Twice now I have been tempted to come into the ring to defend Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s use of idiomatic tools to press home his political thoughts. But I had great restraint to since l am not a licensed user of English language. Experts in linguistics, communication and literary arts are better qualified to teach and elucidate on the correctness and appropriateness of “church rat feasting on poisoned Holy Communion”.
Idioms, proverbs and aphorisms are paint brushes used by finer speakers and beautiful writers of any language. The better you are at manufacturing and coining expressions especially when done without much thought or extemporaneously, the more lucid and punchy your message. Ọyọ and Ibadan native Yoruba speakers are held in awe by those of us outside that axis because of their ingenuities to play on words.
Some folks can extend same creativity to borrowed English language. The talent may be a natural or an ability acquired by exposure to voluminous literature and rare books.
Hence, a great reader is known by reading and or listening to him. But you must do with carefulness . Because, in his voyage of fishing for words, idioms and expressions – he may have sailed on strange seas and deeper oceans bringing in blue turtles and aquatic lions you didn’t know existed. Language is both a refreshing and intoxicating drink.
Those who are excellent at it love to test and tempt the capacity of their audience to comprehend. When an essay or speech is richly nuanced, the writer or speaker may be up to a mischief. That is, he has a certain segment of readership or audience he wants to reach, and a particular profile he wants to avoid. Every book or page is not for you. And some speeches are sent over my head too. Apostle Paul wrote directly to the Romans. That letter is still not easily understood 2, 000 years after.
Therefore, pubic officers and politicians with profundity for words need to be supported by communication experts whose job it is to cook supplied hard meat, making it tender and chewable for those who are won’t to be lost when high language or uncommon expression is deployed. A President Bola Tinubu style of language would be great feast for flies. His style of communication is not general. But he would be a delight of international journalists and columnists who can distill what he meant but didn’t say.
Tell your Reverend to keep the Passover table safe. For hungry rats in churches wouldn’t mind feasting on the communion bread despite a poisoning of it.
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