20 Quotes by Senegalese authors

Senegalese Flag

Senegalese wisdom speaks in the cadence of sabar drums and the measured counsel of griots. Its sayings prize teranga, hospitality as shared dignity, while urging patience, humble labor, and a faith tempered by effort. From Dakar’s restless tide to Sahel winds, images of pirogues, millet, and baobabs carry lessons on interdependence: a person ripens within the community. Sufi echoes thread through daily life, joining devotion with discipline. Humor softens hardship, and resilience is practical, salt-scented, and alert to the small mercies that make tomorrow possible.

See the complete list of authors from Senegal

"I know you want many things, but education is the priority for our generation. School comes first"

Sadio Mané, Athlete

Sadio Mané

"I wanted to show to the people that you can achieve anything in the world, if you are ready to build on your dreams and put in hard work"

Sadio Mané, Athlete

Sadio Mané

"I don't feel that it brings extra pressure for me to do. It is more that it means I need to focus in order to do well. The pressure comes from within!"

Sadio Mané, Athlete

Sadio Mané

"People say that about me, but I don't see myself as a global star at all. I don't know where to start with that phrase. All I care about is being part of the team"

Sadio Mané, Athlete

Sadio Mané

"I remember my sister was also born at home because there is no hospital in our village. It was a really, really sad situation for everyone. I wanted to build one to give people hope"

Sadio Mané, Athlete

Sadio Mané

"Why would I want to have 10 Ferraris, 20 watches with diamonds or two planes? What would these objects do for me and for the world?"

Sadio Mané, Athlete

Sadio Mané

"I think that these cultural problems are the fundamental problems at the beginning and end of development"

Léopold Sédar Senghor, President

Léopold Sédar Senghor

"Dear White Brother, when I was born I was black... So, who of the two of us is the coloured one?"

Léopold Sédar Senghor, President

Léopold Sédar Senghor

"I grew up in the heartland of Africa, at the crossroads-- of castes and races and roads"

Léopold Sédar Senghor, President

Léopold Sédar Senghor

"The civilization of the twentieth century cannot be universal except by being a dynamic synthesis of all the cultural values of all civilizations"

Léopold Sédar Senghor, President

Léopold Sédar Senghor

"New York! I say New York, let black blood flow into your blood"

Léopold Sédar Senghor, President

Léopold Sédar Senghor

"Who else will teach rhythm to the world, deadened by machines and cannons?"

Léopold Sédar Senghor, President

Léopold Sédar Senghor

"Let us answer "Present!" at the rebirth of the world, as the leaven that the white flour needs"

Léopold Sédar Senghor, President

Léopold Sédar Senghor

"Emotion is Negro, just as reason is Hellenic"

Léopold Sédar Senghor, President

Léopold Sédar Senghor

"The teacher that I was for decades, and that I still am in a certain way, wondered what was meant by the word education. I was truly dumbfounded at the very thought of dealing with such an essential and extensive subject"

Abdoulaye Wade, Statesman

"We will win the battle for Africa, which is in effect a battle for Humanity"

Abdoulaye Wade, Statesman

"Democracy is constructed like an edifice, freedom by freedom, right by right, until it reaches its snapping point"

Abdoulaye Wade, Statesman

"A small child from a developing country has the advantage, from a very early age, of having access to toys which structure his mind, which constitute a sure advantage over the little African child who has never even held a modern toy"

Abdoulaye Wade, Statesman

"We wish to ensure that young Africans do not feel disorientated in the century in which they live"

Abdoulaye Wade, Statesman

"Education for all seems to be the product of a type of distributive justice that is in no way related to the individual"

Abdoulaye Wade, Statesman

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