s labor irrespective of gender, which can be seen through an individual’s education, house, job, and the number of properties owned. Although some cultures still believe in the sexist notion of how women gain their wealth. In any case, here are the top 50 African quotes about wealth.

Here are Some of The Amazing Wealth Quotes in Africa

1. He who loves money must labor.

2. Money is sharper than the sword.

3. The wealth which enslaves the owner isn’t wealth.

4. Make some money but don’t make money make you.

5. Knowledge is better than riches.

6. When a poor man gets a little money, his thoughts go off in different directions.

7. Do not let what you cannot do tear from your hands from what you can.

8. You must act as if it is impossible to fail.

9. He who receives a gift does not measure.

10. It is better to inherit the gratitude of your father than his building.

11. The fire in a community gets the community’s food done.

12. Money can’t talk, yet it can make lies look true.

13. Greed loses what it has gained.

14. A patient man is a wealthy man.

15. A good name is better than wealth.

16. There is no one who became rich because he broke a holiday, no one became fat.

17. Use what you have to put together in earlier days.

18. You become wise when you begin to run out of money.

19. Wealth diminishes with usage; learning increases with use.

20. Lack of money is lack of friends; if you have money at your disposal, every dog and goat will claim to be related to you.

21. What you give you get, ten times over.

22. He who runs after good fortune runs away from peace.

23. A man’s wealth may be superior to him.

24. Those who accomplish great things pay attention to little ones.

25. Only a medicine man gets rich by sleeping.

26. A real family eats the same cornmeal.

27. Rich people sometimes eat bad food.

28. Wealth is like hair in the nose; It hurts to be separated whether from a little or from a lot.

29. Much wealth brings many enemies.

30. Dogs do not actually prefer bones to meat; it is just that no one ever gives them meat.

31. If your cornfield is far from your house, the birds will eat your corn.

32. Don’t set sail using someone else’s car.

33. A bird that flies from the ground to the anthill does not know that it is still on the ground.

34. There are no shortcuts to the top of the palm tree.

35. A very ambitious person cannot sleep peacefully.

36. It is better to be poor when one is young, rather than to become poor in old age.

37. If stretching were wealth, the cat would be rich.

38. The rich are always complaining.

39. It’s no shame to work for money.

40. With wealth one wins a woman.

41. You should not hoard your money and die of hunger.

42. Money is not the medicine against death.

43. Having a good discussion is like having riches.

44. You must attend to your business with the vendor in the market, and not the noise of the market.

45. We do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth.

46. One who has people is richer than one who has money.

47. Your brother’s pocket cannot keep your wealth.

48. Money is like the waters of a sailing river it flows away.

49. Even if you’re rich, you cannot bury yourself.

50. If you want to improve your memory, lend someone money.

The post 50 Best African Quotes On Wealth appeared first on WeAfrique.

Most African cultures encourage endurance and hard work immensely. No matter what profession or rank a person occupies, Africans are known for being hard workers. Several Africans put in a lot of effort to persevere in every endeavor, which has helped them establish a name for themselves and the continent.

The majority of African cultures place great value on tenacity and diligence. Africans are regarded as hard workers, regardless of their occupation or level. Many Africans work extremely hard to attain greatness. This is exemplified in the life of Aliko Dangote, Johann Rupert, and Nasssef Sawiris which has helped them make a name for themselves and the continent.

