Marching Orders, Not ‘Order’

Ebere Wabara

YOU are welcome to this edition as we begin the countdown to Easter! Do you know that most Bibles in Ephesians chapter six verse six used ‘eye-service’ instead of ‘lip-service’—even New King James Version? I hope I will not be accused of blasphemy! I recollect Ndaeyo Uko questioning the correctness of ‘The wages of sin is death’ in the heyday of our Daily Times of Nigeria.

“PSN advocates workforce to train undergraduates/postgraduates pharmacists” No more news: undergraduate/postgraduate pharmacists

Wrong: “We are all out-of-school” (THISDAY COMMENTARY Headline, February 18)

Right: We’re (in line with headline convention) all out of school—the excerpt would have been correct if the phrase had been adjectival: out-of-school children 

“Okoku, ex-internationals, (sic) commiserate with Siasia over late dad” Please delete ‘late’ because it is simply otiose!

“You’re key to our consumption to production policy, Obi tells Nnewi residents” Get it right: consumption-to-production policy

“Elections: Lagos new CP reads riot act to trouble makers (troublemakers), police” This way: the riot act

“EFCC: ‘Bawa must go’ protesters besiege Lagos Assembly” Write right: Bawa-must-go (note the hyphenation) protesters

 “The First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, in May 2019, said the NSIP failed woefully (abysmally) to achieve its aim in Kano and most parts of northern Nigeria.” Please nobody should misquote our delectable and vivacious First Lady in the name of reportage!

“Petroleum marketers seek Customs CG’s arrest over (for) auction of N1.56bn petrol laden tankers” Maritime: petrol-laden tankers

DAILY INDEPENDENT of January 29 continues the lexical race this week with headline blunders: “Buhari gives advisers marching order as he begins to round off his tenure” Voice of arrested independence: marching orders.

“Bishop, Monarch (sic) commend Buhari over (for) commitment to police reform” Is it not when somebody does something extraordinary that we commend the person? Not performance of statutory functions!

“Igbo hunted (haunted) by spirits of those who died during the war”

Lastly from DAILY INDEPENDENT: “Rest in the bossom (bosom) of the Lord….” (Full-page advertorial by schoolmates (UNN) & friends of….)

THE GUARDIAN of January 28 laboured in vain on six occasions beginning from its Editorial: “It should not become another white elephant project….” Military industry and national economy: yank away ‘project’ because of its redundancy!

“But projects like this are not always favoured by the industrial giants….” Either projects like these or a project like this—no mix-up, my dear Rutham friends.

“Mix (Mixed) reactions trail NUT’s call for review of teachers’ retirement age”

“I appeal to PHCN workers to settle the present crisis through dialogue instead of resorting to strike action and disruption of the system.” Delete ‘action’ or alternatively: industrial action/work stoppage/service withdrawal….

“In as much as I refrain from….” Not my own opinion: Inasmuch as I refrain from….

Finally from THE GUARDIAN: “…whom they value between $15-$19 million.” Premiership: between $15 and $19 million. 

Last Tuesday’s edition of THE NATION circulated four Comment and general school-boy howlers: “…the continuing quest for a restoration of normalcy in (to) the country.” 

“Olympics (Olympic) gold medalist speaks out”

“…his interests include, but not limited to, financial advisory, investment advisory, marketing, among others.” ‘Include’, ‘but not limited to’ and ‘among others’ cannot all function in this environment—just one of them will suffice. This is what I call lexical superfluity (redundancy/verbosity/padding)!

BUSINESSDAY of January 23 did not show any commitment to the English language on many occasions: “The state government is not a charity organization that will commit millions of naira on (to) a project with a view to….”

“Are the motorcycle riders (why not motorcyclists?) aware of and sufficiently sensitized (sic) about (to) the new law?” Next time round, let government use ‘pidgin English’ to address the marginally-literate members of the society.

“Tunisia journalists protest against Islamist govt” World news: Tunisian journalists…

“31 killed in Syrian forces onslaughts in Damascus” Get it right: forces’ onslaughts

“Turkish-Cypriot’s tycoon convicted after 17 years on run” This way: on the run

“I remember once when he came to Port Harcourt we worked on a case till 5 p.m. in the evening.” Not allowed! Consult dictionaries/reference books on ‘a. m.’ and ‘p.m.’

“…in the meantime, there has been series (a series) of systems collapse….” 

“It was sometimes (sometime) in 1993 while I was still in Abuja….”

“For a NAFDAC that has in almost two years been performing creditably towards ensuring that food and drugs need of Nigerians are (is) given standard manufacturing preparation….”

“…his predecessors who were on (in) seat for years without actually doing the work for which they were paid.”

“It is also on record that the same government shot itself at (in) the foot by dismissing the audit report as a junk.”  This way: audit report as junk.  The last word in the extract is non-count.

Let us welcome thisdaylive.com to this column for the first time: “Omolememen said the Federal Government has terminated a contract for the reconstruction of the Ikorodu-Sagamu road it awarded to Impresit Bakolori for non-performance.” Reported speech: the FG had (not has)….

“More grease (power) to their elbow” (AIT Sports, August 10) 

“The highest number universities can accomodate is 150,000 students.” Spell-check: accommodate.

“Whose actions or inactions rubs (rub) off negatively almost all the time on the image of the industry?”

“This is the time for them to prove what they have learnt from the sordid events of yesteryears.” ‘Yesteryear’ is an uncountable entry.

“…unless our real politicians put their acts together and learn from the ugly events of yesteryear, we may be in for yet another serious trouble in the land.”  Fixed expression: put their act (not acts) together.

“Out of almost 62 years of Nigeria’s independence, the military held the reins of power for a period of….” Standard phrase: reins of government.

Wrong: on the saddle; right: in the saddle

“Coalition of parties protest election results in….” Not yet proximity: coalition of parties protests.

“Time for warring artistes to sheath sword” Get it right: sheathe their swords.

“UNIBEN alumni holds award night” Either alumni association holds or alumni hold.

“The music impressario makes a final bow” The music impresario (note the spelling) takes (not makes) a bow.

“…the main stumbling block to the restoration of lasting peace in (to) the nation’s universities.”

“The threatened sympathy strike by NUPENG can be averted if only government should tow (toe) the path of honour.”

“The University of Ibadan recently compiled list of hundreds of students who had no entry qualification but had gained admission into the institution” Either: a list or lists of students, depending on the desired context.