‘Last Week Friday’ Wrong

EXPRESSION BY Ebere Wabara

DAILY INDEPENDENT of January 3 welcomes us to the New Year: “It is (was) the biggest right (rights) issue in the year.” 

“IGP deploys 500 additional policemen to (in) Anambra” You can also deploy along a border.

 “While the militant Islamic sect, Boko Haram (another comma) made a mince meal of them….” Not my view: the sadists made mincemeat of them (not a mince meal!).

“Coming at the heel (heels) was the abduction of….”

“In another breadth (a comma) he said that (sic) the government was on top of the….” Existential humanism: In another breath (not breadth)….

Still on DAILY INDPENDENT under review: “One is at pain (on/under pain of) hearing…the passage of PIB Bill.” My own view: the passage of the PIB (without another bill).

“But the truth is that such setbacks have persisted because of NUC’s woeful (abysmal) failure to do its job….” 

Finally from the Back Page of DAILY INDEPENDENT: “But I deserve to be heard first before a fatwa is invoked on (against) me.”

DAILY TRUST of January 2 slipped copiously: “The bank robbery, which lasted about half an hour (half-an-hour), it was gathered, could not be resisted by any security agent attached to the bank. This, it was gathered, has led to serious investigations of the circumstances surrounding the robbery. The state police command, it was gathered, has started investigating the circumstances surrounding the robbery.” What is this stupefaction with ‘it was gathered’ that the phrase had to be applied three times in one paragraph? Even a kindergartener cannot write like this!

“In broad daylight, armed bandits stormed Osun town, leaving residents with death and destruction” Who is a bandit? My contemporary dictionaries tell me that a bandit is a member of an armed gang who attack travellers, while banditry is acts of stealing and violence by bandits (using weaponry typically). So, ‘armed bandit’ is padding—its usage by some international news channels, as pointed out by Mr. Sunny Agbontaen last November or thereabouts, notwithstanding. A bandit, connotatively and denotatively, does not require any nomenclatural embellishment (armed)! 

Last week’s edition of this THE NATION signed off 2022 with a bagful of wrongs: “2023: Security, infrastructure top Nigerians (Nigerians’) wish list”

“Egypt president warns against new unrest” News review: Egypt’s or Egyptian president

“Venezuela VP in Cuba to visit ailing President” (Solution as above)

“Two week holiday in Imo” Comment & Analysis Page: Two-week/Two weeks’ holiday….  

“Minister accused over Akwa Ibom LG crisis” Politics Today: accuse somebody of (not over) something.

“Is (Are) the Presidency and the National Assembly going back to the trenches?”

“However, my major grouse is with (about) Nigerians and their arm-chair castigation and destructive criticism.”

“Man, 24, charged for killing elder brother” I charge the offender with (not for) lexical murder!  

“As we mourn our fallen brethrens….”  Do we need a morphological commission of inquiry into etymological abuse?  ‘Brethren’ (plural) is non-count.

“Ensure that destruction of life and properties are (is) minimized during such natural disasters.” And this: life and property/lives and properties

“Ado Bayero blames FG over insecurity” The man blamed FG for (not over) insecurity.

“Now the truth is that they are always in a shock when things like this happen.” This way: things like these or a thing like this.  

“He acts only when he is humiliated, otherwise how can one explain the release of N5 billion for police welfare only after the junior ranks of the police have (had) humiliated him?”

“At the moment Zimbabwe is at (in) the throes of war.”

“Nomination for maritime awards begin” Not yet proximity:  Nomination…begins.

“Since its launching (launch) about two years ago, nothing significant….”

“…the chances of success of our nascent democracy is (are) low.”

“In the past we have (had) tried and failed but.…”

“The excesses of the last batch of soldiers to rule this country has (have)…”

“…the military boys who had earlier adopted a holier-than-thou attitude went ahead to perpetrate all manners of graft and corruption.”   The Osborne obscenity: all manner of graft and corruption.

“The interesting bit for us in this part of the world is the anciliary finding…”  Spell-check: ancillary.

“What is good for the goose should be good for the gander.”  To live in truth is to serve: what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

“…there must be at least six newspapers which owe their workers between three to 6 months (sic) arrears of salary.”  The media and the future: between three and six or from three to six.

“Moonlighting, rapid personnel changes, job mobility and the brown envelope syndrome are some of the fallouts of this factor.”  ‘Fallout’ is uncountable.

“The governor has (had) been cleared of the allegation last week by the state House of Assembly….” 

ADDENDUM

Theoretical linguists, curriculum experts and “educationalists” (educationists or educators), working together or separately, have been busy putting forward suggestions for language education reform. Note especially: “educationalist”, like “unwieldy” or “invitee” or “indisciplined”, is not in any respected dictionary. These comic words were invented by Nigerians.

“Armed robbers again jolted the commercial city of Lagos last week Friday (last Friday/Last Friday week or on Friday, last week).” 

“Students write exams half naked (half-dressed/half clothed/half covered or half clad, or naked/bare to the waist).”

“I stood up, took another coin out of my pocket and put it near my half–empty (half–full) beer glass.” Special note: in editorial English, we say or write: half clothed/half covered/half-dressed/half clad (‘clad’ is obsolete as a participle) naked or bare to the waist or clothed from the waist down or naked/bare, or fully dressed: half-full (not half-empty); semi-literate/half or sub-literate/half lettered (not semi illiterate); half sighted (not half blind); half alive (not half dead); employment problem or unemployment (not unemployment problem). 

Unlike other intellectual leaders of Nigerian progressive movement, such as Professors Ikenna Nzimiro, Eskor Toyo, Akin Oyebode, G.G. Darah, Doctors Edwin Madunagu, Ola Oni, Segun Osoba, O. Onoge, Bala Usman, Dr. Tunji Otegbeye is not an “academician” (academic) in a formal sense. Special note: ‘an academician’ is not synonymous with ‘an academic’ just as ‘presently’ is not synonymous with ‘at present.’ ‘Presently’ always means SOON and ‘at present’ always means NOW. Another note: an academician is somebody who works in or is a member of an academy—for instance, the Nigerian Defence Academy, the French Academy or the Russian Academy. It does not mean the same thing as a university don/guru/intellectual or scholar—such a person is called an academic. Its plural is academics. 

It should be noted that although “still yet” is not accepted as a standard phrase, “yet still” is quite accepted. “Yet still” is used by modem writers, particularly British journalists and writers. Example: “At home (in the U.S.A) the terrifying problems of crime, racial violence, social disharmony refused to yield to oratory, however inspiring, or to law, however comprehensive yet still the Kennedy magic advanced. He was not really a radical; if anything, he was a careful conservator. Some select people called “speech writers” are very fond of mechanical errors that result in failed, fractured or diseased English. It is very sad. Yes, it is our moral duty to ensure that some folk are not allowed to kill this universal language. 

Please note that while ‘general consensus’ is unacceptable, ‘broad consensus’ is and while ‘heavy downpour’ is not allowable, ‘great downpour’ is.