Here are 50 African Proverbs on Hard Work 

1. There are no shortcuts to the top of the palm tree.

2. Rising early makes the road short.

3. The elephant does not limp when walking on thorns.

4. No matter how full the river is, it still wants to grow.

5. Do not allow the belly to make you useless.

6. The chameleon looks in all directions before moving.

7. Little by little the bird builds its nest.

8. Success does not come overnight.

9. Success is a ladder that cannot be climbed with your hands in your pocket.

10. Rising early makes the road short.

11. Little by little, the bird builds its nest.

12. Prepare now for the solutions of tomorrow.

13. Glory does not come by calling.

14. We are what our thinking makes us.

15. Fear no forest because it is dense.

16. Every fame has a foundation.

17. Only a medicine man gets rich by sleeping.

18. Failure is the stepping stone to success.

19. Some people dream of success while others wake up and work.

20. Success and laziness do not sleep together.

21. Success is never given on a silver platter. One has to earn it.

22. Tomorrow belongs to those people who prepare for it today.

23. Whoever develops a passion for learning and hard work never ceases to grow and succeed.

24. The mouth does not eat if the feet do not walk and the hands work.

25. To try and to fail is not laziness.

26. He who wakes up and finds himself a success has not been asleep.

27. The hands that make mistakes belong to those who work.

28. A man who does no hard work will never know the value of rest.

29. Success is a ladder that cannot be climbed with hands in your pocket.

30. An old man who wakes up early in the morning to go to work, was a young man who slept a lot.

31. You are beautiful; but learn to work, for you cannot eat your beauty.

32. Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.

33. An Ant on its feet can do more than an elephant lying down.

34. No matter the economy of the jungle the Lion will never eat grass.

35. Once you carry your own water, you will learn the value of every drop.

36. What people get by hard work they don’t get for their neighbors.

37. Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.

38. The elephant does not limp when walking on thorns.

39. It’s not the monkey on top that makes a tree fall but it’s the work and effort of numerous small insects and ants.

40. The best preparation for tomorrow is to make sure today’s work is superbly done.

41. By labor comes wealth.

42. You must act as if it is impossible to fail.

43. To try and to fail is not laziness.

44. Nobody goes to a prophet to find out why they’re doing well in life.

See Also: Mandinka Tribe- 10 Interesting Details About This West African ethnic Group

45. A palm nut that wants to become palm oil must pass through the fire.

46. If a fish sleeps, it will be eaten by another fish.

47. There are only two options: make progress or make excuses.

48. Great things never came from comfort zone.

49. Only what you have combated for will last.

50. He who looks for honey must have the courage to face the bees.

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Marcus Garvey’s Quotes on Self-Development and Self Reliance

1. The man who is not able to develop and use his mind is bound to be the slave of the other man who uses his mind.

2. Men who are in earnest are not afraid of consequences.

3. The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself but the ends you serve that are for all, in common, will take you into eternity.

4. If you haven’t confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started.

5. I trust that you will so live today as to realize that you are masters of your own destiny, masters of your fate; if there is anything you want in this world, it is for you to strike out with confidence and faith in self and reach for it.

6. What you do today that is worthwhile, inspires others to act at some future time.

7. There is nothing in the world common to man, that man cannot do.

8. We must give up the silly idea of folding our hands and waiting on God to do everything for us. If God had intended for that, then he would not have given us a mind. Whatever you want in life, you must make up your mind to do it for yourself and let history record that as we toiled laboriously and courageously, we worked to live gloriously.

9. Take advantage of every opportunity; where there is none, make it for yourself.

10. Up, you mighty race, accomplish what you will.

11. To be once defeated is to find cause for an everlasting struggle to reach the top.

12. Therefore, remove yourself as far as possible from ignorance and seek as far as possible to be intelligent.

13. Lose not courage, lose not faith, go forward.

14. The man who is not able to develop and use his mind is bound to be the slave of the other man who uses his mind.

15. Go to work! Go to work in the morn of a new creation…until you have…reached the height of self-progress, and from that pinnacle bestow upon the world a civilization.

16. To be ambitious is to be great in mind and soul. To want that which is worthwhile and strive for it. To go on without looking back, reaching to that which gives satisfaction.

17. Let us not try to be the best or the worst of others, but let us make the effort to be the best of ourselves.

18. If we as a people realized the greatness from which we came we would be less likely to disrespect ourselves.

19. Mind creates and as much as we desire in nature we can have through the creation of our own minds.

20. Let it be your constant method to look into the design of people’s actions, and see what they would be at, as often as it is practicable; and to make this custom the more significant, practice it first upon yourself.

