By Obinna Uballa
A heated exchange erupted on X (formerly Twitter) between the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, and Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, following comments on vandalism and the use of language.
The dispute began on Sunday after reports surfaced about alleged vandalism of rehabilitation work on the Ilesha–Ibadan Expressway.
Reacting to the report via his handle @aonanuga1956, Onanuga condemned the act and called for harsh punishment for those responsible.
“Just shoot these unconscionable vandals/thieves at sight. They are worst species of citizenships,” he wrote.
Shaibu responded hours later through his handle @phrankangel, criticising the comment as inappropriate for a government spokesperson.
“As a government spokesman, you cannot call for citizens to be ‘shot at sight.’ That is not law enforcement, it is lawlessness. Anyone who talks like this has no business in public office,” Shaibu said.
He argued that criminal acts should be addressed through established legal processes rather than rhetoric that could be interpreted as endorsing extrajudicial action.
Shaibu later returned to the post to point out what he described as a grammatical error, saying the correct expression should be “shoot on sight” rather than “shoot at sight.”
Onanuga replied on Monday, dismissing the criticism. “Foolish boy. Both usages are correct. Upgrade your grammar,” he wrote.
In a subsequent response, Shaibu maintained that “shoot on sight” is a fixed idiom in English and should not be altered, while urging restraint in public communication.
“Egbon @aonanuga1956, as a teacher, I will not answer insult with insult. I am here to teach you, not to bully you; I was not trained that way. Teaching demands restraint, for it is like carrying a tray of filled glasses on a crowded bus—one careless move, and everything spills,” he wrote.
“Now to the issue at hand: “shoot on sight” is a fixed idiom. Fixed idioms are not open to distortion or creative rearrangement. Neither you nor your principal has the poetic, literary, or presidential licence to tamper with them. “Shoot at sight,” like “you cannot eat your cake and have it,” “more grease to your elbow,” “first come, first serve,” or “crack your brain,” is a manifestation of weak heads. These are errors, not stylistic variants.
“It therefore smacks of wretched illiteracy to argue that such expressions can be used interchangeably. For clarity going forward, I recommend Brighter Grammar (Books 1–3).”
The exchange attracted attention from social media users, highlighting differences in views on public messaging, law enforcement language, and a debate over grammar between aides to two prominent Nigerian political figures.
As of the time of writing, Onanuga had not issued a further response.
