English language crisis and Bayo Oguntuase’s legacy

Sir: Martins Oloja’s “Inside Stuff” Column article (September 10, 2017) on the above subject refers. Thank you Sir for this very good piece. Unfortunately, the situation is very bad. Even the so-called university lecturers (including those in the Department of English) speak very bad English. What then do you expect from their product.

I have complained about this at different medical fora. I have had to insist on penalising candidates when grading their dissertations or, when marking their answer scripts during postgraduate examinations. It is alarming when you hear comments (even from senior medical teachers) like “we only need to mark the ideas and not focus on their English.” I always feel ashamed when some of these doctors talk or make Clinical

Presentations at medical fora. I will try and circulate this article hoping that it will re-awaken this discussion on some medical platforms where I belong.

• Prof. John Obafunwa, former vice chancellor, Lagos State University.