Kenyan President William Ruto has stirred controversy after making remarks perceived as mocking Nigerians’ spoken English, drawing backlash across social media.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking to Kenyans living in Italy on Monday, Ruto praised Kenya’s education system and boasted about the country’s command of English, while drawing an unfavourable comparison with Nigeria.
“Kenyans, you know our education is good, our English is good. We speak some of the best English in the world… that is true,” he said.
“If you listen to a Nigerian speaking, you don’t know what they are saying — you need a translator even when they’re speaking English,” he added.
The comments triggered criticism online, with many Nigerians and other social media users condemning the remarks as unnecessary and dismissive.
Although Kenya and Nigeria, both former British colonies, use English as an official language, each country has developed distinct accents shaped by indigenous languages and local speech patterns.
Nigeria’s over 500 languages influence pronunciation and intonation in English, while Kenya’s Bantu, Nilotic and Cushitic linguistic mix similarly shapes its own spoken variety.
Linguists have long argued against ranking accents. Cambridge University, for instance, maintains there is no “best” English accent, stressing instead the importance of effective communication.
Reacting on X, former senator Shehu Sani faulted Ruto’s remarks, pointing to Nigeria’s literary pedigree.
“Ruto is mocking the English of the country with a Nobel Prize for literature winner. The Nation of Achebe and Chimamanda,” he wrote, referencing Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Another X user linked the comments to previous exchanges between both countries.
“One moment Kenya’s President is complaining about Nigerian men marrying Kenyan ladies, another moment he is saying we need a ‘translata’,” the user wrote.
Some users also connected Ruto’s remarks to comments made earlier this month by President Bola Tinubu, who faced criticism from Kenyans online after saying Nigerians were “better off than those in Kenya and other African countries” despite economic hardship at home.
While Ruto did not directly link his comments to Tinubu’s statement, some online commentators speculated they may have been a veiled response.
Others, however, dismissed the remarks as lighthearted banter rather than a serious slight, describing them as friendly teasing between two African nations.
The comments have since continued to fuel debate online, with reactions split between outrage and amusement.
