8 African Street Quotes That Hold Deep Life Wisdom
1. ”No matter how hot your anger gets, it cannot cook a yam.”
I was chatting with a friend Michael Thompson and he mentioned how much he likes the African expressions I sprinkle into our conversations. To be honest, I’ve never really thought about it since I’m from Africa and what I say is what a lot of my people say. But it gave me the idea to put a collection of my favorite sayings in one place.
As Nigerians, we speak a lot of street slang, encoded with deep wisdom. Stuff about life and the hustle and bustle that comes with it. Like in a lot of places, especially in Nigeria, people talk a lot and we don’t have a shortage of clever ways to say simple things. That being said, our sayings have become a kind of code or principles that guide us on a daily basis, and below lie my favorite eight.
1. ”No matter how hot your anger gets, it cannot cook a yam.”
This is one of my personal favorites. My mom used to say it and it got picked up by my friends as I think we all like to say “You trying to cook a yam with all that heat?” Or maybe it’s simply because the word “yam” is fun to say. But regardless, this quote reminds us that no matter how upset you get, in the end, it produces no good.
