--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you fight corruption, corruption…" description: "\"When you fight corruption, corruption strikes back and that is the truth because when you fight corruption, you get confidence and when it gets to impu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/wole-soyinka-1587_aggressive_when-you-fight-corruption-corruption-str_2414499.jpg" --- # When you fight corruption, corruption strikes back and… ![“When you fight corruption, corruption strikes back and that is the truth because when you fight corruption, you get confidence and when it gets to impunity, then it gets aggressive and says, 'oh, so you think you are different? You think you are tough and different?' This is why some of us are…” quote by Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/wole-soyinka-1587_aggressive_when-you-fight-corruption-corruption-str_2414499.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/wole-soyinka-1587_aggressive_when-you-fight-corruption-corruption-str_2414499.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/wole-soyinka-1587_aggressive_when-you-fight-corruption-corruption-str_2414499.jpg) > “When you fight corruption, corruption strikes back and that is the truth because when you fight corruption, you get confidence and when it gets to impunity, then it gets aggressive and says, 'oh, so you think you are different? You think you are tough and different?' This is why some of us are almost permanently in the libel court.” [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage argues that fighting corruption leads to retaliation, creating a cycle where corrupt forces become more aggressive and entrenched. **In simple terms:** Combatting corruption provokes a backlash. Key Takeaway Beware of retaliation when confronting corruption. Themes corruption justice power dynamics Mood cautious determined Type political activist When to use this quote - activism - legal battles - policy reform - media reporting Key Concepts political science ethics Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can protect anti‑corruption advocates? - How does power influence the response to reform? A Different Perspective Retaliation can deter whistleblowers and weaken reform efforts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aggressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggressive/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption/) [Corruption Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption-confidence-6089966/) [Corruption Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption-strikes-6089967/) [Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Fight Corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-corruption-330813/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Impunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impunity/) [Libel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libel/) [Libel Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libel-court-6089968/) [Strike back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strike-back/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) ## Related quotes > [It is not fair to those who fight corruption that they have to fight the aggressiveness, the impunity of the corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/it-is-not-fair-to-those-who-fight-corruption-that-they-have-to-fight/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [As a president, you've got to show some example. I am disturbed for instance when I read that a candidate said, 'I will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/as-a-president-you-ve-got-to-show-some-example-i-am-disturbed-for/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The state is obliged to fight corruption within the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrique-pena-nieto/the-state-is-obliged-to-fight-corruption-within-the-government/) [Enrique Pena Nieto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrique-pena-nieto/) > [One must not confuse the fight against corruption with the persecution of the rich or wealthy families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-lourenco/one-must-not-confuse-the-fight-against-corruption-with-the/) [Joao Lourenco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-lourenco/) > [Money, as a sort of drug, has become a great danger to our development. There will be no progress in our country unless we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nguyen-minh-triet/money-as-a-sort-of-drug-has-become-a-great-danger-to-our-development/) [Nguyen Minh Triet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nguyen-minh-triet/) > [Let's fight against corruption for a better India](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-gandhi/let-s-fight-against-corruption-for-a-better-india/) [Rahul Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-gandhi/) > [All those who talk about democracy, freedom, and the rule of law, of human rights, of the fight against corruption are, I believe, important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-guaido/all-those-who-talk-about-democracy-freedom-and-the-rule-of-law-of/) [Juan Guaido](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-guaido/) > [Corruption has been tolerated for too long now, and with Buhari, we will, for the first time ever, have a president who will fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yemi-osinbajo/corruption-has-been-tolerated-for-too-long-now-and-with-buhari-we/) [Yemi Osinbajo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yemi-osinbajo/) > [Any strategy to promote democracy and human rights must have the fight against corruption at its heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/any-strategy-to-promote-democracy-and-human-rights-must-have-the/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [This gentleman has taken on the very fashionable theme of fighting corruption and I say again: In order to fight corruption you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/this-gentleman-has-taken-on-the-very-fashionable-theme-of-fighting/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The IMF and the World Bank, the most opaque and secretive entities, put millions into NGOs who fight against "corruption" and for "transparency." They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-imf-and-the-world-bank-the-most-opaque-and-secretive-entities-put/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [We did not organize press conferences and talk about fighting against corruption, we acted on the ground and brought changes in the schemes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/we-did-not-organize-press-conferences-and-talk-about-fighting-against/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [“China will make real progress in the fight against corruption only when prosecution and conviction are separated from politics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/china-will-make-real-progress-in-the-fight-against-corruption-only/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [When you fight corruption, it fights back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuhu-ribadu/when-you-fight-corruption-it-fights-back/) [Nuhu Ribadu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuhu-ribadu/) > [As you fight corruption, it fights back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yemi-osinbajo/as-you-fight-corruption-it-fights-back/) [Yemi Osinbajo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yemi-osinbajo/) ## More by Wole Soyinka > [Writers and intellectuals have a duty to humanity. It is to insist that the human entity remains the primary asset in overall development; thus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/writers-and-intellectuals-have-a-duty-to-humanity-it-is-to-insist/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [When I tried to create a new political party, which I stressed that this is not my party. I believe very much that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/when-i-tried-to-create-a-new-political-party-which-i-stressed-that/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Each time I think I've created time for myself, along comes a throwback to disrupt my private space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/each-time-i-think-i-ve-created-time-for-myself-along-comes-a/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I began writing early - very, very early... 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It remained almost an independent entity within what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-egba-kingdom-was-one-of-the-very-last-to-be-ceded-to-the-british/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [One's own self-worth is tied to the worth of the community to which one belongs, which is intimately connected to humanity in general. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-s-own-self-worth-is-tied-to-the-worth-of-the-community-to-which/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I was born into a Christian household, in a parsonage in fact, so I grew up in sort of a missionary atmosphere but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-was-born-into-a-christian-household-in-a-parsonage-in-fact-so-i/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The problem with literature, with writing, is that it works sometimes in terms of correction of social ills. 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