Sample 1: “It was reported that Otunba Iyiola Omisore is aspiring to become the National Secretary of the party in contrary to the insinuations of the people…He will also be among those leaders that will decide the faith of the presidential candidate of the party.” (How Omisore’s ambition as APC National Secretary…News Opera, 19 March, 2022)
We note the expression in contrary to which occurs in the context: “in contrary to the insinuations of the people.” First, we note that the particle (in) which introduces the expression mars it because it is intrusive.
Contrary to, on the Contrary, in contrast, faith, fate
The presence of that particle takes something away from the idiomatic character of the expression. Some related expressions seem to be mixed up in the head of the reporter. These are: contrary to; on the contrary; to the contrary; in contrast; by contrast.
The best way to get familiar with these expressions is to encounter them in their contexts of use. We, therefore, deem it necessary to illustrate their respective usage as follows: 1) Contrary to expectation, the supposedly hit-and-run driver came back and surrendered himself to the police. 2) Contrary to the instruction of the Chairman, the MD dismissed the concerned members of staff. 3) Contrary to the doctor’s prediction, the patient has lived up to twenty years after the crisis. 4) Contrary to meteorological information, there was no rain throughout the third month. 5) The economy continued to go down contrary to the assurances given by the experts. 6) The speaker made some statements contrary to the run of logic. 7) Some preachers preach sermons that are contrary to their personal experiences. 8) He claims to be faithful to his wife; on the contrary, he has a relationship with another woman in the neighbourhood. 9) The Federal Government professes to be deeply interested in education; on the contrary, it has never increased its allocation to education. 10) The security agencies claim kidnapping has been reduced to zero in Nigeria; on the contrary, kidnapping occurs every day throughout the land. 11) The Central Bank claims the incidence of poverty has reduced drastically in Nigeria; on the contrary, poverty seems to be biting hard in Nigeria. 12) The Ministry of Education suggests that more and more girls are getting enrolled in schools; on the contrary, there are millions of girls who have not enrolled in schools. 13) That is what we will do if nothing happens to the contrary. 14) We believe what you said. Fortunately, other people have not said anything to the contrary. 15) There have been no suggestions to the contrary. 16) The only suggestion that seems to be to the contrary is a slight modification of the original idea. 17) These are all fantastic ideas and I can’t imagine anybody offering anything to the contrary. 18) The mainstream religious doctrines have been in existence for centuries and nobody has had the courage to propose anything to the contrary. 19) When a commander speaks, nobody would have the temerity to express an opinion to the contrary. 20) The Ifa Oracle has spoken; no kingmaker is expected to have an opinion to the contrary.
Now read the following sentences: 1) The southern part of Nigeria has abundant rain forests. By contrast, the northern part of the country consists mainly of the savannah. 2) The patient’s legs are cold; in contrast, his head is warm. 3) Ours is largely a rural economy; by contrast, the British economy is largely formal and urban. 3) Our parents were highly educated; in contrast, theirs were barely literate. 4) In those days, salaries were small but life was relatively easy. By contrast, today salaries are fat but life is difficult. 5) Doctors are poorly paid here. By contrast, they are well-paid in Europe and North America.
