"I own things I like, but nothing inanimate that I treasure in a deeply consuming way."

"I live half the year in Nigeria, the other half in the U.S. But home is Nigeria - it always will be. I consider myself a Nigerian who is comfortable in the world. I look at it through Nigerian eyes."

"Successful fiction does not need to be validated by 'real life'; I cringe whenever a writer is asked how much of a novel is 'real'."

"My greatest vanity is my skin. It is the colour of gingerbread and, thanks to my mother's genes, smooth and mostly blemish-free."

"The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear."

"I think a lot of men are afraid of pretty things, and I'm not, I like pretty songs."

"My philosophy of leadership is to surround myself with good people who have ability, judgment and knowledge, but above all, a passion for service."

"I am interested in a lot of things - not just show business and my passion for animals. I try to keep current in what's going on in the world. I do mental exercises. I don't have any trouble memorizing lines because of the crossword puzzles I do every day to keep my mind a little limber. I don't sit and vegetate."