Personnel, Staff, Allege

Sample 1: “An Air Force Personnel has been arrested in connection with the attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna State.”(Air Force Personnel Arrested…Adulawo News, 8 November, 2021)

The word that interests us is personnel which occurs in the following context: “an Air Force personnel.” It is remarkable that a single person (an officer of the Air Force) is referred to as personnel. The point has been made repeatedly in this place that a single person does not and cannot constitute personnel. Personnel, let us note, are a body or group of workers in an organisation. To repeat, it is a misnomer to refer to a single person as personnel. This word sometimes presents problems for some users. It will be necessary, therefore, to pay some attention to it.

As a collective noun, the word personnel can neither be pluralised nor modified with the word a or one. Usage examples: 1) The memo is meant for the attention of all technical personnel. 2) The vehicles are to convey only medical personnel. 3) The organisation has a tradition of training and re-training its personnel. 4) All qualified personnel are to register in the Personnel Department. 5) Only senior personnel are entitled to annual leave with pay. 6) Military personnel are kept in a separate section of the estate. Please, note that the noun personnel cannot become plural by the addition of a final –s.

The principle guiding the usage of personnel is not markedly different from that of staff. Like personnel, the word staff is a collective noun which is not to be used in reference to a single person. It refers to the entire workforce in an organisation. Readers may find the following sentences useful in their effort to master the usage of the word staff:  1) The staff is the single most important force in any establishment. 2) The staff were drawn from various companies in the metropolis. 3) Our staff is an even mix of both male and female workers. 4) All staff are expected to submit their files before the end of the day. 5) All members of staff are trained from time to time. 6) The company has a highly skilled staff. 7) The staff strength has increased by ten. 8) Half of the staff were laid off.

However, when the reference is to the workers in several establishments, then it is proper to add –s to staff. Now consider the following sentences: 1) There is a forum where all the staffs of the various companies in the conglomerate meet. 2) Should the staffs of the companies belonging to the government and those belonging to private entrepreneurs be placed under the same salary scheme? 3) Representatives of staffs from private and public companies are meeting next month. 4) This consulting firm trains staffs of both government and private companies. 5) The staffs of the companies in the rubber industry will be interacting very soon.

The word staffs in each of those sentences refers to bodies or groups of workers in two or more establishments.

The word can also be used in the verb form. Let’s consider the following sentences: 1) The Department is staffed by highly intelligent and experienced people. 2) It is a well-staffed school, with about seven mathematics teachers and ten chemistry teachers. 3) The major problem of that firm is that of staffing. 4) The unit is staffed exclusively by medical doctors. 5) Of course the kitchen should be staffed by trained caterers. 6) Do you think hospitals are staffed by only doctors and nurses?

This leads us to a crucial question: Can the noun be pluralised by the addition of s? Yes and no. Yes, if we are thinking of staffs of different establishments, but no if we are thinking of the staff of a single establishment.  The following sentences, for example, are deficient: 1) The school’s *staffs are committed to their duties.  2) The company’s *staffs are loyal to the chairman. 3) All the *staffs in this unit are to come for the one-week workshop. 4) The chairman would like to address all *staffs of the company tomorrow. 5) The workshop is meant for all the *staffs of this school. 6) The *staffs in our Department have not received their salaries.

It is grammatically improper to have the word staff in a form carrying a final s as it does in each of those sentences.

Sample 2: “Justin was alleged of sexually harassing a 17-year- old boy in his apartment in Maryland, USA, in March 1998” (Three Nigerian footballers who committed suicide, Opera News, 9 July, 2021) We pay attention to the expression “alleged…of” which occurs in the following context: “Johnson was alleged of sexually harassing…” 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.

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 of things 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 was alleged that a particular landlord had links with the armed robbers terrorizing the neighbourhood. 7) It was alleged 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.