Abstract:
In this study, two selected Democracy Day speeches of President Muhammadu Buhari were analyzed to unveil the inner synthesis of the thoughts presented, thereby revealing the meanings conveyed through the speeches, how the messages were conveyed, and why a given approach or choice was made by the president. The two speeches selected for analysis are his Democracy Day speeches of 2016 and 2018. The study examines the stylistic devices, literary schemes, phonological and graphological tools, grammatical and lexico-semantic strategies employed in the selected speeches. The findings revealed that, like other political speeches, Democracy Day speeches are promising and persuasive. Also, apart from the policy directives in the content of the speeches, the speaker made use of certain pronouns to introduce ideologies of inclusion and exclusion in running the affairs of the government. Propaganda, as an integral part of political communication, is also found prevalent in the speeches; this is to convince the masses of their abilities and to have confidence in their administration. Another finding is that the speeches reflect the ruling party’s manifestos and promises made during electioneering campaign processes. The results of the study exhibit some discursive strategies that politicians often use when making democratic speeches. The study concludes that language plays a vital role in manifesting, creating, and sustaining power relations and ideological structures of society.
Keywords: Democracy Day Speeches, Language Use, Political Speeches, Stylistics
DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/tjllc.2025.v04i02.010
author/Bamigbola, E. O.
journal/Tasambo JLLC 4(2) | July 2025 |
