Sample 1: “Tinubu resumed the office of the President on May 29, and the new law compelled him to unveil his ministerial list for confirmation to the Senate within 60 days.” (Ministerial list: security reports, corruption allegations may knock out heavyweights, Opera News, 16 July, 2023)
I draw readers’ attention to the verb resume which occurs as follows: “Tinubu resumedthe office of the President on May 29…”. The writer has obviously confused the verb resume with assume, for the context does make it clear that the reference is to the circumstance of President Tinubu commencing work as the new Nigerian helmsman. Indeed, the reference is to Bola Tinubu’s first day in office as President. It is important to note the forms of the word in question: The noun form of assume is assumption; of resume is resumption.
The problem of insufficient grasp of the nuances of a word resulting in confusing its identity with that of another with varying degrees of seriousness is endemic in the Nigerian usage terrain. The problem arises because writers don’t care enough to make the words their “own” by thoroughly and consciously internalizing their essential and distinguishing properties.
The word resume under review here is a typical example. The impression the writer gives when he uses the verb resumed, as in many instances of the use of that verb or its noun form (resumption) in the Nigerian context, is that Dapo Abiodun has been on a break and has come back to work.
Some Nigerians would say, “The newly appointed Minister will resume duty on July 1” when they mean, “The newly appointed Minister will assume duty on July 1”. They would say, “The new Inspector-General of Police will resume duty next week” when they mean, “The new Inspector-General of Police will assume duty next week”. They would say, “The newly admitted students will resume (classes) next week” when they mean, “The newly admitted students will commence classes next week.”
We need to make a distinction between assumption of duty (which is about commencing work for the first time) and resumption of duty (which is about coming back to work after a break). To resume work is to begin to work again after one has stopped working, and to assume duty is to report for an assignment for the first time.
At any rate, the verb assumed should replace resume in the context under review.
Sample 2: “He said that the reports had six components which bothered on health governance, leadership and institutional reforms as well as human resources for health…” (Ex-minister advises Tinubu to consider Obasanjo, Osinbajo health reports, Opera News, 2 June, 2022)The word whose form and meaning are striking is bothered which occurs in the following context: “ the reports had six components whichbothered on healthgovernance…” This is a strange piece of communication and the strangeness derives from the more than curious use of the lexeme bothered in the context. It is obvious that the reporter has betrayed a failure to differentiate usefully between the lexemes border and bother, a failure emanating from a glaring pronunciation weakness.
This is not the first time we have complained about our public writers’ inability to effectively differentiate between the sound represented in writing as –th and that represented as –d. It is this failure that lies at the heart of their failure to differentiate between border and bother. What is the difference between these words?
The word bother, let us note, has to do with emotional trouble, distress of the soul, anxiety about a person or thing. Please read the following sentences: 1) Many parents are bothered when their children do not seem to be making satisfactory progress in their academic work. 2) The miserable state of power supply in Nigeria should bother any responsible government. 3) I have deliberately refrained from bothering you with my financial challenges. 4) The health condition of the boy has been a source of perpetual bother to the father. 5) The constant clashes between farmers and the Fulani herdsmen are a bother to the state governments concerned.
When we say something borders on another thing, we mean the former is almost the same as the latter, is not completely different from the latter, is as good or as bad as the latter. Let’s read the following sentences: 1) The patient suffers from a delirium that borders on insanity. 2) They live in a financial condition that borders on absolute poverty. 3) After four years in the university, many students still demonstrate a level of competence in the use of English that borders on illiteracy. 4) The conflicts and disagreements between the two countries have degenerated to a level that borders on a state of war. 5) The dubious calculations border on fraud. 6) The frozen relationship between the couple borders on separation or even divorce.
The word border can also be used as a noun: 1) A huge tree marks the border between the two towns. 2) The woman with the issue of blood touched the border of the garment of Jesus. 3) The American president-elect has said he will erect a massive fence on the border between America and Mexico. 4) There is a dispute over the border between the two communities. 5) It is the duty of the Immigration and Police Officers to patrol the borders. 6) Illicit trade usually takes place in border towns. 7) The President has complained that our borders are porous. 8) Illegal immigrants cross the border freely.
