Nigerian newspaper column critiques English language usage

The "Expression" column, penned by Ebere Wabara, serves as a sharp critique of English language usage in Nigerian media. In its latest installment, the column targets the August edition of Nigeria Political Economist, pointing out a grammatical error: "…our share in those agreements are (is) not the same as we have in the joint venture (a comma) so it’s lower." This highlights a common issue of subject-verb disagreement.

The critique extends to News of August 2, questioning the phrasing of a sentence about Nigeria's security challenges: "Will the emergence of Ribadu as the NSA have any positive impact on the security challenges facing the nation and put an end to terrorism and other forms of criminal activities to a stop?" Wabara suggests this sentence is overly wordy and implies helplessness on the part of the National Security Adviser and the president.

Further examples of questionable phrasing include the use of "beehive of activities" instead of the more standard "hive of activity" or "beehive of activity," and the redundant "four-wall of her home." The column also flags a subject-verb disagreement in "Disappearance of coins weigh (weighs) down on pricing system" and a misplaced verb in "fraudulent pricing trends that eats (eat) deep into consumer budgets."

Wabara also takes issue with the cliché "rushed to hospital," arguing that a more direct "taken to hospital" is sufficient and less sensational. The column concludes by questioning the term "armed bandits," asserting that banditry inherently implies the use of arms, making the adjective redundant.