Kenyan President William Ruto has stirred reactions after defending his country’s education system while making remarks about Nigerians’ spoken English.
Speaking to Kenyans living in Italy, Ruto praised Kenya’s strong English proficiency, attributing it to the country’s education system.
He also suggested that he sometimes finds it difficult to understand Nigerians when they speak English.
He said …
“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.”
“We have some of the best human capital anywhere in the world. We just need to sharpen it with more training,”he stated in a video first posted by Kenyan Digital News on April 20.
Although he did not directly reference anyone, the comments have been linked by some observers to earlier remarks by Bola Tinubu.
During a visit to Bayelsa State on April 10, 2026, Tinubu acknowledged economic challenges in Nigeria but said citizens were better off compared to those in some other African countries, including Kenya.
“Let’s just thank God together that you are better off listening to them in Kenya and other African countries. What they are going through,” President Tinubu remarked while inaugurating projects executed by Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri in Yenagoa, the state capital.
Watch video below …
This is Kenyan President William Ruto boasting that Kenyans speak better English than Nigerians 🤣🤣🤣
He is confusing accent with diction.When African presidents boast that their citizens speak “better English” than others, they are not demonstrating a strong education system,… pic.twitter.com/WomklKsAbH
— Hopewell Chin’ono (@daddyhope) April 23, 2026
