Only a wise person can solve a difficult problem.

Ananse the spider once decided that all the wisdom in the world should belong to him alone. He traveled far and wide, gathering every scrap of wisdom he could find, and sealed it all inside a single gourd pot. To keep it safe from everyone else, he resolved to hide the pot at the very top of a tall tree. He tied the pot to his front with a rope and began to climb, but with the pot pressed against his belly he could not grip the trunk properly, and he struggled and slipped with every attempt. His young son Ntikuma, watching from below, called out that the climb would go far easier if Ananse tied the pot to his back instead of his front. At first Ananse dismissed his son's advice and tried again without success. Then he moved the pot onto his back and climbed to the branches. There he realized that his young son had shown him wisdom he had not gathered. He cast the gourd away, and the wisdom scattered. People came to gather it; in this telling, those who arrived too late were left without it.

Someone with long legs may arrive sooner, but delivering a message takes more than carrying the words. The proverb says it is better to send a wise person, even a slower one.