Kenyan President William Ruto has addressed recent controversy surrounding comments he made regarding Nigerians’ command of the English language, stating his remarks were taken out of context.
While speaking at a public function in Italy last week, President Ruto lauded Kenya’s education standards, a comparison that included a critique of English proficiency in Nigeria.
“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
Many Nigerians found his comment distasteful and called him out on social media.
However, speaking on Tuesday, April 28, at a mining conference in Nairobi, Ruto pushed back on the narrative, saying his words were taken out of context.
“Please pass my regards to President Tinubu, my friend and to the great people of Nigeria, my in-laws. You know, I was speaking to my fellow citizens somewhere, and it was supposed to be a private conversation, but somebody decided that it should be made public. It was also misrepresented. The fact is that I was talking about how we in Africa speak very good English, all of us. In fact, in some countries like Nigeria, if you do not speak excellent English like the one we speak in Kenya, you may need a translator to understand the excellent English of Nigeria. So that was the comparism but somebody decided to take it out of context” he said