Stare into the gutters long enough and you’ll catch a fish. At first it sounds like nonsense. Who can find fish in the gutter? But that’s the sly trick of this Nigerian proverb, using an unlikely image to make a very practical point. It is said that looking into the gutter for too long will kill the fish. Take away the images and the message is simple. Stick with something long enough, look at it carefully enough, and refuse to walk away, and sooner or later it will pay off. This quote, spoken by the Ondo people of southwestern Nigeria, is essentially a quiet paean to patience. Not the dramatic kind. The kind of stubborn, uncharismatic person who still shows up after everyone else has given up and gone home.
Nigerian Proverbs of the Day
“If people look into the gutter for too long, it will kill the fish.”
proverb meaning
Imagine the scene described by this proverb. Someone was squatting next to a drainage ditch on the side of the road. No one would take a second look at such a dirty drainage ditch, they just looked at it. Hour after hour. Seems pointless. Of course, there’s nothing worth capturing in it. However, the proverb insists that the observer who persists long enough will eventually get the fish.Fish represents everything you are chasing. Success, an answer, a breakthrough, some kind of capture. The gutters represent the slow, hopeless work of waiting and watching. The adage goes that over time, focus and patience tend to produce something, even in seemingly hopeless places.There is also a second level. The observer doesn’t just sit there. They are paying attention. This proverb rewards those who pay close attention to things, those who notice what others miss because others are lost. Patience here is not passive. It has been a long and watchful wait.
The Origin of Nigerian Culture
This quote belongs to the Ondo, a Yoruba-speaking people of southwestern Nigeria, and like most proverbs, it comes from everyday life rather than any one author. You can hear the sounds of everyday life in it. Open drains line the streets in much of the area, and fishing has long been a part of life near rivers and coasts. Put these two familiar things together in a strange image and you get a thread that’s etched in the memory.This stickiness is important. For generations, knowledge in many Nigerian communities has been passed down orally rather than through books. Proverbs are how elders condense an entire lesson into a few words that a child can remember for a lifetime. Good writing must be lively, a little strange, and easily repeatable.The effect of this proverb is to be a bit ridiculous. Fish in the gutter? This painting makes you stop and think, and once you solve it, you won’t forget it. The weird thing is the hook. The lesson in patience is the question below.
Why patience usually wins
Peel back this proverb and you’ll find that people around the world have noticed. Those who stick with something tend to beat those who are faster but give up.Think of the writer who receives constant rejection, continues to publish no matter what, and eventually gets the book. Or a small shop that struggled through three years of slump as its brilliant competitors folded, but was still standing when the streets came back to life. Or someone learning an instrument, having it painfully long to listen to for months, wakes up one day and can simply play it. None of them got there in a hurry. They refused to stop to get there.This is the uncomfortable part. Patience is boring. Staring into the gutters is a tedious task and most people are asleep before the fish show up. The proverb quietly tells you that staying is the skill. Sure, talent and luck help, but the person who’s still watching when everyone else goes home is the one who walks away with his dinner.
Patience in an age of impatience
If this proverb works in a slow world, it’s almost as good as medicine in this one. We are now trained to anticipate quickly. Get answers in seconds, results within a week, results next month. When fish don’t show up on time, people are likely to think the drain is empty and rush to the next drain.Proverbs retorts gently. Some things only happen to those who are willing to wait. True ability, deep trust, and a career worth having are not something that can be changed on demand. The trick, of course, is to pick a gutter that’s really worth a look and then have the courage to stay put. Choose something that’s important to you, pay close attention to it, and don’t leave it when it gets boring. As the saying goes, fish comes to those who stay.
