THISDAY Front Page of March 16 welcomes us today: “After search and rescue (search-and-rescue) activities yesterday at the site of the collapsed building….”
“Collapse (Collapsed) building: More tears as Lagos hands over bodies to families for burial”
From THISDAY Global Soccer of the above edition come the next two wrongs: “How well he warms (worms) himself into the heart of the Eagles (Eagles’) gaffer….”
“May his beautiful soul rest in perfect peace.” (THISDAY Back Page Column, March 16) ‘Peace’ is an absolute and, therefore, does not require any embellishment, adumbration, intensification, modification, emphasis, enhancement or padding. The only exception is ‘graveyard peace’. A rewrite: May his soul rest in peace. Whether the soul was beautiful or ugly is immaterial! ‘Rest in perfect peace (RIPP)’ is ungrammatical and a piece of ‘Nigerian English’!
“2019: Can the opposition seize the opportunity?” From the other side: you take (not seize) the opportunity in British English environment, but American entry accepts that.
“N23bn monthly allocation crash inter-bank rates” Business English: allocation crashes.
“2023: Anglican bishop wants vigilante groups to help policemen protect ballot boxes” In the interest of eschatology: vigilance groups.
The next three puerile extracts are from DAILY INDEPENDENT Opinion of February 25: “Today, it is becoming increasing (increasingly) clearer that a free and fair election is possible in Nigeria….”
“…this he applied in fighting the cause of oppressed (the oppressed). He was Igbo (an Igbo) leader.”
“Itse Sagay accuses Supreme Court justices of setting bad precedence in the country’s judicial history.” There is a morphological distinction between ‘precedence’ and ‘precedent’, which applies to the extract.
“Economics, as if the poor matters!” (Source: as above) Voice of the nation: the poor matter!
The next lexical lawlessness is from Vanguard of March 11: “Before independence, you don’t lobby to (sic) made a judge.” Get it right: you didn’t lobby to be made a judge.
From this medium a fortnight ago comes the next farcical entry: “Are the leaders calling for prayers so that we learn not to kill ourselves….” Truth in defence of freedom: we learn not to kill one another.
“…it was common (a common) sight to see a classroom crowded with between 150-200 children….” (DAILY INDEPENDENT, March 11) Either: between 150 and 200 or from 150 to 200 (depending on context). No mix-up.
“The grassroot man of Oyo politics” (DAILY INDEPENDENT Headline, March 12) Basic knowledge: grassroots man
“We invested heavily on their training and welfare and so should be told what led to their death….” (THE NATION, March 12) Ejigbo crash: we invested heavily in their training….
From THE NATION OPINION of the above edition comes the next impropriety: “Festo, as I use (used) to call him….”
“The church…was filled to capacity last weekend as….” (THE NATION SOCIETY, March 17) We cannot mention ‘capacity’ when a hall is filled as that fact is implied. According to my copious dictionaries and reference books on the English language, fill means “to occupy the whole space of….” This also applies to “filled to the brim”, et al.
“What the church has joined together…” (Source: as above) Ancient English: joined together. Modern version: joined.
Still on THE NATION of March 12: “In the area of health, Aliyu has moved in to reduce maternal mortality through the introduction of anti-natal (what!) care for pregnant women….” “…ante-natal for pregnant women”? Should it have been for which other women or, worse still, men?
“Petrol tanker crushes 1 to death” Even a learner’s dictionary will educate you on the fatalistic nature of “crushing”. So, the tanker crushes one. And in headline casting, numbers one to nine are written in words, while 10 and above are written in figures.
“The statistics are here, I can give it to you.” Back to school: I can give them to you, No discord, please.
The next two improprieties are from THISDAY Comment of March 13: “…multiple allocations which has (sic) lingered for over 10 years is (sic) finally put to rest.” No further comment.
“Of all the first generation (a hyphen, please) universities, OAU is arguably the one that was able to preserve its known ideology for the longest.” I do not agree with the usage of “arguably” by a majority of Nigerian writers. The explanation I got from one of the country’s frontline editors recently was not convincing: when you have points to justify your claims, it becomes arguable and when there are no justifications, you employ “unarguably.” If you are sure of your statement, make it declarative by jettisoning “arguably.” And if you are unsure, do not make claims. If you do, be ready to argue it elsewhere when confronted (not in your contribution). For the avoidance of doubt, “arguable” (adjective) and its adverb (arguably) mean: ”…for which good, if not necessarily convincing, reasons may be found/open to doubt/not certainly, but reasonably held to be.” (Source: THE NEW LEXICON WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, 2017) My grouse about this excerpt is the intrinsic element of doubt.
“…Guinea finally elects a president in an election that witnessed series of crises and postponements.” The long road to democracy: a series of crises and postponements.
THISDAY of March 19 contained a gaffe: “In one breathe, there are those who are still….” Take a fresh breath before we continue.
“…it was a soothing balm.” (THE GUARDIAN, March 19) What else do balms do apart from soothing?
The next three blunders are from THISDAY of March 20:
“It is however a consensus opinion that the home, that is parents, should bear the prime responsibility of introducing the subject.” For grammatical sanity, jettison ‘opinion’ from the extract.
“The occasion was held in Victoria Island.” (Source: as above) Get it right: on Victoria Island.
“The accused policeman was said to have actually demanded for N10,000 before he was….” Simply yank off ‘for’ from the excerpt.
“Saraki advocates for more states” ‘Advocacy’ in the verbal context does not take ‘for’.
“Two arrested over heroin seizure at Lagos Port” (THISDAY, February 20) Very soon, I will arrest THISDAY editors for (not over) juvenile mistakes.
“…she opens up on how she gained entry into the world of make-belief….” Grammar is not make-believe.
“…the food situation in the continent….” Classical writing: on the continent.