diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 38d4f722d8..ec04cc195f 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class GstBuildConfigurer:
             subprocess.check_call(
                 [sys.executable, meson, "../"] + self.args + self.get_configs(), cwd=build_dir)
             print("\nYou can now build GStreamer and its various subprojects running:\n"
-                  " $ ninja -C %s" % build_dir)
+                  " $ {} -C {!r}".format(os.path.basename(ninja), build_dir))
         except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
             return False