By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Kenya’s President, William Ruto, has jocularly said his country could experience a new wave of brain drain after Nigerian suitors run after ladies from the East African country.
A viral video has shown the Kenyan leader “lament” during a wedding ceremony where he called on his countrymen to rise up and strike a balance in the marriage ratio.
He jokingly said there is a shift in the choice of husbands among Kenyan girls, with Nigerians becoming their preferred choice.
He then questioned why Kenyan men are being “slow”, warning that his country might soon experience a brain drain if their women continue to choose Nigerian men, who are reputed.
“My daughter is married to a Nigerian, and this one is now married to a Nigerian. And our guys around; I don’t know, are you slow? I don’t know.
“We need to balance this scale because at this rate, we are going to have a brain drain from Kenya,” – Ruto “decried” at the event.
Ruto, who has faced pressure from young people to resign over his economic policies, said such conjugal bliss among the two nationalities speaks volumes about the existing cordial relationship between Nigeria and Kenya, which must be taken to the next level.
”I think there is something between Kenya and Nigeria, we should pick it up further,” Ruto said.
One of his daughters, Ms Charlene, has faced criticism following the arrest of an author, Webster Ochora Elijah, whom she accused of “misusing” her name by writing her biography without first seeking her permission.
Though she has not spoken on the content of the book titled Beyond the Name: Charlene Ruto and the Youth Uprising, she insists that her consent was not sought.
The author has been released on bail, but free-speech advocates and lawyers in the East African country have condemned his arrest and prosecution, absolving him of violating any rule.
Politician and lawyer Willis Otieno said to “criminalise authorship” was misusing the “state machinery in defence of fragile egos”.
Charlene Ruto is a high-profile figure who has in the past been likened to a version of Ivanka Trump, daughter of the US President.
In 2022, she denied that public money was being used to fund what she called the “Office of the First Daughter”.
