Fair, Fare, Fear

Sample 1: “The YWC leader also urged the Yorubas home and abroad to take ownership of the Tinubu project assuming that the nation would fair better under Tinubu’s presidency.” (2023: Yoruba World Congress endorses Tinubu’s presidency…Opera News, 18 December, 2022)

The word that should interest readers is fair which occurs in the following context: “the nation would fair better under Tinubu’s presidency.” Confused regarding the semantic identities of the forms fare and fair, the writer has selected the latter instead of the former. Having almost identical pronunciation but clearly different spellings, the words fare and fair are significantly differentiated at the level of meaning. For the sake of emphasis and clarity, the word required by the context in question is fare (and not fair).

The word fair, which we are starting with, could mean: just average, not excellent, not very high. Please read the following sentences: 1) The performance of the Super Eagles was just fair during the last season. 2) The students’ scripts were sorted and categorized according to whether they were fair, good or excellent. 3) That was a fair attempt at scoring a goal. 4) He is normally an excellent student; but on this occasion his performance is just fair. 5) The article was a fair attempt to psychoanalyze the president in terms of his attitude to power. 6) The confessions of the criminal are fairly truthful. 7) The interview sessions are fairly well-organised. 8) Some of the students are fairly fluent in English. 9) The examination questions are of a fairly high standard. 10) The policemen are fairly honest. 11) No doubt, the text is difficult to follow; surprisingly, the students have a fair understanding of it. 12) Members of the audience relate fairly intelligently to the issues raised.

The word fair could also mean: just, in accordance with justice, equitable, impartial, not discriminatory as far as justice is concerned. Now read the following sentences: 1) The sharing formular is fair to all stakeholders. 2) The complaint is that the constitutional provisions are not fair to all the federating units. 3) Did INEC treat all the political parties fairly? 4) According to the Islamic injunction, a man can marry two or more wives provided he can be fair to all of them. 5) The man has not been fair to the son of his late wife. 6) One major problem with capitalism is that it cannot guarantee fair distribution of resources. 7) Journalistic reports must be fair and balanced. 8) Most traditional societies are not fair to women. 9) The charge that God did not provide sufficiently is unfair to the compassionate God. 10) Some Nigerians who are evidently corrupt in their areas of activities are unfair to policemen when they accuse them of corruption. 11) Many extant laws are not fair to the common man. 12) The referee has not been fair to our team. 13) Many commentators are not fair to the newly inaugurated government.

Another noteworthy meaning of the word fair has to do with light skin, contrasted with the relatively dark. We consider the following sentences: 1) There used to be a time when fair women were given a pride of place in Nollywood casting. 2 She is tall, beautiful and fair. 3) Fair women are not necessarily beautiful women. 4) People with fair skin are usually physically conspicuous. 5) There is this myth that fair skins are susceptible to diseases that dark skins are not. 6) Would albinos fit into the description of fair skin? 7) The belief seems to be somewhat widespread that fair skin is synonymous with demonic possession. 8) Some men are instantly attracted to fair-skinned women. 9) How could a girl so fair and so beautiful have chosen to be a call girl? 10) The two girls are an example of contrasts: the one is short, stocky and dark; the other tall, slim and fair.

The word (fair) can also be used as a noun. Here, it refers to exhibition or display of merchandise for the purpose of attracting patronage, creating public awareness, making ‘noise’ to generate massive interest. Please read the following sentences: 1) The economic climate is so gloomy that trade fairs which featured so frequently in the preceding decades are a rarity in the current situation. 2) The Lagos Chamber of Commerce used to organize trade fairs in partnership with the Lagos State Government. 3) How feasible or reasonable is it for dealers in automobiles to organize trade fairs? 4) Trade fairs are a testimony to a prosperous economy. 5) Even traditional herbal products had their place in trade fairs in those days. 6) The International Trade Fair was declared open by the President.

Now we turn to the word fare. Let’s start with the verb which has to do with how someone or something performs; how they go through a certain experience or place: 1) There is a great hope that the nation will fare significantly well under the current leadership. 2) We should endeavour to find out why the students fared so poorly in the last exams. 3) Women and children are faring well under the current regime. 4) How could anyone suggest that Nigerians fared better under military regimes than they do under the civilian? 5) The economy used to fare very well without the benefit of the oil resources. 6) How did organized crime fare when soldiers were in the helm of affairs? 7) The poor and the underprivileged are faring worse and worse under the circumstance. 8) Can teachers fare much better than this in the foreseeable future? 9) Worship centres fared badly during the Covid-19 pandemic. 10) The Governor assured the people that education would fare well under his watch.

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Next, we consider the usage of fare as a noun. As a noun, it refers to payment for transportation; fee payable or paid for conveying a person by train, by bus, by a plane, etc. Consider the following sentences: 1) It is a known fact that fares skyrocket during festive seasons. 2) Commercial drivers charge exploitative fares when prospective passengers come in large numbers. 3) Like the prices of other goods and services, fares never come down once they go up. 4) As part of relief measures, intended to cushion the hardship occasioned by the removal of subsidies on prices of petroleum products, the Federal Government subsidized fares during the end-of-the-year festivities. 5) Some commercial bus drivers now issue tickets as evidence of payment of fares. 6) To reduce your fares per month, look for accommodation that is close to your place of work. 7) It is important to include a projection of your fares in your monthly budget. 8) Transporters should magnanimously reduce the fares of genuinely poor Nigerians.

Another word that deserves consideration against the background of our discussion so far is fear. Let’s have the following sentences: 1) The fear of poverty should drive people to work extremely hard. 2) Politicians do know that the fear of EFCC is the beginning of wisdom. 3) Hardened criminals exercise no fear as to the prospect of being caught by law enforcement agents. 4) Fear and faith are mutually exclusive: the presence of the one means the absence of the other and vice versa. 5) The lady lives in perpetual fear of darkness. 6) The residents live in fear of violent criminals. 7) The Police Commissioner said honest citizens had nothing to fear. 8) Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart committed suicide because of the fear of failure. 9) Policemen should be respected and not feared. 10) Some students fear their teachers more than they respect them. 11) It is wrong for a man to rule his family by the instrument of fear. 12) The fear of death is a universal phenomenon.

At any rate, the clause should read: “the nation would fare better under Tinubu’s presidency.”