French President Emmanuel Macron has stirred up online discussions after welcoming Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu to France in a tweet written in Pidgin English. In his tweet posted on Thursday evening, Macron called Tinubu’s visit a ‘big honour for France,’ highlighting the strong friendship between the two countries.
Macron expressed this warm welcome by saying, ‘Na big honour for France, dear President Bola Tinubu @officialABAT, to welcome you for our state visit as one big partner and friend of today and tomorrow.’
His use of Pidgin, a language commonly spoken in Nigeria, received positive feedback from Nigerians online, with many appreciating his effort to connect culturally.
Reflecting on his ties to Nigeria, Macron mentioned, ‘E still dey sweet me well well as I remember say I be young intern for French Embassy for Nigeria at that time.’
The tweet, along with a photo of the two leaders shaking hands in front of their flags, quickly went viral, attracting thousands of reactions.
One Twitter user, David.O, commented, ‘Macron dey write for Pidgin. It is high time we make Pidgin our official language.’
Others praised Macron’s unique approach, with Talba na Kashim tweeting, ‘Wow. This is absolutely incredible! Nice one, Macron!’