• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • 4
    CommentGo Back
Download
 
1:
 African Proverbs and Wise Sayings for Different Occasions
by
V. C. Yakubu
105 African Proverbs and Wise Saying forDifferent Occasions
Victor Chendekemen Yakubu
1
 A Word for the Wise:
Sometimes in human life, you need to blend your speech with proverbs, idioms,quotes and wise sayings. In African culture[s], an elder is considered an elderwhen he speaks with proverbs. When an elder speaks without a proverb, it islike a child chasing the wind without results. Proverbs colour the speech andmake the audience happy or thoughtful.The Bible uses numerous metaphors, proverbs and wise sayings to explainevents and situations. Reading them offers consolation in our present conditionsand hope for a better tomorrow.AndJesus is the most likely personwe can point out who never spoke withoutusing a proverb, a wise saying or a metaphor. Elderly persons were mesmerizedby his ability to sprout out witty sayings offhand. One elder even challengedhim and said, “You are not up to forty and you talk like this?” He was full of wisdom.Examples of his sayings are many. He said at one time, “The Sabbath was madefor man and not man for the Sabbath”, or “Destroy this temple and in three days,I shall raise it up again” and at another time he said, “When am lifted up fromthe earth I shall draw all men to myself.” Of course, they were short of understanding.So Jesus left a compendium of proverbs for all kinds of people fromagriculturists to zoologists. There is something about Him which can make ourspeeches very interesting and colourful.
1
 
Fr. Victor C. Yakubu
is priest of the Catholic Diocese of Zaria, Nigeria. He can bereached atviccheny@chendekemen.com. This compilation was made between 1987 and 1994.But mostly in 1993/1994 when I assumed the position of President of the PhilosophicalSociety of St. Augustine’s Major Seminary Jos, Plateau State – Nigeria and contributingeditor of 
Gadfly
magazine. Special thanks to Fr. Isaiah Ochigbo for his suggestions on thiscompilation especially the arrangement and structure. Many thanks.
 
2:
 African Proverbs and Wise Sayings for Different Occasions
by
V. C. Yakubu
You may be a preacher or person who makes speeches everyday to an audience;you need to blend those speeches with some wise sayings, a proverb or ametaphor.But remember, when your audience is short of understanding, you have to takeover the explanation so that you do not leave them in the dark.Most importantly, know when to apply these proverbs to a particular occasion.When it is a sorrowful mood, you do not need to use proverbs for weddingceremony or when it is time for naming ceremony; your proverbs must not comefrom the burial ceremony genre.People who listen to speeches are quick to detect an empty application of aproverb, when it does not match the occasion. Mastery of the proverb gives youthe added advantage of using it when necessary like Jesus did.However, it does not mean that every speech or every sentence you make mustcarry a proverb. This would be a mis-application of what these proverbs are allabout.The Nigerian nationalist and politician, Chief Obafemi Awolowo [1909 – 1987]once said, “Violence never settles anything right: apart from injuring your ownsoul, it injures the best cause.It lingers on long after the object of hate has disappeared from the scene toplague the lives of those who have employed it against their foes.” OtherNigerian nationalists like Sir Ahmadu Bello, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and a host of others, used interesting sayings to stress their points.Many African nationalists used witty saying to fight for the independence of their states. Most popular and most recent of these is Nelson Mandela. He said,“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills toclimb.” From oneobstacle to another, his people were led to the abolition of apartheid.But after it, what came next is the issue of surmounting problems within theSouth African society and making it functional. So that saying is a very relevantsaying when making a speech to a group of people willing to make changes intheir societies.In pre-modern times African cultures have never had any written compilation of their sayings from Casablanca to J’Burg and from Algiers to Lusaka and fromTimbuktu to Ouagadougou.
 
3:
 African Proverbs and Wise Sayings for Different Occasions
by
V. C. Yakubu
These proverbs were handed over from parents to their children in oral forms instories and folklores. Over time these sayings were reformulated for lack of words and most of them lost their original style.However, with modern methods we can now boast of having a compilation whichis handed over not
only
in oral form but
also
in written form which anyinterested person can read.I have come to love wise sayings and proverbs not because I am an African, butlargely because the human mind is itching to hear something new like catchywords, quotes or sayings from different cultures.My grandfather at 97 years will close his eyes and speak in proverbs. Sometimeshe speaks endlessly. My grandmother is worst. At 88 years, she loves to shout inproverbs and if you don’t understand them she gets angrier in proverbs. I havecome to love them for the insights they offer via proverbs and wise sayings fromtheir wealth of experiences.As someone who must talk almost every day of my life, I imbibe the use of different categories of proverbs. At times, the audience is thrilled and at othertimes they are confused or just seem pathetic. Sometimes my audience istransfixed for lack of understanding may be because I never said the proverbaccordingly. But don’t be discouraged as I have never been.Above all, they have been inspirational and necessary when composing a talk ora speech to an audience. You too must do the same and you have your owncompilation from your culture.This simple collection is meant to aid your speech whenever you make one. Donot be taken by surprise when called to address an audience.Always begin by mesmerizing them with an already meditated proverb and thenbuild on that. The most important period to
shoot one
is either from thebeginning, the middle of your speech or at the end.Always make it sound interesting, coherent and straight forward. The best thingabout proverbs is to say it without a break, or to break in the middle of it andsigh, then conclude the second half. You will thrill your audience and send themin complete jitters fully mesmerized.Most of the proverbs in this collection are renditions from Fr. Isaiah Ochigbo, apriest of the Catholic Diocese of Otukpo and former lecturer at the St.Augustine’s Major Seminary Jos Plateau StateNigeria.
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
Ahmed Mansour

very valuable..as our mother Africa..

reply03 / 23 / 2012
Rono Desmond Arap Kirui

definitely some good ones here....i gotta borrow some...

reply03 / 20 / 2012
08 / 02 / 2010This doucment made it onto the Rising List!
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...