“You cannot plant greatness as you plant yams or maize. Who ever planted an iroko tree — the greatest tree in the forest? You may collect all the iroko seeds in the world, open the soil and put them there. It will be in vain. The great tree chooses where to grow and we find it there, so it is with the greatness in men.”

—  Chinua Achebe , book No Longer at Ease

Source: No Longer at Ease (1960), Chapter 5 (p. 57)

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Chinua Achebe photo
Chinua Achebe 63
Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic 1930–2013

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