Bayo Onanuga, a presidential spokesperson and senior special assistant to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu, have engaged in an online war of words.
The exchange followed Onanuga’s reaction to reports of vandalism affecting rehabilitation work on the Ilesha–Ibadan Expressway.
In a post shared via his handle on Sunday morning, the presidential aide called for vandals to be “shot on sight,” describing them as “the worst species of citizens”.
However, Shaibu in a sharp response, condemned Onanuga’s remark, describing it as “lawlessness”.
Shaibu further argued that no government spokesperson should advocate extrajudicial actions, stressing that crimes should be addressed through arrest, investigation, and the courts.
In a follow-up post later that night, Shaibu shifted focus to what he described as a grammatical error in Onanuga’s statement, insisting that the correct expression is “shoot on sight,” not “shoot at sight”.
Onanuga responded the following morning, dismissing the criticism and maintaining that both expressions were correct, while telling Shaibu to “upgrade your grammar”.
Unfazed, Shaibu replied with an extended explanation, asserting that “shoot on sight” is a fixed idiom that should not be altered.
He argued that variations such as “shoot at sight” amount to grammatical errors rather than acceptable alternatives and accused Onanuga of illiteracy for defending the usage.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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