KENYAN President, William Ruto, has claimed that his remarks on Nigerian English were misinterpreted and taken out of context.
Recall that Ruto drew the attention of Nigerians at home and abroad recently while addressing Kenyans living Italy, praising Kenya’s education system, and casting aspersion on Nigerian.
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 even when they are speaking English.”
However, the Kenyan leader, while explaining his comments on Tuesday, April 28, at the conference, said: “I want to send my regards to my brothers and sisters in Nigeria… my in-laws.
“Tell President Tinubu that I said ‘hi.’ And tell him I said that in good English… so that there will be no consequences.
“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 comparison. But somebody misrepresented the facts.”
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