‘Four-Wall of Home’ Is Wrong

Ebere Wabara’s latest language column takes aim at a string of awkward expressions and grammatical errors in Nigerian media. His headline example, “four-wall of her home,” draws particular scorn.

Wabara argues that the phrase adds meaningless clutter. A woman confined to her home, he says, needs no reference to an invented “four-wall” structure. He also criticizes a report describing the University of Lagos campus as “a beehive of activities,” saying the natural expression is “a hive of activity.”

The column flags several other problems. “Our share in those agreements are” should be “is,” while “disappearance of coins weigh down on pricing system” requires “weighs.” Wabara says “consumer budgets” should replace “consumer budget” in the relevant sentence. He also rejects “condole the family,” preferring “condole with the family,” and changes “warm himself in the recognition” to “worm himself into the recognition.”

He questions the wording of a sentence asking whether the emergence of Nuhu Ribadu as national security adviser would end terrorism and other crime. Wabara says the sentence’s excessive length and construction create confusion about whether Ribadu and his principal are powerless against insecurity.

The columnist also objects to the phrase “armed bandits,” arguing that banditry already involves armed gangs. He criticizes the cliché “rushed to hospital,” saying a report should simply state that someone was taken to hospital unless it can establish that an ambulance actually rushed the person there.