Allege, accuse, with a view…

Sample 1: “Most of them abandoned their goods to joining in praising and eulogizing him.”(Obasanjo visits market named after him in Ibadan, Opera News, 27 May, 2021)

The interest is in the form joining which occurs in the following context: “abandoned their goods to joining in praising…” Please note that the form joining is immediately precededby the particle to. Generally, the particle to is followed by an infinitive, the basic form of the verb:

1)My intention is to proceed on leave immediately.

2) They are planning to change the name of the school.

3) The soldiers decided to attack the notorious village.

4) The committee members are to consider the matter urgently.

5) The payment motivated him to work harder.

6) The sermon encouraged him to tackle the problem boldly.

7) He attempted to kill his wife.

8) She wanted to use her feminine qualities to win his heart.

9) The accountant had planned to delay the payment.

10) The lawyer has been paid to represent the two suspects.

 

Now compare those sentences with the following:

1) Loans and fertilizers were made available to farmers with a view to increasing agricultural yields.

2) They set forth early in the morning with a view to reaching their destination by 9 am.

3) Several checkpoints were created with a view to arresting the perpetrators of the heinous crime.

4) Two anti-corruption agencies were set up with a view to reducing bribery and corruption to the barest minimum.

5) A curfew was imposed on the town witha view to stopping the senseless blood-letting.

6) More policemen are being recruited with a view to increasing police presence in every nook and cranny of the country.

7) Infants are to enjoy free medical care with a view to reducing the infant mortality rate in the country.

8)  The accounting officer changed many of the figures with a view to perpetrating massive fraud.

9) He has been writing articles in newspapers with a view to undermining the government.

10) Sanitary Inspectors have been visiting every house with a view to reducing the incidence of the epidemic.

11) Soldiers are guarding major entry points with a view to preventing terrorists from gaining entrance.

12) The coach brought the scorer in ten minutes into the second half of the match with a view to improving the team’s scoring chances.

13) The man sold his car with a view to settling his long-standing debt.

14) The government is planning to adjust its fiscal and financial policies with a view to improving the economy.

15) A new law is being proposed with a view to improving the living conditions of women and children.

Those sentences illustrate the fact that the expression with a view to is typically followed by the ing form of the verb. Outside this usage, the particle to is followed by the basic form of the verb. At any rate, the form joining should be changed to join.

Sample 2: “The issue which started some weeks back after a celebrity, Princess, alleged Baba Ijesha of molesting her foster daughter 7 years ago…”(Friend like Jesus: People praise Yomi Fabiyi…Opera News, 19 May, 2021)

We pay attention to the expression “alleged…of” which occurs in the following context: “a celebrity, Princess, alleged Baba Ijesha of molesting her foster daughter…” The particle of, attached to the verb alleged, properly collocates with the verb accuse: accuse of. The expression “alleged…of” is clearly unidiomatic. In addition, it is important to note that the syntactic structure in which the verb allege occurs is different from that in which accuse occurs, even though they have similar meanings.

Equally important is the fact that the particle for does not go with the verb accuse. The appropriate particle is: of.

 

Please read the following sentences:

1) The man and his wife accused each other of infidelity.

2) The APC and the PDP accused each other of manipulating the electoral process in certain parts of the country.

3) Nobody in good conscience could accuse General Muhammadu Buhari of stealing public funds.

4) When a party fails to win an election, it tends to accuse INEC of colluding with the other party to commit electoral fraud.

5) The governor accused his deputy of scheming to unseat him.

6) Voters accused soldiers of intimidating them on the day of the election.

7) Prominent religious leaders have been accused of corruption and sectionalism.

8) The night guard was accused of stealing and ritual killing.

9) Fortunately, no one can accuse me of financial impropriety.

10) The poor are often accused of being complicit in their own poverty.

 

Now the verb allege:

The following sentences, produced by some Nigerians, are defective:

1a)* We quarrel often because he keeps alleging me of things I know nothing about.

Better:

1b) We quarrel often because he keeps accusing me ofthings I know nothing about.

2a) *The parties are alleging each other of manipulating the electoral process.

Better:

2b) The parties are accusing each other of manipulating the electoral process.

3a) *The man alleged his lawyer of colluding with his opponent.

Better:

3b) The man accused his lawyer of colluding with his opponent.

4a) *The old woman alleged the lady running the mill of stealing some of her pepper and grains.

Better:

4b) The old woman accused the lady running the mill of stealing some of her pepper and grains.

5a) *The man alleged his wife of cheating on him.

Better:

5b) The man accused his wife of cheating on him.

6a) *The union alleged the company of failing to fulfil its promise.

Better:

6b) The union accused the company of failing to fulfil its promise.

Readers may be interested in knowing that there is a proper way of using the word allege.

 

Please read the following sentences:

1) Members of the president’s cabinet were alleged to have sabotaged his efforts to improve electricity supply.

2) The reports of the outcome of the election were alleged to have been written before the election took place.

3) Members of the ruling party alleged that INEC was partial in favour of a particular party.

4) The suspect alleged that the deceased was sleeping with his (the suspect’s) wife.

5) The lawyer alleged that the judge had been compromised.

6) It wasallegedthat a particular landlord had links with the armed robbers terrorizing the neighbourhood.

7) It wasalleged that the coach was taking bribes before admitting the players into the camp.

8) Soldiers were alleged to have killed several peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate.

9) It was alleged that the leadership did not act promptly enough.

10) It is alleged that workers’ contributory retirement funds are being embezzled by government officials.

At any rate, let the verb accused replace alleged in the context under review.

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