‘Mummy, leave me alone,’ Reactions as El-Rufai’s wife, Shehu Sani clash on Twitter over grammar
Hadiza El-Rufai, the former First Lady of Kaduna State, has engaged in a public exchange with Senator Shehu Sani on X (formerly Twitter).
The former senator, who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th Assembly, had posted a comment on the platform about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which caught El-Rufai’s attention.
In his post, Sani humorously suggested that President Tinubu’s international travels have an impact on the economy, particularly taxes and commodity prices.
He wrote, “New law of economics; When the President travels out, Taxes and Prices goes up.”
El-Rufai, well-known for correcting grammar on social media, pointed out the error in Sani’s post.
She noted that the phrase should be “go up” rather than “goes up.”
*go up https://t.co/FS1GmX7ut4
— Hadiza Isma El-Rufai (@hadizel) October 12, 2024
In response, Shehu Sani, referring to her as “mummy,” urged her to leave him alone.
He pointed out that despite both of them having unfollowed each other, she still continues to linger around him.
He wrote, “I unfollowed you and you unfollowed me.And you still de hang around me.Mummy,leave me alone abeg.”
Her correction sparked reactions from Nigerians in the comment section, with users sharing their views on the exchange between the former First Lady and the senator.
@Balatic wrote, “If you converted this grammatical energy into moral energy and channeled it on your husband, Southern Kaduna population for no reduce significantly during his 8 horrible years in charge.”
@AustinINstate said, “Madam, Uncle senator was right do your research no sentiments please my little understanding :The correct phrase is “price goes up.” Since “price” is a singular noun, it requires the singular verb “goes.”
@Wasser_02 noted: For 8 yrs as governor wife and chief grammar corrector, Kaduna state didnt improve or come first in any external English examination. So ma, this Twitter correction is a waste. You can go ahead to correct mine.
@davidoj_10 said, “If you both advised the government or effected changes in such capacities, we’d be way better than where we are right now but here you’m are correcting grammatical errors.”
