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Kenyan President William Ruto has faced a social media backlash after publicly suggesting that Nigerian-accented English was incomprehensible and required a translator.<\/p>\n
Addressing Kenyans living in Italy on Monday, Ruto said: “If you listen to a Nigerian speaking, you don’t know what they are saying – you need a translator,” while boasting that Kenyans spoke “some of the best English in the world”.<\/p>\n
His remarks drew fierce condemnation from Nigerians and other Africans online who accused the Kenyan leader of demeaning a fellow African nation.<\/p>\n
“English is a colonial language, not a measure of intelligence, capability, or national progress,” wrote Hopewell Chin’ono, a Zimbabwean journalist.<\/p>\n
As former British colonies, both Kenya and Nigeria share English as an official language, but each country has developed distinct spoken varieties with different phonetic structures.<\/p>\n
These differences reflect the influence of indigenous languages – Nigeria has more than 500 languages which shape its cadence and intonation, while Kenya’s Bantu, Nilotic and Cushitic mix give rise to its own accents.<\/p>\n
But in his address to the diaspora gathering, Ruto said Kenya’s education system produced strong English proficiency and that it was difficult to understand Nigerians when they spoke English.<\/p>\n
“Our education is good. Our English is good. We speak some of the best English in the world. If you listen to a Nigerian speaking, you don’t know what they are saying. You need a translator even when they are speaking English,” he said, sparking laughter in the room.<\/p>\n
“We have some of the best human capital anywhere in the world. We just need to sharpen it with more training,” Ruto added.<\/p>\n
His remarks have sparked widespread reactions on social media, with many users criticising the Kenyan leader for showcasing a “deep inferiority complex rooted in colonial conditioning”.<\/p>\n
“Ruto is mocking the English of the country with a Nobel Prize for literature winner.The Nation of Achebe and Chimamanda,” former Nigerian senator Shehu Sani posted on X, referring to Wole Soyinka – the country’s only Nobel Prize winner – along with acclaimed authors Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.<\/p>\n
Other social media users urged Ruto to focus on addressing pressing issues facing his citizens – such as the cost of living and unemployment – rather than engaging in what they described as distractions.<\/p>\n
Online barbs between Kenya and Nigeria are a frequent occurrence, often marked by intense, humorous and sometimes volatile cyber wars on platforms like X.<\/p>\n
These exchanges typically revolve around economic comparisons, pop culture and sport and, more recently, political remarks.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu faced a backlash from Kenyans online after stating that Nigerians were “better off than those in Kenya and other African countries” despite rising fuel prices at home.<\/p>\n
While Ruto did not make a direct reference to any specific comment, some online interpretations suggested his remarks may be in response to Tinubu’s comments.<\/p>\n
There has been no official response from Ruto’s government, but some Kenyans have defended him online, arguing that critics have misunderstood the intent of his remarks and missed the humour.<\/p>\n