News about Eddy Kenzo winning a BET award swept across the country on Sunday. Excitement was all over. You know how Ugandans can wake up like the world is catching fire and then head back to slumber land after saying all that matters and doesn’t matter.
Speaking of what doesn’t matter, I have seen a couple of people (that category of the wiseacres) making a fuss over this poor dude’s acceptance speech. Many are judging his poor command of the Queen’s language.
He did not get that nomination because of his good English! The song that even got him the award was sang in his local language for crying out loud. So, why are some people hell bent on spilling negative vibe over a positive story? Some people have such a high sense of self-worth. So, one sits back while another hustles, makes a living out of their sweat and exploits that God-given talent. With their creativity and hard work, they cross borders, gain international recognition and then the other sits back to critique what could have gone right and wrong in representing their country, really?
Anyways, at the end of the day we all know that being fluent in the Queen’s language is not a ticket to success. It is also not a source of embarrassment because we know and have seen that talent, hard work and God’s will beats all odds.
Eddy Kenzo is not and will not be the first nor last person to go overseas and fail to speak English. We have seen successful icons from all over the world making it big and becoming famous even when they cannot speak good English.
What good has knowledge of English done for all the literates who roam the streets looking for jobs? Haven’t we seen loaded chaps telling their stories and a good number of them did not even go to school but have gained status in society because of their works?
People need to realise that speaking fluent English is not necessarily one of the prerequisite for success in this 21st century as there are different dynamics involved. So, it does not hurt to stand by our own and celebrate their success because they are our ambassadors.
And if you have not realised it yet, we look funny ridiculing our own while the rest of the world accepts them even with the flaws that we think stand out. So, can all those negative comments stop and we let the dude be? He is enjoying the fruits of his hard work and living his dream, who cares if he cannot speak good English?