21. The greatest possession of man is character.

22. There is no humanity before that which starts with yourself.

Garveys’s Quotes On Race, Libration, and Activism 

23. Look to Africa, when a black king shall be crowned for the day of deliverance is at hand!

24. Liberate the minds of men and ultimately you will liberate the bodies of men.

25. There shall be no solution to this race problem until you, yourselves, strike the blow for liberty.

26. Be as proud of your race today as our fathers were in the days of yore. We have beautiful history, and we shall create another in the future that will astonish the world.

27. Now is the chance for every Negro to make every effort toward a commercial, industrial standard that will make us comparable with the successful businessmen of other races.

28. Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.

29. The whole world is run on bluff.

30. Every man has a right to his own opinion. Every race has a right to its own action; therefore let no man persuade you against your will, let no other race influence you against your own.

31. The black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.

32. In a world of wolves, one should go armed, and one of the most powerful defensive weapons within the reach of Negroes is the practice of race first in all parts of the world.

33. The white man has succeeded in subduing the world by forcing everybody to think his way…The white man’s propaganda has made him the master of the world, and all those who have come in contact with it and accepted it have become his slaves.

34. Let no voice but your own speak to you from the depths. Let no influence but your own raise you in time of peace and time of war. Hear all, but attend only that which concerns you.

35. The race needs workers at this time, not plagiarists, sopists and mere imitators; but men and women who are able to create, to originate, and improve, and thus make an independent racial contribution to the world and civilization.

36. We were like crabs in a barrel, that none would allow the other to climb over, but on any such attempt all would continue to pull back into the barrel the one crab that would make the effort to climb out.

37. All peoples are struggling to blast a way through the industrial monopoly of races and nations, but the Negro as a whole has failed to grasp its true significance and seems to delight in filling only that place created for him by the white man.

38. I am not opposed to the white race as charged by my enemies. I have no time to hate anyone. All my time is devoted to the up-building and development of the Negro Race.

39. Black men, you were once great; you shall be great again. Lose not courage or faith, go forward.

40. To have built up a new organization, which was not purely political, among Negroes in America was a wonderful feat, for the Negro politician does not allow any other kind of organization within his race to thrive.

41. To have built up a new organization, which was not purely political, among negroes in America was a wonderful feat, for the negro politician does not allow any other kind of organization within his race to thrive.

42. Be Black, buy Black, think Black, and all else will take care of itself.

43. The race can only be saved through a solid industrial foundation.

44. Rise up Black Men, and take your stand. Reach up black men and women and pull all nature’s knowledge to you.

45. The history of a movement, the history of a nation, the history of a race is the guidepost of that movement’s destiny, that nation’s destiny, that race’s destiny.

46. A race that is solely dependent upon another for its economic existence sooner or later dies.

47. I read “Up From Slavery” and then my dream – if I may so call it – of being a race leader dawned.

48. …Beauty, virtue, and goodness are the exclusive attributes of no one race. All humanity have their shortcomings, hence no statement of mine, must be interpreted as a wholesale praise of, or attack upon any race, people or creed.

Quotes on Education and Success 

49. Always try to associate with people from whom you can learn something. All the knowledge that you want is in the world, and all you have to do is go and seek it.

50. Ambition is the desire to go forward and improve one’s condition. It is a burning flame that lights up the life of the individual and makes him see himself in another state.

51. There is no force like success, and that is why the individual makes all effort to surround himself throughout life with the evidence of it; as of the individual, so should it be of the nation.

52. Before we can properly help the people, we have to destroy the old education… that teaches them that somebody is keeping them back and that God has forgotten them, and that they can’t rise because of their color…we can only build…with faith in ourselves and with self-reliance, believing in our own possibilities, that we can rise to the highest in God’s creation.

