Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has been in the news for some time. A controversial figure in the 2023 elections, he is constantly on television. There is an aspect of his mission that I, however, like: the inauguration of projects at a rate that should make some of his colleagues permanently delete ‘His Excellency’ from their names.
Among such projects are ‘flyover bridges.’ Flyover bridges? Teacher, please don’t teach me nonsense! I am not teaching you nonsense. I am just echoing one of the terms that have been straying into my ears as Wike’s projects are being discussed: flyover bridges.
I was at a gathering on Wednesday where some friends discussed the governor’s adventures. While some argued that he was too noisy with his achievements, others said he was concentrating the star projects in Port Harcourt. The majority, however, commended him particularly for the ‘flyover bridges’ he is constructing. I didn’t have to quarrel with anyone based on their opinion but I had and still have issues with the way almost all of them regurgitated the expression, ‘flyover bridges.’ Are there flyover houses or drainage?
A bridge that carries a road or railway over another road, ‘flyover’ is a noun that does not need ‘bridge’ to exist in this context. In ‘flyover bridge,’ we thus have another tautological expression you should avoid. A flyover is a flyover, a bridge is a bridge:
Wike is proud to have constructed many flyover bridges in Rivers State. (Wrong)
Wike is proud to have constructed many flyovers in Rivers State. (Correct)
Amosun also constructed some flyover bridges in Ogun. (Wrong)
Amosun also constructed some flyovers in Ogun. (Correct)
Overpass
A synonym for flyover is overpass, which is the American version of the term. It is described as a passage, roadway or bridge that crosses above another roadway or thoroughfare. The Great Russian Encyclopedia also defines it as a bridge built at the intersection of two or more main transportation arteries that allows for the free flow of traffic on different levels. Like ‘flyover,’ ‘overpass’ works independently:
There is an overpass bridge ahead. (Wrong)
There is an overpass ahead. (Correct)
More examples of tautological statements
As we have noted in some past Punch English series, tautology may be useful and cool in literary works like poetry and music, but it should as much as possible be avoided in normal communication. You need not waste space and time in formal contexts especially, just as you should avoid exhibiting multiple words where fewer ones can achieve the same purpose. Consider these examples:
The chairman personally signed the letter. (Personally not needed.)
I personally went there myself. (‘I went there’ or ‘I went there myself’ is better.)
I saw the train with my own eyes. (Thank God, you didn’t have to borrow mine.)
I heard the cry with my own ears. (You should have come for my own!)
Can I get some frozen ice? (‘Frozen’ not required.)
She sells cold ice water in Dugbe market. (I remember the Yoruba version of the tautology here, as popularised by water hawkers: Ice water tutu ree, with ‘tutu’ still meaning cold.)
The policeman over-exaggerated the matter. (Throw away that ‘over’!)
There was a sad misfortune in the city on Thursday. (It’s in literature we tolerate an expression like ‘joyous misfortune,’ which is an oxymoron.)
My international passport has expired. (Your ‘national passport’ too will soon expire – if there is anything like that. Please, let your tautological passport permanently expire today because the travelling document called passport does not need ‘international’.)
I haven’t got an NIN number. (The last N in NIN already means number.)
The ATM machine is not working. (A for apple, M for machine in ATM!)
I need an ISBN number for the new book I’m working on. (This is a common tautological blunder. All you need is the ISBN (International Standard Book Number).
