451 Nigerian Proverbs
1.
"Give me a push from my back" does not mean give me a hunchback.2.
"Now the marriage begins," says the woman who has been beaten with thorns.3.
A bag that says it will not take more, and a traditional doctor who says he would not leave anything behind are both sure to suffer.4.
A bird does not change its feathers because the weather is bad.5.
A bird that flies from the ground onto an anthill, does not know that it is still on the ground.6.
A bottle of oil warmed over the fire has no means of producing oil by itself.7.
A bush fowls' playground is never appreciably spacious.8.
A child does not die because the mother's breasts are dry.9.
A child is what you put into him.10.
A child who fears beating, would never admit that he played with a missing knife.11.
A child who has no mother will not have scars to show on his back.12.
A child who is carried on the back will not know how far the journey is.13.
A child's face is his mirror.14.
A clay pot of water is never hot-tempered.15.
A crowd is like a smoldering log which can spark into a flame at any time.16.
A diviner cannot accurately divine his own future.17.
A family name is not cooked and eaten, one's life is the thing.18.
A farmer does not boast that he has had a good harvest until his stock of yams lasts till the following harvest season.19.
A farmer does not conclude by the mere look of it that a corn is unripe; he tears it open for examination.20.
A farmer who would not work inside the rain and would not work under the sun, would have nothing to harvest at the end of the farming year.