Nigerian proverbs are some of the rich cultural heritage of the Giant of Africa. These proverbs are powerful sayings that contain metaphors and imagery that give guidance on how to live a good and successful life, and they can be applied to a variety of situations.
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.