53. Having had the wrong education as a start in his racial career, the Negro has become his own greatest enemy.

54. A reading man and woman is a ready man and woman, but a writing man and woman is exact.

55. Therefore, remove yourself as far as possible from ignorance and seek as far as possible to be intelligent.

56. If you get up every day and you don’t learn you are
a fool.

57. Lift up yourselves, men, take yourselves out of the mire and hitch your hopes to the very stars themselves. Let no man pull you down, let no man destroy your ambition, because man is but your companion, your equal; man is your brother; he is not your lord, he is your sovereign master.

58. God and Nature first made us what we are, and then out of our own created genius, we make ourselves what we want to be. Follow always that great law. Let the sky and God be our limit and Eternity our measurement.

59. Our success educationally, industrially, and politically is based upon the protection of a nation founded by ourselves. And the nation can be nowhere else but in Africa.

60. Never Forget Intelligence rules the world, ignorance carries the burden. Therefore, remove yourself as far as possible from ignorance and seek as far as possible to be intelligent.

61. Progress is the attraction that moves humanity.

62. A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.

63. The value of knowledge is to use it. It is not humanly possible that a person can retain all knowledge of the world, but if a person knows how to search for all the knowledge of the world, he will find it when he wants it.

64. It is by education that we become prepared for our duties and responsibilities in life. If one is badly educated he must naturally fail in the proper assumption and practice of his duties and responsibilities.

65. The pen is mightier than the sword, but the tongue is mightier than them both put together.

66. To see your enemy and know him is a part of the complete education of man.

67. A man’s bread and butter is only insured when he works for it.

68. Do not remove the kinks from your hair – remove them from your brain.

69. The thing to do is to get organized; keep separated and you will be exploited, you will and you will compel the world to respect you.

Quotes on Peace and  Injustice 

70. The protection against injustice in man is power – physical, financial, and scientific.

71. Men who are in earnest are not afraid of consequences.

72. There can be no peace among men and nations, so long as the strong continues to oppress the weak, so long as injustice is done to other peoples, just so long we will have cause for war, and make a lasting peace an impossibility.

73. Government is not infallible…The government must be, therefore, an expression of the will of the people.

74. Hungry men have no respect for law, authority, or human life.

75. I like honesty and fair play.

76. Present-day statesmen are making the biggest blunder of the age if they believe that there can be any peace without equity and justice to all mankind.

78. The only protection against INJUSTICE in man is POWER? Physical, financial, and scientific.

79. This hour we are stretching forth our hands with the desire to teach the world the true principles of mercy and justice.

80. The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself but the ends you serve that are for all, in common, will take you into eternity.

81. That we suffer so much today under whatsoever flag we live in is proof positive that constitutions and laws, when framed by the early advocates of human liberty, never included and were never intended for us as a people. It is only a question of sheer accident that we happen to be fellow citizens today with the descendants of those who, through their advocacy, laid the foundation for human rights.

See Also: 50 Most Powerful Nelson Mandela Quotes 

 Good Leadership and Nationalism

82. Government is only an executive control, a centralized authority for the purpose of expressing the will of the people; before you have a government you must have the people. Without the people there can be no government.

83. When all else fails to organize the people, conditions will.

84. God does not give people positions or jobs or good conditions such as they desire; they must do that for themselves. God does not build cities nor towns nor nations, nor homes, nor factories; men and people do that and all those who want must work for themselves and pray to God to give them strength to do it.

85. Unite all people of African ancestry of the world to one great body to establish a country and absolute government of their own.

86. We are not engaged in domestic politics, in church building, or in social uplift work, but we are engaged in nation-building.

88. The thing to do is to get organized; keep separated and you will be exploited, you will be robbed, you will be killed. Get organized and you will compel the world to respect you.

89. You at this time can only be destroyed by yourselves, from within and not from without. You have reached the point where the victory is to be won from within and can only be lost from within.

90. History is the landmark by which we are directed into the true course of life.

91. Wake up Ethiopia! Wake up Africa! Let us work towards the one glorious end of a free, redeemed, and mighty nation. Let Africa be a bright star among the constellation of nations.

Quotations From Marcus Garvey on Other Spheres of Life

92. She makes one happy, then miserable. You are to her kind, then unkind. Constant yet inconstantnt. Thus we have Woman. No real man can do without her.

