It is not quite true to say that I am not an advocate of writing in African languages. What I think is, one has to think about what is practicable.

Literature, whether handed down by word or mouth or in print, gives us a second handle on reality.

You don't ever want to say to a young person, You can't, or, You are no good. Some people might be able to do it, but I don't think I am a policeman for literature. So I tell them, Sweat it out, do your best.

The lizard that jumped from a high Iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no-one else did.

Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then know that something is after its life.

It is not quite true to say that I am not an advocate of writing in African languages. What I think is, one has to think about what is practicable.

I think that is one of the first things that I got clear in my mind when I began to play around with fiction, that I had to find a language and it was not in existance at the time. You have put it very well - it wasn't to be taken for granted. You had to go on and search until you found a way through the conversation of English and Igbo. The two languages stuck into each other and tried to find a way to express through one, the medium of the thoughts. That's a very exciting thing to do, a very difficult thing to do.