West African Proverbs Part 1 – Proverbs from around West Africa, including Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Liberia. Use the page links at the bottom to navigate.
Nigerian Proverbs
- It is the head that disturbs the wasp that the wasp stings.
Community/language of origin: Igbo
Country: Nigeria - A spider web that gets in the way of an elephant entering the stream will get pulled along.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - If there are no cracks in the wall, the lizard won’t be able to get in.
Community/language of origin: Yoruba
Country: Nigeria - No matter how good you are to a goat it will still eat your yam.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - When a child is cutting a tree in the forest, it is the elders who know in what direction it will fall.
Community/language of origin: Yoruba
Country: Nigeria - No amount of trouble can prevent daybreak.
Community/language of origin: Ishan/Esan
Country: Nigeria - If a toad jumps around in the daytime, it is either chasing something or something is chasing it.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - He who is patient enough to wait will eat well.
In original language: A pe ki’o to jeun, kii je ibaje.
Community/language of origin: Yoruba
Country:
Nigeria - Whoever thinks the moon is in the wrong location should go there and place it the right place.
Community/language of origin: Hausa
Country: Nigeria - A woman is never old when it comes to the dance she knows.
Community/language of origin: Igbo
Country: Nigeria - The frown on the face of the goat will not stop it from being taken to the market.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - A child only goes to sleep after eating what kept it awake.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - The moon moves slowly but by daybreak it has crossed the sky.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - Give a stammerer enough time and he will pronounce his father’s name.
Community/language of origin: Yoruba
Country: Nigeria - One who throws away the seed pod does not realize that he has thrown away a basket of vegetables.
Community/language of origin: Igbo
Country: Nigeria - Those who die as the result of their folly are many; those who die as the result of their wisdom are few.
Community/language of origin: Ogun state
Country: Nigeria - One does not learn how to use the left hand in old age.
Community/language of origin: Igbo
Country: Nigeria - However far a stream flows, it never forgets its origin.
Community/language of origin: Yoruba
Country: Nigeria - A good dog never gets a good bone.
Community/language of origin: Yoruba
Country: Nigeria - If a lizard was good to eat you would never find him under the tub.
Community/language of origin: Yoruba
Country: Nigeria - It is the old pot that makes the good soup.
Community/language of origin: Yoruba
Country: Nigeria - Kola nuts last longer in the mouths of those who value them.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Ghana / Nigeria - A wicked elder sows suffering for his children.
Community/language of origin: Yoruba
Country: Nigeria - If a beard where to signify wisdom, a he goat would be a genius.
Community/language of origin: Jos
Country: Nigeria - Do not befriend a goat if your cover cloth is made from plantain leaves.
Community/language of origin: Enugu
Country: Nigeria - Only a madman would go to sleep with his roof on fire.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - Only a goat that is tired of life, invites a lion to dinner.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - When brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their fathers estate.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - Those who live near a river bank have more than enough water to wash their hands.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - A river that forgets its source will run dry.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - If Friday is going to be sweet, you will know by Thursday.
Community/language of origin: Yoruba
Country: Nigeria - Secrets are like sharp tools, they must be kept away from children and fools.
Community/language of origin: Unknown
Country: Nigeria - If you see a man in a gown eating with a man in rags, the food belongs to the latter.
Community/language of origin: Fulani
Country: Nigeria - An elder who wears a string of corn around his waist makes himself a playmate of angry chickens.
Community/language of origin: Yoruba
Country: Nigeria - Don’t expect to find a healthy tooth in a rotten mouth.
Community/language of origin: unknown
Country: Nigeria
Source: BBC Africa - When the ear hears, the body is safe.
Community/language of origin: Hausa
Country: Nigeria - The chicken says it looks up when drinking water because what kills it comes from the sky.
Community/language of origin: Igbo
Country: Nigeria
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