93. If I die in Atlanta my work shall then only begin, but I shall live, in the physical or spiritual to see the day of Africa’s glory.

94. No two persons think alike, even if they outwardly profess the same faith, so we have as many religions in Christianity as we have believers.

95. Look for me in the whirl or the storm, look for me all around you, for with God’s grace, I shall come and bring with me countless millions of black slaves who have died in America, and West Indies, and the millions in Africa to you in the fight for liberty, freedom, and life.

96. Religion is one’s opinion and belief in some ethical truth. To be Christian is to have the religion of Christ, and so to be a believer of Mohammed is to be a Mohammedan but there are so many religions that every man seems to be a religion unto himself.

97. A happy but miserable state in which man finds himself from time to time; sometimes he believes he is happy by loving, then suddenly he finds how miserable he is. It is all joy, it sweetens life, but it does not last. It comes and goes, but when it is active, there is no greater virtue, because it makes one supremely happy.

98. Fascism is the cult of organised murder, invented by the arch-enemies of society. It tends to destroy civilization and revert man to his most barbarous state. Mussolini and Hitler might well be called the devils of an age, for they are playing hell with civilization.

99. The power that holds Africa is human, and it is recognized that whatsoever man has done, man can do.

100.  Chance has never yet satisfied the hope of a suffering people.

The post 100 Greatest Marcus Garvey’s Quotes appeared first on WeAfrique.

 Annan was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. During his tenure, he played a significant role in shaping the UN’s response to global challenges, including the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the Iraq War, and the establishment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Kofi Annan’s Fascinating Quotes on Peace, Justice, Conflict, and Reconciliation

1. We all want peace. But, peace is a complex process. I believe that lasting peace requires reconciliation.

2. The parallel pursuit of justice and peace does present challenges, but they can be managed. We must be ambitious enough to pursue both, and wise enough to recognize, respect, and protect the independence of justice.

3. Peace is never a perfect achievement.

4. My advice is that we must be ambitious enough to pursue both justice and peace, and wise enough to know when and how to do so.

5. In the rush for justice it is important not to lose sight of principles the country holds dear.

6. Conflict is often caused by having unequal access to political power; it follows that a good way to avoid conflict is to encourage inclusive democracy, which gives everyone a say in decisions that affect their lives.

7. No dispute is so entrenched that it cannot be overcome, and enmity between peoples need not last forever.

8. Justice has taken its course and the authority and legitimacy of the legal process must be respected.

9. We must accept that the solution to today’s wars and conflicts must be political; the force of arms is not the answer.

10. Reconciliation means different things to different people because individuals and communities are affected by violence and peace in different ways.

11. Nothing can be more dangerous to our efforts to build peace and development than a world divided along religious, ethnic, or cultural lines. In each nation, and among all nations, we must work to promote unity based on our shared humanity.

12. In the rush for justice it is important not to lose sight of principles the country holds.

13. All of us, not only Presidents and generals, must play a role in building peaceful and stable communities; and that we cannot be innocent bystanders.

14. I often quoted an African proverb that says: ‘The world is not ours, the Earth is not ours, It’s a treasure we hold in trust for future generations’. And I often hope we will be worthy of that trust.

15. We must uphold the principles of dialogue and tolerance. Without them, there is no peaceful exchange of ideas, no way to bring people together, and no chance of arriving at mutually agreed solutions.

16. The battle for freedom and justice is never hopeless, but it is never finally won. Every morning, we must wake up ready to fight it again.

Kofi Annan’s Quote On Democracy, Elections, and Political leaders

17. Democracy depends on the lively participation of organized civil society in Political life. Politics is too important to be left only to Politicians.

18. Democracy is not just about elections, rather, democracy is first and foremost about laws and institutions that guarantee the rights of its citizens and respect and even protect religious freedom.

19. The heart of Democracy is the political right of its people to be equally represented and to trust in the decisions of their elected leaders.

