I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.

For me, nonviolence was not a moral principle but a strategy; there is no moral goodness in using an ineffective weapon.

Negotiation and discussion are the greatest weapons we have for promoting peace and development.

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

No one in my family had ever attended school [...] On the first day of school my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name. This was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education. That day, Miss Mdingane told me that my new name was Nelson. Why this particular name I have no idea.

Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers.

Millions of people in the world's poorest countries remain enslaved by the chains of poverty. It is time to set them free.