Femi Adesina on Wabara

Ebere Wabara

“ONLY family head, principal members can validly dispose off family land (2)” Law Report: dispose of.

Finally from the advertisement section of THE GUARDIAN under review: “Government College Umuahia Old Boys Association” In honour of Prof. Chinua Achebe (1930-2013): old boys’ association.

“A delegate of the PDP in Ogun State…slumped and died in the early hours of Thursday in an hotel in Abeokuta, the state capital.” This is certainly the old school genre. New class: a hotel. 

“…even if it means going extra miles….” I will go the extra mile (note the fixed expression) to ensure that this column appears unfailingly every week. 

“And like (as) someone said recently….” 

“…in the evacuation of dead bodies to mortuary.” On a clinical note: corpses instead of ‘dead bodies’ and a mortuary or mortuaries, depending on the fact of the matter. 

“…as well as condoning the place and evacuating the dead and survivors to nearest health facilities.” Bomb blasts and conflicting figures: cordoning off (take note of the spelling and correct entry) the place. 

“There seems (seem) to be stiff competitions among the foreign media and local press as well as….” 

“…politicians are also culprits in overheating the system with provocative statements in blaming their opponents over (for) every misdeed.” 

“As 2027 looms…the likely antics of masquerades (masqueraders) behind some of those disasters when one juxtaposes the scenario to the forthcoming general elections.” Additionally: juxtaposes the scenario and/with (not to) the forthcoming general elections. As voter registration begins, let us carry out our civic duty by participating and being our brother’s keeper (not brothers’ keepers, irrespective of the number)! 

“Baring few skirmishes which regrettably led to the death of four persons….” An anatomy of the season of linguistic violence: there is a world of distinction between ‘a few’ (which correctly applies here) and ‘few’, which connotatively suggests an expectation of more skirmishes—except if the writer has a weird denotative inclination towards potentialities for more skirmishes! Otherwise, the extract is lexically absurd because of his regret.    

“Just imagine a young man that rounded up his apprenticeship as a welder.”  This is an indication of the current malaise in scholarship: a situation where a lecturer cannot distinguish between phrasal verbs, ‘round up’ and ‘round off’ (which applies here). 

“Will anybody please let us know which country became a super-power by allowing its best brains to roam about the world?”  ‘Roam’ encompasses ‘about’. 

“News from the universities are no longer about innovation.…” News is news (uncountable). 

“The condition, which is said to be due to an abnormality in either the number or structure of the chromosomes, cuts across every races.”  Get it right: every race or all races. 

“Janet, a twelve-year-old and the third child of her parents’ four offsprings and the only one with the problem…” ‘Offspring’ is non-count. 

“Since 1993, funding of oil exploration have (has) been beset by different levels of problems.” 

“In answering this question we classify the outcomes into long term and short term implications.”  The greatest problem of journalists: unnecessary embellishment (outcome) of words. 

“This is clearly a danger signal as the time between discovering an oil field and commercially putting it on stream could be between four to five years.”  No analysis: between four and five or from four to five years. 

“THISDAY checks reveal that every termination penalties goes from 500,000 US dollars to 2 million US dollars”.  Check the discord as already discussed above. 

“Lack of funds cripple waste management activities” Another error of attraction: Lack of funds cripples. 

“Nevertheless, the donor country is also interested in this decision to ensure that the loan is repaid as at when due with its accrued interest.” Without any periscope: the loan is repaid when due (not as at when due which is pleonastic). 

“Government should consider the destructive effect that further delay in the sale of rescued banks would mete out on the banking system”.  Stock phrase: mete out to (not on) the banking system. 

“If the family cannot truely relish at least a decent meat….” Spelling counts: truly. 

“A man does not have to be a money bag (sic) before he can dress well and look charming in his own little way.” Brighten up your English usage: A man does not have to be a moneybags….  Moneybag is a sac! 

“…in addition, (sic) to dispensing drugs for immediate relief and giving counsel on the steps necessary to prevent a reoccurrence.” Good grammar: recurrence. 

“The arsonists usually escape with their loot as the embattled market lays in ashes, leaving many traders terminally ruined financially.” There should be no dilemma: ‘lays’ for ‘lies’? 

“If somebody had told me when I met with late Dr. Ernest Ogunade shortly before his death that it was going to be the last encounter with him.…”  The first and only time when I met (not with) the (vital article) late Dr. Ogunade he commended this column as published in the heyday of Daily Times profusely. May his cerebral soul continue to rest in peace (not ‘perfect peace’ as abused in Nigeria)! 

“I still remember vividly that when it was my turn to speak at the occasion….”  I thought we had gone past this stage: on (never at) the occasion.

Archival Notes

ENTERS Ebere Wabara, renowned journalist and English language therapist. In the past couple of months, he had engaged Abia tackle for tackle, fisticuff for fisticuff, bile for bile. When you have a person like Wabara on your side, you don’t have to lift a finger in self-defence again. There was a time some Abia hirelings took an advertorial against me, where they spewed lies from the pit of hell. They also mentioned Wabara in the publication. Mistake! They stepped on the tail of the cobra. By the time the latter had replied them, I didn’t need to write a single line again. Not even a word. Wabara had pummelled and pulverized them. He sifted them like wheat, and blew them away. (Author: Femi Adesina, DAILY Sun, Back Page, April 4, 2014) .