At Biden’s Forum: “We remain committed to putting in place all necessary mechanisms….” (THISDAY Front Page, December 11) Wait a minute, would President Muhammadu Buhari and his lieutenants have put in place ‘unnecessary’ mechanisms? I do not understand this kind of schoolboy howler by presidential speechwriters! A rewrite: We remain committed to putting in place mechanisms….
“Crisis may erupt in two oil rich (oil-rich) Akwa Ibom LGAs over siting of BUA refinery”
“…paraded dignitaries who came out in large number (numbers) to rejoice with the outgoing civil servants”
THISDAY Super Saturday: “…where he shared his grass to grace (grass-to-grace) story….
Addressing the English language poverty scourge: “…the worst among its peers in (on) the continent”
Still on The Saturday Newspaper: “Let the government redesign its poverty alleviation (poverty-alleviation) programmes, mechanise (mechanize, preferably) agriculture and exploit solid minerals.”
“”…to pay their last respect (respects) to the fallen royal father were dignitaries of different hues….”
“Obasanjo recently said expecting Buhari to do anything positive about unending killings is (was) akin to beating (flogging) a dead horse”
“She talks to (with)….” ‘Talk to’ and ‘talk with’ are not synonymous phrasal verbs.
“Young ones must be encourage (encouraged) to speak mother tongue”
“Here are some of the guest (guests) at the event.”
“Equally, the way that couples relate with themselves (one another) and the (their) children also go (goes) a long way in….” (OPINION, December 29)
“Providing almost a near perfect logistics (almost near-perfect logistics) with smooth (a smooth) transmission from….” (Politics & Power, December 29) ‘Logistics’ (plural) hence the redundancy of alphabet ‘a’ in the diseased extract….
“…a lot have (has) been done to an extent that we have….” (Source: as above)
“Food security: NiMET sensitises (sensitizes, remember?) farmers on (to) importance of weather predictions”
“Currently, Nigeria (Nigeria’s) debt stock, according to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) as of (at) November 2021….”
“Shonekan is (was) one Nigerian without enemies….” May his soul rest in peace.
“Buhari assures of drop in price of rice soon,” Who did the President assure?
“…he was credited with offering perspectives that help (helped) to stabilise (stabilize, in line with latest morphological tendencies) the country.”
“Govt suspends NURTW in (on) Lagos Island”
“At the last count, over 60 aspirants have (had) so far indicated interest to contest for the governorship seat of the food basket of the nation.”
“I say so because his track record, his commitment, his energy, his ability to get things done, his age and his ability to reach a consensus over the years, (needless comma) stands (stand) him in good stead.”
“In fact, the more the threats, the more they unleash havoc in (on) the communities.”
“Uzodimma’s (sic) last minute (last-minute) miracle”
“With gratitude and total submission to the will of Almighty God for a life well spent, we regret to announce….” Just a poser once more: can ‘gratitude/submission to God’ and ‘regret’ co-function/co-exist? The bible tells me that, in every circumstance, give thanks to God! Now, where will ‘regret’ inhabit? Do you comprehend my postulation? Constructive reactions/contributions are thankfully welcome without any imaginable regret whatsoever! (No pun intended)! Why not simply ‘we announce….’ or, if we must qualify it, we happily/consolably/joyfully, et al, announce—I understand and appreciate the emotion-laden situation with such unfortunate manifestations, but adjectives and other etymological embellishments or explications cannot assuage anything or change the fatalistic narrative! I stand reasonably challenged on this spiritual grammaticality. There is no point dignifying ‘death’ by being unnecessarily sorrowful because we shall all inevitably get there at different times! The only insurance, perhaps, is to live a Christ-like life. I hope I have not sounded too eschatological, nay judgmental! After all, my secondary schoolmates are already venerable clerics and more in our Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)! “The Dozzy Foundation on Health is yet another testament of (to) your selfless service to humanity.”
“The Foundation speaks volume (volumes) of your passion for the health and well being (well-being) of the downtrodden.”
“We pray that God in his (His) infinite goodness will grant you many more years and good health.”
“…both our male and female teams failed woefully (abysmally) to qualify….”
Finally, we take the last entry from the Editorial under review: “That is why smart nations do everything possible to maximize their potentials (potential or potentialities) in sports.” ‘Potential’ is uncountable, unlike ‘potentiality’
“…the Supreme Court put to rest every other discussions.” (Politics & Power, January 29) Either every other discussion or all other discussions, depending on context
Wrong: “people-oriented government” Poser: is there any government that is beast-oriented or object-oriented? All governments—bad and good—are people-oriented for goodness’ sake!
“Incorporating ESG principles into job-creating businesses ensure (ensures) sustainable business operations….”
“The Zamfara State Government’s effort towards finding lasting solution (a lasting solution or lasting solutions, depending on the intent) to armed banditry and cattle rustlings suffered a setback as…” The dictionary defines a bandit as “a member of an armed gang that robs people”. It means a bandit is usually armed; therefore the word ‘armed’ to qualify him is out of place. On the contrary, a robber is someone who “takes property from a person or place illegally”. A robber may or may not bear arms. If he does, he is an armed robber liable to the death penalty upon conviction. As we can see, the distinction between a robber (armed or unarmed) and a bandit is clear.
The nation’s premier independent radio station, RayPower, reported in the business segment of its Nigeria Today newscast on January 11, that the country “SLIDED into recession…” Its editors and correspondents, and indeed media professionals, should note that SLID is both the past tense and past participle of SLIDE. It is not in the same word class as GLIDE and GLIDED.
“For the first time since the scandal broke, Senate, yesterday, admitted paying only N62.5 million to purchase a bullet-proof Range Rover Sports Utility (Sport-Utility) Vehicle (SUV) for the office of its president.”
“Police arraign alleged fake lawyer in court” Where else would they have arraigned the buffoon? Yank away ‘in court’!
“2 jailed 4 years over (for) rape”
“The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your (our) children.”
“We rejoice with you on your 65 birthday….”
“Not only do we rejoice with the celebrant (celebrator) for partaking in abundant grace….”
“He will grant you strenght (strength), good health and wisdom.”
“…as you strive to contribute your quota in (to) building a more vibrant democracy for the benefit of our dear country.”
“With people (a person) like you working with our dear president and other patriotic Nigerians….”