YAHAYA Bello’s new opportunity to surrender: “His swash-buckling approach to criminal summons (a criminal summons or summonses, depending on context) by the EFCC shows a total lack of discretion and good judgment.” Please note: summons (singular) and summonses (plural). Most journalists always get this unusual entry wrong!
“The cat and mouse (cat-and-mouse) game he has played with the court should end.”
“Abubakar said that (sic) giving palliatives to people will (would) not solve the problem.”
“Governors’ minimum wage theatricals: Legal fireworks begins (sic) next week”
“This is yet another landmark in the life of a philantropist” Spell-check: philanthropist
“Generousity (sic) per (sic) excellence again.” (Source: as above) There should be no full stop because it is not a sentence. A rewrite: Generosity par excellence again
“Uzodinma hails police for returning peace to Imo” Is the national newspaper under review (name withheld) insinuating that the police took away ‘peace’ in Imo and are now returning it with Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State as the crown witness? The police are merely restoring peace—not returning it! Some of these ‘media professionals’ can misrepresent someone!
We move to the views page: “Some of them go about on (in) private aircraft with security agents at their beck and calls (call).”
Education Today pages are next: “Adeola Odutola College alumni inaugurates (inaugurate) lecture theatre”
“Recent crackdowns on examination malpractice…has (have) led to hundreds of prosecutions and scores of convictions.”
“Tuition: EKSU students laud instalment payment” Campus News: instalment plan (not payment)
“….reports that majority (a majority) of Nigerians are going through unprecedented hardship.”
The word ‘followership’ is a Nigerian coinage. The approved entry is ‘following’ or ‘followers.’ An example: The APC has a large following or many followers. Also note that ‘witch-hunt’ is not a verb as many people often use it! It is a countable noun. (Contributed by Ken Ugbechie)
The Guardian of February 4 posted a sentence wrongly: “So could the instances of delayed tax remittance and clear failure by FIRS to mete out sanctions on (to) defaulters….”
“Service can only be enjoyed on MMS enabled (MMS-enabled) phones that have the correct MTN data settings.” (Full-page advertisement by MTN)
Still on THE GUARDIAN: “Borno engages 64,000 youths in poverty reduction schemes” Appointments: poverty-reduction schemes
“The federal government must, therefore, set up a special task force to monitor all its activities, projects and make sure that they are commissioned (now a cliché) on time.”
“Explore the possibilities of world class (world-class) education within the country at Elizade University.” (Full-page advertisement)
“…in addition to sitting for our post UTME (post-UTME) scheduled to hold on….” (Source: as above)
Last Friday’s edition of Daily Trust fumbled on five occasions: “Saraki’s media aide added that after the closed door meeting….” Truth in defence of freedom: closed-door meeting
“According to him, the video was not an official recording of the forum, and, as such, remained untameable (untenable).”
“Real reason Emeka Oparah quits (quit) Cadbury”
“The estranged couple, we gathered, still remains (remain) friends for the sake of their four children.”
Lastly from this platform: “Firms’ profits re-open (reopen) cement glut claims” Phrasal verbs abhor hyphenation.
THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER of February 8, goofed: “Even before this season rounded-off (rounded off), players and coaches (coaches’) transfer news have (had) even overshadowed some matches….” Global soccer summer transfer: ‘news’ is uncountable
“Below are photographs of personalities at (on) the occasion.” (Source: as above)
“Don’t miss out on the thrills and anxiety (anxieties) every week as thousands of talented singers battle for the grand prize of N24 million and the career changing (career-changing) Sony Music Contract.” (Full-page advertisement by Glo Unlimited)
“School holds inter house (inter-house) cultural competition”
“Fraud free (Fraud-free) immigration to Canada”
“South-South Monarchs (Monarchs’) Forum
“Quality all purpose equipments at GOOFA Nigeria Limited” A rewrite: Quality all-purpose equipment (uncountable)
Wrong: “Go and on/off the generator”; right: Go and put on/off the generator
Wrong: “Wash hand basin”; right: Finger bowl
Wrong: “Use the packer to pack the dirt”; right: Use the dust pan (not ‘packer’)….
The next two blunders are from Stv Early Morning News Scroll of January 21: “Preventing external agression” Spell-check: aggression
“Aviation workers suspends (why?) strike, FG intervenes”
“Clearing drainages in Delta is….” (THE NATION ON SUNDAY, February 9) ‘Drainage’ is non-count and is a system of drains—the right entry here should be ‘drains’ and not their collectivization.
THISDAY of January 18 offered readers three juvenile errors: “Court winds-up (winds up) firm, jails officials over My Pikin mixture”
“Churning out series (a series) of life-transforming soap operas endeared….”
“The group though had fought against government and its agencies on many occasions but came into the nation’s consciousness when….” The Saturday Newspaper Cover: ‘Though’ and ‘but’ cannot function in the same environment—‘it’ should take the place of ‘but’ to foreclose lexical insurgency!
“It is not that I see Igbo land as an (a) hostile region….”
“Jos, the capital of Plateau State (another comma, please) is one of the few cosmopolitan towns in the country that have (has) enjoyed peaceful co-existence relatively.”
“…the president and other stakeholders in the nation’s well-being rubbed minds (brainstormed, exchanged ideas/views.…)” It is not possible to ‘rub minds’!
“He had ordered more soldiers posted to the troubled (trouble) spots of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa with an instruction….”