Actually, I identify with all my characters, good and bad. I have to do that in order to make them genuine. I have to understand them even if I don't approve of them. Not completely - it's impossible; complete identification is, in fact, not desirable.

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 know that an important message is not a novel. To say that we should all be kind to our neighbors is an important statement; it's not a novel.

Art should be on the side of humanity.

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

What you must accept is that your life is not going to be the same while you are writing.

When old people speak it is not because of the sweetness of words in our mouths; it is because we see something which you do not see.