Kenya’s Ruto says Nigerians speak excellent English, says he was misquoted
A casual remark by Kenya’s president has ignited a transcontinental debate, after William Ruto was quoted as saying Kenyans “speak some of the best English in the world” and that Nigerians can require “a translator” when speaking English.
Wednesday April 29, 2026
A casual remark by Kenya’s president has ignited a transcontinental debate, after William Ruto was quoted as saying Kenyans “speak some of the best English in the world” and that Nigerians can require “a translator” when speaking English.
- Advertisement -
Kenya’s President William Ruto. / Reuters
Are Kenyans better English speakers than Nigerians, or have national pride and online banter simply taken over? That question has dominated social media in recent days after remarks attributed to Kenyan President William Ruto, who was said to have praised Kenya’s education system while suggesting Kenyans speak English better than Nigerians.
Local media reported last week that Ruto said Kenyans “speak some of the best English in the world” and that “you need a translator” to understand Nigerians when they speak English.
The comments quickly set off playful exchanges between Kenyans and Nigerians. President Ruto later insisted the remarks came from “a private conversation” that was leaked and then presented out of context.
Addressing the Kenya Mining Investment Conference in Nairobi on 28 April, where he also received a Nigerian delegation led by the Minister of Solid Minerals, Henry Dele Alake, Ruto said his point was that Nigerians, like Kenyans, speak “excellent” English.
“It was supposed to be a private conversation, but somebody decided that it should be public, but they also misrepresented the facts. The facts are 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 don’t speak excellent English like the one we speak in Kenya, you may need a translator, you know, for you to understand the excellent English of Nigeria. So, that was the comparison, but somebody decided to take it out of context.”
English proficiency
On the numbers, Education First’s 2025 data ranks South Africa as the continent’s leader in English proficiency, followed by Zimbabwe in second place, Kenya in third, Zambia in fourth and Nigeria in fifth.
The Education First Standard English Test is among the world’s largest country-and-region rankings of English ability. It uses an online survey to measure reading, listening, speaking and writing skills.
The latest Kenya-Nigeria exchange has revived long-running discussions about education standards in Africa, the legacy of colonial rule and the position of indigenous languages across the continent.
Specialists warn that using fluency in English or French as a yardstick for intelligence or the quality of schooling can be deeply misleading.
Others argue that the debate reflects a still-lingering colonial mindset that continues to sideline Africa’s rich linguistic heritage.
Kenya and Nigeria were both British colonies and retain English as their official language.
Kenya also recognizes Swahili as an official language, while widely spoken local languages include Kikuyu, Luhya, Kalenjin and Luo. In Nigeria, major languages include Hausa, Fulfulde, Yoruba and Igbo, alongside hundreds of others.