S’East Governors Goof
“WE are excited that you are back on ( in) the saddle” ( Full- page advertorial by South East Governors’ Forum, DAILY SUN, August 23) “Human activities aggreveted ( sic) ( aggravate) flood” “Welcome back sir, in ( on) one Nigeria we stand” ( Full- page advertorial by Erisco Foods Limited, a member of Erisco Bonpet Group, DAILY SUN, August 23)
“Odu’a, ABUAD to invest N12bn on ( in) Ekiti moribund textile factory”
“Ozubulu victim on ( in) hospital bed”
DAILY Sun Editorial of August 23 offered readers a conspectus of blunders: “… we urge ASUU to be realistic in its demands from ( on) the government.”
“The poor ranking of our universities on global indexes show ( shows) that all is not well with our university system.” Resolving the ASUU/ FG ( ASUU- FG) logjam: ranking… shows
Explication: 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’.
“But the selfsame ( same) Britain did rule this country, Nigeria, for “a whole 100 ( good 100 or all of 100) years.” Special note: ‘ whole’ is used for a SINGULAR NOUN ( e. g. a whole year, the whole country, a whole university graduate) and NOT for plural nouns.
“How is the programme fairing ( faring) in Bauchi State?” Note: How did you fare ( not fair) in your examination?
THE GUARDIAN of August 26 continues the race this week with this juvenile infraction: “To be concluded next week Saturday” Short story: next Saturday or Saturday, next week
“Out of control ( Out- of- control) Boko Haram kills dozens in Kano Mosque” Preferable: uncontrollable
“FRSC, plate numbers and drivers’ licence” Get it right: number- plates
“A well deserved ( well- deserved) honour”
“But we should never lose sight of the fact that like every voracious entrepreneur who has invested billions of dollars on ( in) cement plants….”
“Credit Bureaux records ( record) 26 million registered borrowers”
“The health workers strike” Conscience, nurtured by truth: workers’ strike
“Monetary policy committee at crossroads” This way: at a/ the crossroads
“Having served under a military regime… he needs to bath in the Yoruba River for forgiveness.” Noun: bath; verb: bathe.
“Just before you ponder about this Owerri revelation….” ‘ Ponder’ may take ‘ on’ or ‘ over’, not ‘ about’. It’s even more economical and elegant to use it without embellishments.
“When we hear of people talk about glory….” Get it right: hear of people talking… or hear people talk about glory
“Lack of facilities threaten course accreditation at LACOED” The verb here should be singular.
“What is good for the goose can equally be said to be good for the gander.” What is sauce ( not good)…
“Out of 57 years of the nation’s political independence, the military had been on ( sic) the leadership saddle for 25 years.” Democracy In the saddle.
“CPC to clampdown on illegal microfinance banks” Phrasal verb: clamp down ( two words).
“An acknowledged scholar, a distinguished statesman and a team leader per excellence” Get it right: leader par excellence.
“New trends in electioneering campaigns” Politics Today: just electioneering or political campaigns. ‘ Electioneering campaign’ is sheer verbiage! ‘ Electioneering’ encompasses campaign and other related electoral issues.
“INEC chair asks SSS to crackdown on violent politicians” Noun: crackdown; phrasal verb: crack down ( which applies here).
“Some countries have taken tobacco manufacturers to court for the damages their products cause.” The will to die: ‘ damage’ is uncountable, except in reparative applications for indemnity.
“With the launching ( launch) of the poverty alleviation ( a hyphen) programme by the Federal Government, not a few Nigerians desire to see it effectively in place.“
“… what happened was that somebody filed a writ of summon.” This way ( singular): a writ of summons; plural: summonses.
“It is the Federal Board that is always guilty of that, because it is them who take riff- raffs as welfare officers.” ( Nigerian Tribune, August 22) ‘ Riff- raff’, just like ‘ stuff’, is uncountable.
“Modern technology has reduced the world into ( to) a hamlet where the inhabitants are their brothers’ keepers.” This way: brother’s keeper ( fixed idiom), irrespective of the number of people involved.
“The coincidence in the timing of all those sleazy gossips in soft- sell magazines and the beginning of his fashion parade….” ‘ Gossip’, in this context, is uncountable.
“More overaged players for youth soccer“( Sunday Tribune, August 20) Get it right: overage players.
“Residents of some of the troubled spots in Libya in disarray” ( SATURDAY CHAMPION, August 26)