Sample 3: “Tinubu has been declared President-elect and one of the talking points that trailed the election was also the issue of Labour Party winning APC in Lagos.” (Bode George speaks on PDP & LP alliance, Opera News, 2 February, 2023)
We are interested in the status of the word winning which occurs in the context: “the issue of Labour Party winning APC in Lagos.”The choice of the present participle winning in the context is lexically suspect. Can you win a person or a party? Very unlikely, unless the person or party is a prize. The appropriate word for that context is defeating. In the sense in which the writer has used the word in the context, you cannot win a person. But you can defeat him. The error associated with this wrong choice is a common feature of Nigerian English usage.
Our next task is to differentiate the two words (win and defeat) in practical usage. Please read the following sentences: 1) However hard the team may try it cannot win that match. 2) The team won the match through a last-minute goal. 3) The nation can win the war against drug abuse only by determination and sincerity. 3) The man won the battle against death by submitting to his doctor’s instructions and prescriptions. 4) Neither the Federal Government nor the Biafrans won the Nigerian Civil War. 5) No one can win the battle of life without the help of God. 6) One of the aims of science is to win the war against sickness and disease. 7) Deforestation is a war against nature which can be won only at the expense of healthy human existence. 8) Can a Yoruba wife win the war against her mother-in-law? 9) Every society must win the war against illiteracy and ignorance. 10) Nigerian journalists have won many prestigious international awards. 11) Scholars compete with one another to win international grants. 12) Your rating as a scholar depends on how many grants you have won. 13) Nigeria must win the war against ecological degradation especially in the oil-producing areas. 14) He has been fighting a life-long battle with cancer which he thankfully won. 15) The major prizes are being won by young boys and girls. 16) Huge contracts are being won by business upstarts. 17) Wole Soyinka won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. 18) His novel has won numerous international prizes. 19) The lawyer won three major political cases in a row. 20) Money alone is not enough to win a woman’s heart. 21) She won three gold medals in the last Olympic Games.
Now we offer some sentences on the usage of the verb defeat: 1) Having been defeated several times by his political opponents, he withdrew from the race. 2) Once you allow yourself to be defeated in the mind, you have already failed. 3) There is no team that cannot be defeated. 4) We defeated you because we had more experience. 5) The Nigerian Armed Forces have defeated and ousted the insurgents. 6) Truth may seem weak and to have an appearance of being easily defeated; it shall always triumph ultimately. 7) In a surprising twist, the female team defeated its male counterpart. 8) The colonisers took over our land after defeating our ragtag army. 9) The Allied Forces defeated Germany in the Second World War. 10) The world seems to have defeated the Covid-19 pandemic. 11) The man defeated his accuser in court. 12) Before their defeat, the team thought they were the most powerful in the world. 13) Their defeat can be ascribed to carelessness. 14) The team suffered a humiliating defeat. 15) Every defeat prepares you for the next victory. 16) He did not have an appearance of someone who had experienced defeat.
In the last five of those sentences, the word defeat has been used as a noun.
Do not say or write: The Super Eagles won Bafana Bafana. Say or write: The Super Eales defeated Bafana Bafana; Do not say or write: The lawyer won his colleague in court. Say or write: The lawyer defeated his colleague in court. Or: The lawyer won the case. Do not say or write: The Allied Forces won Germany in the Second World War. Say or write: The Allied Forces defeated Germany in the Second World War. Do not say or write: You won me because I was careless. Say or write: You defeated me because I was careless. Do not say or write: I will easily win you in this game. Say or write: I will easily defeat you in this game. Do not say or write: Our school won their school in the quiz competition. Say or write: Our school defeated their school in the quiz competition. Do not say or write: Alhaji Ganiyu won Malam Haruna in the general election. Say or write: Alhaji Ganiyu defeated Malam Haruna in the general election.
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