20. Citizens must believe that they are their nations’ own agents of change and that the ballot box is their strongest tool.

21. The will of the people must be the basis of governmental authority. That is the foundation of democracy. That is the foundation of good governance.

22. Politics is too important to be left only to politicians alone. And elections are the key moments in political life since they are the foremost mechanisms for peaceful and democratic rotation of leadership.

23. Credible elections have to meet three essential criteria: inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability. That is only the way to earn the trust of the competitors and the public.

24. The will of the people must be the basis of governmental authority. That is the foundation of democracy. That is the foundation of good governance.

25. Good elections are the best answer to the violence that aims to deprive the citizens of their right to choose their leaders – national and local – free of intimidation. Elections provide a moment for citizens to come together to debate and decide who will lead them, and for what purpose, and to renew their commitment to the democratic ideal.

26. No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline.

27. Democracy is, in essence, a form of non-violent conflict management. If war is the worst enemy of development, healthy and balanced development is the best form of conflict prevention.

28. Elections are at the heart of democracy. When conducted with integrity, they allow citizens to have a voice in how and by whom they are governed. This is because while human beings need security and livelihoods, they also need freedom, dignity, and justice.

29. To deepen democracy elections cannot just be lip service that undemocratic leaders pay to their people.

30. Leaders who hang on to power indefinitely by gaming elections and suppressing criticism and opposition are sowing the seeds of violence and instability.

31. Deepening our democracy is a crucial struggle, not just for our future prosperity and peace, but also for our fundamental human aspiration to live as free men and women. At the end of the day, what matters is not so much which candidate or which party wins an election, as long as the country wins.

32. The evolution and strengthening of effective, transparent, accountable, and responsive government, subject to the rule of law, is a condition for sustainable development, not a result of it.

33. If information and knowledge are central to democracy, they are conditions for development.

34. My own advice to people who would be in office for two or three terms is that they must accept democratic rotation. Ideally not put themselves up for re-election and allow the system to work.

35. I remain a committed believer in the value of democracy as a catalyst for better governance, greater security, and human development. The spread of democracy has been one of the most profound and positive developments that I have witnessed over my career.

36. We must make democratic systems more effective, and more responsive to the needs of average citizens. And in the face of growing cynicism toward democracy, we must not yield but defend and champion the values and virtues of democracy.

37. I have always believed that on important issues, leaders must lead. When the leaders fail to lead, and people are really concerned about it, they will take the lead and make the leaders follow.

38. Today more than ever, we need far-sighted leaders who can see beyond their national boundaries and beyond the next election.

Annan’s Quotes on Education and Youth

39. Education is, quite simply, peace-building by another. It is the most effective form of defense spending there is.

40. Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstone of freedom, democracy, and sustainable human development.

41. Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society in every family.

42. Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life, is essential to development and health, and opens the way for democratic participation and active citizenship.

43. Education is the great equalizer of our time. It gives hope to the hopeless and creates chances for those without.

44. For everyone, everywhere, literacy is along with education in general, a basic human right.

45. We need to think of the future and planet we are going to leave to our children and their children.

46.  Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.

47. Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society’s margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies.

48. You are never too young to lead and you should never don’t your capacity to triumph where others have not.

49. Have confidence in young people, give them a chance, and they will surprise you.

50. Children are our future and if we use them in battle, we are destroying the future. We must reclaim them, every one of them, one at a time.

51. Unfortunately, very few governments think about youth unemployment when they are drawing up their national plans.

52. You have to wake up every day ready to start again.

53. I am not afraid to dream. You first have to start with a dream. Build your castle in the air and give it a foundation. Without a dream, you are not going anywhere.

54. Any society that does not succeed in tapping into the land energy and creativity of its youth will be left behind.

55. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its lifeline;  it is condemned to bleed to death.

56. Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda. Our mission, therefore, is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated.

57. Literacy is, finally the road to human progress ad the means through which every man, woman, and child can realize his or her full potential.

Read Also: 50 Powerful Kwame Nkrumah Quotes

Quotes on Human Rights and Gender Equality. 

