Summary: Singer Peter Okoye (Mr P) has hit back at critics who attacked him for celebrating his children’s fluency in French, raising important questions about language, opportunity, and parenting choices in Nigeria.**
Peter Okoye, the one half of the iconic P-Square duo known to millions as Mr P, is not taking any rubbish from keyboard warriors — and honestly? We understand him completely.
The singer recently found himself in the crosshairs of Nigerian social media trolls after he shared a heartwarming moment from his Paris trip, gushing over how fluently his children were speaking French. What should have been a proud father’s moment of joy quickly turned into a battleground, with critics coming for his neck and accusing him of neglecting his Nigerian roots.
Mr P, never one to stay quiet, fired back without apology.
“Still in Paris Watching My Kids Speak French…”
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Peter expressed how proud he was watching his children communicate effortlessly in French. For many Nigerian parents who have invested heavily in quality education and global exposure for their kids, this hit differently. This is the dream — raising children who can move confidently in any room, anywhere in the world.
But trust Nigerian Twitter to find something to complain about.
The Real Question: Who Has Speaking a Nigerian Language Helped?
This is the question Mr P threw back at his trolls — and it is one worth sitting with for a moment.
Now, before the “proud Nigerian” brigade comes out in full force, let us be clear: there is absolutely nothing wrong with speaking Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Efik, or any of Nigeria’s over 500 languages. Our languages are rich, beautiful, and deeply tied to our identity. Nobody is disputing that.
But here is the honest truth — in a country where the government conducts official business in English, where Nigerians abroad often struggle because they only speak local dialects, and where global opportunities increasingly demand multilingualism, what exactly is the argument against a Nigerian child also speaking French fluently?
The Double Standard is Loud
Nigerians celebrate when their children get into Ivy League schools in America and speak American English with a twang. We spray money at owambe parties when our kids return from the UK sounding like they grew up in London. But the moment someone celebrates their child speaking French — a language spoken by over 300 million people worldwide and dominant across much of Africa — suddenly we have a problem?
The hypocrisy needs to be addressed.
Mr P Is Simply Doing What Good Parents Do
At the end of the day, Peter Okoye is a father who wants the best for his children. Exposing them to languages, cultures, and global experiences is not a betrayal of Nigerian heritage — it is an investment in their future.
The same trolls attacking him today would be the first to send their own children to French immersion schools if they had the resources to do so. Make it make sense.
Nigerian parents work themselves to the bone to give their children opportunities they never had. Mr P has done exactly that, and he has every right to celebrate it.
The Takeaway
Language is a tool. The more tools your child has, the better equipped they are to navigate this world. Speaking French does not make you less Nigerian, just as speaking English does not. Our identity is carried in our values, our culture, our food, our music, and our stories — not in how many languages we don’t speak.
To Mr P — continue being a proud father. To the trolls — perhaps channel that energy into learning something new today.
Biko, leave the man alone.
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