Nigerian social media commentator Daniel Regha has criticized singer Burna Boy for not including a Nigerian dialect in his World Cup collaboration with Colombian singer Shakira, despite Spanish being featured in the song.
In a post on his X account on July 22, 2026, Regha wrote, “Shakira and Burna both sang in English, but Spanish was also incorporated into the song. Burna should’ve done the same with his lines by infusing a local dialect that is peculiar to Nigerians, or make a few changes to a line or two. That way, Afrobeats, which is his genre, is also incorporated and pushed globally. It doesn’t stop him from singing in English.”
Regha added a pointed remark aimed at those who disagreed with him, writing, “Unfortunately, reading and comprehension are two different things entirely; people can read, however, comprehending is a challenge for many.”
The comment drew reactions from Nigerian social media users and fans, with opinions split over whether the criticism was fair.
Social media user Anna, posting under the handle @Annakania20, partly agreed with Regha. She wrote, “Sometimes this Daniel of a guy dey make sense. If na Davido or Flavor, one African language must enter.”
Other users disagreed. A user identified as TM Don argued that Burna Boy’s international success is not dependent on language. He wrote, “Burna Boy’s global appeal comes from his authentic Nigerian sound, not just the language he uses. Afrobeats is about rhythm, culture, and identity.”
Another user, Louis George, said the choice of language made practical sense given the size of the event. He wrote, “If he had used the languages you wanted, the song wouldn’t be mattered globally, talk more of a World Cup opening ceremony.”
An X user, Oladayo, dismissed the criticism entirely, stating that fans themselves nicknamed Burna Boy’s record label “Outsiders” and accusing Regha of “chasing clout.”
Not all reactions were negative toward Regha. A user known as Victor Michael wrote, “There is actually lots of sense in what Daniel Regha just said.” Another user, Nooclair, pointed to the song’s second verse, noting that “Shakira chipped in her country, but Burna didn’t even mention Nigeria.”
This is not the first time Regha has criticized the singer. Daniel Regha earlier rated Burna Boy’s 2025 album No Sign of Weakness two out of ten, describing it as the singer’s weakest project to date.
The criticism comes only hours after global music data platform Chartmasters ranked Burna Boy as Africa’s best-selling artiste of all time. According to the ranking, shared by Nigerian music outlet The Debut Hub on July 21, 2026, the Port Harcourt-born singer has recorded 14.46 million Equivalent Album Units worldwide, a figure that combines album sales, single sales, and streaming activity across platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. As of the time of this report, Burna Boy has not responded publicly to Regha’s comments.