58. Gender equality is more than just a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development, and building good governance.

59.  We may have different religions, different languages, and different colored skin, but we all belong to one gunman race.

60. … There is no tool for development more effective that the empowerment of women.

61.  When women thrive, all of the social benefits and the succeeding generations are given a better start in life.

62.  … lets us continue to work together to develop and nurture in future generations a culture of human rights, to promote freedom, security, and peace in all nations.

63. International law now grants rights to all human beings not only to citizens.

64. We need to create a world that is equitable, that is stable, and a world where we bear in mind the needs of others, and not only what we need immediately. We are all in the same boat.

65. A developed country is one that allows all its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment.

66. We need to promote greater tolerance and understanding among the people of the world. Nothing can be more dangerous to our efforts to build peace ad development than a world divided along religious ethnic or cultural lines. In each nation, and among all nations, we must work to promote unity based on our shared humanity.

67. There is no development strategy more beneficial to society as a whole – women and men alike – than the one which involves women as central players.

68. Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation, and it is perhaps the most pervasive. It Knows no boundaries of geography, culture, or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress toward equality and the development of peace.

69. Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and therefore a basic human right.

70. A citizen of the world in the fullest sense – one whose vision and culture gave him a deep empathy with fellow human beings of every creed and color.

71. To build a more healthy, peaceful, and equitable world the classrooms of the world have to be full of girls as well as boys.

72. More countries have understood that women’s equality is a prerequisite for development.

73. We are not only all responsible for each other’s security. We are also, in some measure, responsible for each other’s welfare.

74. In the 21st century, I believe the mission of the United Nations will be defined by a new, more profound awareness of the sanctity and dignity of every human life, regardless of race or religion.

75. It is my aspiration that health finally will be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for.

Globalization and Societal Change

76. We have to choose between a global market driven only by calculations of short-term profit, and one which has a human face.

77. Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract – sustainable development – and turn it into a reality for all the world’s people.

78. It has been said that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.

79. In an age where community involvement and partnership with civil society are increasingly being recognized as indispensable, there is clearly a growing potential for cooperative development and renewal worldwide.

80. Poverty devastates families, communities, and nations. It causes instability and political unrest and fuels conflicts.

81. Healthy and sustainable societies are based on three pillars: peace and security, sustainable development, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. There can be no long-term security without development; there can be no long-term development, without security, and no society can long remain prosperous without the rule of law and respect for human rights.

82. The challenge now is to ensure economic development eradicates poverty, while reducing inequality and promoting environmental sustainability.

83. We need to stop seeing development assistance as the rich giving a hand-out to the poor and put in place a genuinely universal compact where we work together to increase incomes and opportunity for all.

84. We must remember that cohesive and healthy societies rest on three pillars – peace and security, development, the rule of law, and respect for human rights.

85. Economic development must combat poverty and inequality in the long term and make tangible improvements in people’s livelihoods in the short term.

86. We can and must provide equitable access to sustainable development, particularly for those developing countries that are poised for their greatest growth. They have to be supported financially and technically to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

87. The path to greener economies and more sustainable development lies through partnerships with others.

88. I am confident that by working in close partnership across all sectors and by building nutrition-sensitive, sustainable, and climate-resilient food systems, we can achieve the SDG goal of ending malnutrition by 2030.

89. Now it is hard to imagine a world without modern transport. Transport drives economic and social development. Transport connects people to jobs, health services, and education and keeps the wheels of commerce turning.

90. We must also avoid the trap set by extremists of limiting human beings to one identity. We all have multiple identities which enrich us as individuals.

91. Globalization is a fact of life. But I believe we have underestimated its fragility.

92. Business, labor, and civil society organization have skills and resources that are vital in helping to build a more robust global community.

93. Insecurity is love dressed in a child’s clothing.

94. We cannot wait for governments to do it all. Globalization operates on internet time. Governments tend to be slow-moving by nature because they have to build political support for every step.

