Ideologies on Display: A Critical Analysis of First-Term Gubernatorial Inaugural Speeches in Nigeria

Abstract

The interest of scholars in political discourse has always been drawn to the dynamics of inaugural speeches and the implicit/explicit portrayal of ideologies. Extant studies have explored discourse patterns, thematic orientations, power relations, rhetorical devices, ideologies, and other issues in inaugural speeches. This paper offers a holistic investigation of the recurring ideologies in first-term gubernatorial inaugural speeches across Nigeria. The data for the study are drawn from 25 inaugural speeches made between 2014 and 2015 across the 36 states in Nigeria. The source of the data is Inaugural Speeches: President and Governors of Nigeria (2014-2017). Through the theoretical lens of van Dijk’s approach to critical discourse analysis, four ideologies were identified in the speeches. These manifest ideologies in the speeches are idealistic ideology, theistic ideology, messianic ideology, and democratic ideology. They are found to drive the establishment of the authority of the governors through the process of sensitizing the citizens about the governor’s interpretation of the election, the presentation of novel principles and perspectives that the new administration would imbibe, and how they would inform governance for the tenure. The reoccurring strategies actualized to project the ideologies are consensus, polarization, lexicalization, presupposition, and metaphors.