Kenyan President, William Ruto, has fired back at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying Nigerian-accented English is incomprehensible.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-Summer-IDRI-Masterclass.jpg")
Ruto made the remark while addressing Kenyans living in Italy on Monday, where he suggested that Nigerian-accented English is difficult to understand and often requires translation.
According to him, Kenya’s education system promotes strong English proficiency, a point he reiterated during the diaspora event.
“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, drawing laughter from the audience.
“We have some of the best human capital anywhere in the world. We just need to sharpen it with more training,” Ruto added
The remark comes a few days after Tinubu said Nigerians were “better off than those in Kenya and other African countries” despite rising fuel prices at home.
“Yes, I hear you from various angles of the economy. Fuel prices are biting hard, but look around, let’s thank God together that you are better off. Listen to what people in Kenya and other African countries are going through,” Tinubu said while inaugurating projects executed by Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri in Yenagoa, the state capital, recently.
Tinubu’s comparison of Nigeria with Kenya drew reactions, including from former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Obi criticised the reliance on rhetorical comparisons, questioning their value in measuring national progress.
“Na statistics we go shop?”
Obi stressed that governance and development assessments must be rooted in measurable data rather than political consolation.
“Yet statistics remain indispensable – they are the language through which nations understand their condition and chart progress.”
He warned that comparisons without credible data could distort public understanding of Nigeria’s true condition.
“No country can develop in isolation from measurable realities or without comparing itself with peers.”
“What is objectionable is not comparison itself, but comparison stripped of credible, verifiable data mere tax collector comparisons that soothe rather than solve.”
While Ruto did not directly reference Tinubu’s comment, the statement has since been interpreted by netizens as a response.
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