African political speeches and pragmatic meanings: a study of president Goodluck Jonathan’s 50th independence speech

Abstract

This study investigates the semantic and pragmatic meanings of modals in President Good-luck Jonathan’s speech during Nigeria’s 50th independence jubilee. It involves analyses of the sociolinguistic, semantic and pragmatic implications of the independence speech. We examine the social characteristics of bureaucratic and political communication in order to bring to fore a coherent and well-defined approach in analyzing political speeches. This paper studies President Jonathan’s speech during Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary using speech acts to identify the impact of the speech on the Nigerian populace, also to identify the meanings of the pragmatic clue(of modal auxiliaries) as used in the speech. We conclude that this is not an ordinary congratulatory speech to invite the Nigerian to vote for the ruling party as identified in the 46th anniversary independence speech of former Nigerian president, Obasanjo, but a tailored speech intended to remind Nigerians that our future and development as a nation depends on our unity and urge them to forget tribal and religious differences and foster unity among its diverse tribes. The President extolled the virtues and sacrifices of the founding fathers that made compromises in the midst of ethnic and religious differences in order to build a unified nation. He regretted the actions of certain individuals whose intensions have been geared towards destabilizing the foundation of our unity. The president used the modal auxiliaries: will (intention), must (obligation), can (ability) more in his speech to prove his good intentions for the wellbeing of Nigeria, the obligations before him and Nigerians to build a virile nation, and the ability of Nigerians to do things right. We therefore conclude that the President’s speech is not just a congratulatory message common during independence anniversaries, but one intended to encourage and stir up Nigerians to work together towards building a nation where future generations would live in peace and unity