95. We can thrive in our own tradition, even as we learn from others, and come to respect their teachings.

96. What governments and people don’t realize is that sometimes the collective interest – the international interest is also the national interest.

97. The happiness of any society begins with the well-being of the families that live in it.

98. Microfinance is an idea whose time has come.

99. Let us be good stewards of the Earth we inherited. all of us have to share the earth’s fragile ecosystem and precious resources, and each of us has a role to play in preserving them. If we are going on living together on this earth, WWE must all be responsible for it.

Other Quotes by Kofi Annan

100. The lord had the wonderful advantage of being able to work alone.

101. We need to keep hope alive and strive to do better.

102. We can love what we are, without hating what, and who, we are not.

103. Without a dream, you’ll not get anywhere.

104. I urge you to celebrate the extraordinary courage and contributions of refugees past and present.

105. The future belongs to you, but it can only belong to you if you participate and take charge.

106. I am not afraid to dream. You first have to start with a dream. Build your castles in the air and give it a foundation. Without a dream, you are not going to get anywhere.

107. Drugs have destroyed many lives, but wrongheaded governmental policies have destroyed many more. I think it’s obvious that after 40 years of the war on drugs, it has not worked. There should be decriminalization of drugs.

108. If one is going to err, one should err on the side of liberty and freedom.

109. Landmines are among the most barbaric weapons of war because they continue to kill and maim innocent people long after the war itself has ended. Also, fear keeps people off the land, and thus prevents them from growing food.

110. We have the means and capacity to deal with problems if only we can find the political will.

The post 100+ Most Inspiring Kofi Annan Quotes appeared first on WeAfrique.

Mandela was known for leading a peaceful and successful revolution that ended apartheid and transitioned the nation of South Africa to a multiracial democracy after being imprisoned for 27 years for opposing South Africa’s apartheid system. He was honored with an award in 1993 as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He became his country’s first black president in 1994. 

Moreso he was a motivational leader who delivered monumental speeches and wrote an autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. Here are his best quotes on leadership, and other aspects of life.

Nelson Mandela’s Powerful Quotes

1. When people are determined they can overcome anything.

2. As we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same.

3. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

4. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. 

5. Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.

6. Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again

7. It is better to lead from behind and put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.

8. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace.

9. If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.

10. One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen

11. As I have said, the first thing is, to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.

12. A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.

13. Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.

14. Tread softly, breathe peacefully, and laugh hysterically.

15. Everyone can rise above their circumstance and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.

16. It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. 

17. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great, you can be that generation.

18. We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.

19. What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made  to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead

20. I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all my life; I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days.

21. Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, and the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.

22. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but by its lowest ones. 

23. Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.

24. I never lose. I either win or learn.

25.  A leader is like a shepherd, He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.

26.  There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status.

27. It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.

28. I am the captain of my soul.

29. A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.

30. It is not diversity that divides us; It is our ethnicity or religion or culture that divides us. Since we have archived our freedom, there can only be one division amongst us: between those who cherish democracy and those who do not.

31. I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonoring them.   

32. When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.

33. Where you stand depends on where you sit.

34. Know your enemy- and learn about his favorite sport 

35. Appearances matter- and remember to smile. 

36. Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, honesty, but humility.

37. After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are so many more hills to climb.

38. Keep your friends close- and your rival even closer.

39. There is no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.

40. It always seems impossible until it’s done. 

 41. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but, nerve extinguished.

42. If you talk to a man in his language he understands, and that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

43. The brave man is not the one who has no fears, he is the one who triumphs over his fears.   

Read Also: Robben Island- 10 Facts About The Prison Where Nelson Mandela Was Imprisoned

44. Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope he will rise even in the end.

45. Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity, and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty. 

46. Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace

47. You will archive more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution. 

48. When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw

49. Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them: one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savor their songs. 

50. Success in politics demands that you must take your people into confidence about your views and state them very clearly, very politely, and very calmly, but nevertheless, state them openly. 

The post 50 Most Powerful Nelson Mandela Quotes  appeared first on WeAfrique.