Kenyan President William Ruto has defended his country’s education system and English proficiency while taking a swipe at Nigerians’ spoken English, saying it is often difficult to understand without a translator.
Ruto made the remarks while addressing Kenyans living in Italy in a video that circulated widely on Thursday.
“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,” the president stated.
He added: “We have some of the best human capital anywhere in the world. We just need to sharpen it with more training.”
The comments, first posted by Kenyan Digital News on April 20, come amid heightened sensitivity in Nigeria-Kenya relations following recent remarks by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
On April 10 in Bayelsa State, Tinubu urged Nigerians to be grateful, saying they were “better off” than people in Kenya and other African countries facing tougher economic conditions.
Ruto did not directly reference Tinubu’s statement, but many online observers interpreted the language jab as a response to the economic comparison.
The exchange has sparked lively debate on social media, with Nigerians expressing irritation at the perceived slight. One user wrote: “OMG, Kenya don de sub us. Who we offend?” while another said Tinubu had “reduced us to a laughing stock.”
Others defended a broader view of education, arguing that fluency in English is not the ultimate measure of success. One commentator noted that both countries, despite long periods of British colonial rule, still face significant challenges.
Kenya has grappled with its own economic difficulties, including widespread protests in 2024 over proposed tax increases that forced Ruto to withdraw a finance bill and reshuffle his cabinet.
The latest verbal exchange between the two leaders highlights occasional tensions in intra-African diplomacy even as both nations confront similar issues of economic hardship, fuel price rises and global supply disruptions.
Neither the Kenyan nor Nigerian presidency has issued an official response to the latest remarks as of Friday. The video continues to generate reactions across social media platforms in both countries.
