CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU'S INAUGURAL SPEECH IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper presents a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the inaugural speech delivered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the 17th President of Nigeria. The study employs Post-colonial Frantz Fanon (1961), and Fairclough's socio-cultural and socio-economic discourse approaches to CDA as a theoretical framework to explore power dynamic and discursive strategies utilized by the ruling elite. By examining President Tinubu's speech through the lens of post colonialism, this uncovered hidden ideologies, hegemonic practices, and the reproduction of power relations within the discourse. The research questions guiding this study focus on identifying the discursive strategies employed in the speech and the structural processes that signal them, analyzing how President Tinubu's inaugural speech reflects and perpetuates existing power structures within the Nigerian postcolonial context, and investigating the lexical structures within the speech and their relationship to social-cultural domains, particularly reformist, optimist and economic ideological structures. The analysis contributes to the understanding of how political leaders employ language to shape public opinion, maintain dominance, and perpetuate existing power structures. The findings of this study shed light on the role of discourse in the construction and maintenance of power, and provide valuable insights into the potential implications for democratic processes and social justice. Overall, this study offers an in-depth analysis of President Tinubu's inaugural speech and its implications for power dynamics, language, and democratic processes within the Nigerian postcolonial context.