Drama as Atiku’s aide, Tinubu’s spokesman clash over grammar on X

A heated exchange broke out on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday between Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Public Communication to President Bola Tinubu, and Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, after a disagreement escalated from public policy into a debate over grammar.

The verbal sparring began when Onanuga reacted to reports of vandalism disrupting ongoing rehabilitation work on the Ilesha–Ibadan Expressway. In a post on his verified X handle, @aonanuga1956, at about 8:09 a.m., the presidential spokesman called for severe measures against those sabotaging public infrastructure.
“Just shoot these unconscionable vandals/thieves at sight. They are the worst species of citizenship,” Onanuga wrote.
Several hours later, Shaibu responded via his handle, @phrankangel, condemning the remark as reckless and unlawful. He argued that no government official had the authority to advocate extrajudicial killings.
“As a government spokesman, you cannot call for citizens to be ‘shot at sight.’ That is not law enforcement; it is lawlessness,” Shaibu said.
“Nigeria is not a killing field. Crimes are handled through arrest, investigation and the courts — not instant death orders from reckless statements.”
Shaibu further warned that such rhetoric could be extended to protesters or critics, adding pointedly: “I just hope you haven’t joined the smoking gang.”
Later that night, Shaibu returned to the thread, shifting the argument to what he described as a grammatical error in Onanuga’s original post. At about 9:37 p.m., he maintained that the correct expression was “shoot on sight,” not “shoot at sight.”
Onanuga fired back the following morning, dismissing the criticism and insulting Shaibu. “Foolish boy. Both usages are correct. Upgrade your grammar,” he wrote at about 9:12 a.m.
Shaibu replied with a lengthy response, presenting what he described as a lesson in English usage. Without returning the insult, he insisted that “shoot on sight” is a fixed idiom and not interchangeable with “shoot at sight.”
“Fixed idioms are not open to distortion or creative rearrangement,” Shaibu wrote, adding that misuse of such expressions reflects poor command of the language.
“It smacks of wretched illiteracy to argue that such expressions can be used interchangeably,” he added, recommending grammar textbooks for further study.
As of press time, Onanuga had not responded to Shaibu’s final post, bringing the public exchange between senior aides of Nigeria’s two leading political rivals to a pause. (The Guardian)