Next, we consider the lexical and semantic status of the word faith which occurs in the following context: “that will decide the faith of the presidential candidate.” The writer has obviously confused fate with faith. You cannot decide another person’s faith. You decide another person’s fate. Here is a case in which a pronunciation issue has created a lexical and semantic problem. What, then, is the difference between fate and faith? To answer this question, we need to use each of the words in sentences:
We begin with the word fate. The word fate is about destiny, inescapable situations, circumstances, experience forced on a person by a mystical power or inexplicable forces. Now read the following sentences: 1) The fate of the entire nation depends on the strengths and weaknesses of the political elite. 2) The pregnant woman’s nutritional and emotional habits will affect in a critical way the fate of the unborn baby. 3) It is unfortunately true that the fate of intelligent men is often decided by much less intelligent citizens. 4) The wrong impression is often created that students’ fate is decided by the examiners when in reality students decide their own fate by either preparing or not preparing hard for their exams. 5) The Niger Delta militants claim that the fate of the Nigerian nation depends on their oil wells. 6) People in the North Eastern Nigeria have been condemned to a brutal fate in the last six years or so, no thanks to the mindless insurgents. 7) The judge adjourned briefly before making a pronouncement on the fate of the suspects. 8) The fate of the weaker animals is decided by the mood and appetite of the lion. 9) The fate of the company depends on the outcome of the experiment being carried out by its consultants. 10) Should wives leave their fate entirely in the hands of their husbands?
Like the nouns fate and faith, the adjectives fateful and faithful are frequently confused by many Nigerian users. An event or activity or decision is said to be fateful if it is important in a bad or terrible way. Again, read the following sentences: 1) The fateful election took place on June 12, 19`93. 2) It is paradoxical that the terrorist organization was inaugurated on the fateful day of our independence. 3) Saul of Tarsus had scarcely started the fateful journey when God struck him down and gave him instructions as to his destiny and future career. 4) Rehoboam’s fateful decision to pay attention to the counsel of the young men and reject that of the ‘old men’ spelt doom for the unity of Israel as a nation. 5) Disgruntled, the army officer took the fateful decision to overthrow the democratically elected government. 6) It was that fateful shot that led to the end of our outing in the competition. 7) It was at that fateful meeting that the decision to sack him was taken. 8) That fateful journey led to the death of over twenty people. 9) On that fateful day, the wedding ceremony was proceeding normally when, suddenly, a spark occurred which resulted in a huge fire outbreak. 10) The fateful demonstration started as a peaceful protest but later became uncontrollable, resulting in the killing of five students by the police.
Faith is about strong or total belief or confidence in God, a god, a person, system, organization or thing. Please read the following sentences: 1) Abraham is called the father of faith because he trusted God for a long time without having any physical thing to show for it. 2) No one can live a sustained Christian life without strong faith in God. 3) Peter the apostle began to sink when his faith in Christ wavered. 4) A person’s faith in God increases or reduces according to the stuff he feeds his mind and heart with. 5) Spiritual power and strength grow in proportion to a person’s faith. 6) Can people who have faith in God experience adversity? 7) The Christian and Islamic faiths have the same origin. 8) When faith in God combines with sound intellectual resources the result is usually more impactful than physical might. 9) The citizens soon lost faith in the clueless government. 10) When members lose faith in their leaders, it is difficult to persuade them otherwise. 11) The union leaders insist that the representatives of the government have not been acting in good faith. 12) This quarrel could have ended a long time ago if both parties had been acting in good faith. 13) Having lost faith in the marriage, the lady has applied for divorce. 14) The Boko Haram insurgents obviously have no faith in western education. 15) The civil war would not have broken out if the leaders had not acted in bad faith.
The word faithful is the adjective form of faith. Now read the following sentences: 1) Marriage partners are expected to be faithful to each other. 2) Faithful implementation of the provisions of the MOU is critical to the harmonious existence of the two parties. 3) This nation will be great if all of us take a decision to be faithful and loyal to it. 4) The three men were sacked because they were found to be unfaithful to the organization. 4) Would you regard that person as faithful who sells the secrets of his organization to its competitor? 5) Only faithful members of our association will be considered for assistance in their times of financial crisis. 6) The lawyer has not been faithful, and we have, in consequence, decided to dispense with his service. 7) Having noted your faithful and selfless service to this community for the past one decade, we have decided to honour you with a chieftaincy title. 8) The death of Bingo pained me so much because it has been an extremely faithful dog. 9) In spite of her irrational tendencies, her husband has remained faithful to her. 10) I am unwilling to part with this ‘faithful’ old car.
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