diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/eql/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/eql/default.nix
index def60aa295f..de531e901d9 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/eql/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/eql/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   buildInputs = [ ecl qt4 xorgserver xkbcomp xkeyboard_config ];
 
-  NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = "-fPIC";
+  NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = [ "-fPIC" ];
 
   postPatch = ''
     sed -re 's@[(]in-home "gui/.command-history"[)]@(concatenate '"'"'string (ext:getenv "HOME") "/.eql-gui-command-history")@' -i gui/gui.lisp