A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF OLISA METUH’S DYSPHEMISMS AGAINST PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI’S ADMINISTRATION

A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF OLISA METUH’S DYSPHEMISMS AGAINST PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI’S ADMINISTRATION

1. 1. Background to the study

In every discussion, humans continually and subconsciously negotiate meaning. Failure to negotiate meaning is frequently the source of language disagreement in communication. In terms of language usage, pragmatics is most important for peaceful and effective cooperation in the human community. The job of meaning building is more cherished in the world of politics than everywhere else in human conversation. Various studies on the use of language have made language users realize that there is more to meaning production than the grammaticality of a phrase. Semantics is a discipline of linguistics that explores the formation of meaning in communication(Okoli 2015). Scholarly study has proven that there is more to the typical, literal meaning of sentences derived from a series of utterances. We frequently mean more than we say and speak more than we mean. The context of usages continuously redefines our terms. Thus, pragmatics has been able to describe the mechanics of meaning formation in addition to the wordings of a document or a spoken discourse. Because communication is such an important component of human life, pragmatics and meaning construction are a daily and ongoing occurrence. In every discussion, humans continually and subconsciously negotiate meaning. Failure to negotiate meaning is frequently the source of language disagreement in communication. In terms of language usage, pragmatics is most important for peaceful and effective cooperation in the human community. The job of meaning building is more cherished in the world of politics than everywhere else in human conversation. Knowing how to issue commands or having popular backing does not make one a competent politician. What makes a good politician is the ability to find one's own language. Being a competent language user entails being able to skillfully negotiate one's way out of confrontations and turning the tables on others when necessary. It is also implies using words to manipulate people. Language is required in politics to convince, control, accuse, and occasionally indict other political players. One cannot deny that it is typically the role of spokespersons to skillfully manage language in order to benefit their organization. Politicians regard language as a critical instrument in the political arena since it aids in recognizing politicians' ideological positions. That is why it is possible to have a language that favors one group of people or a political party while not favoring other groups or parties. O

peibi (2019) emphasizes that no matter how good a candidate's manifesto is; no matter how superior a political party's political thoughts and ideologies are, these can only be expressed and further translated into social actions for social change and social continuity through the facilities provided by language. According to Egbewole and Etudaiye (2015), it is the function of an opposition party to engage in constant criticisms of governmental policies formulated by the majority, to carefully scrutinize the manner in which these policies are administered, and to keep the possibility of alternative legislative policies and administrative practices constantly in the minds of the electorate. This research is informed by a distinct interest about the manner in which language is specifically employed by political actors. It has been observed that euphemisms and dysphemisms account for a greater proportion of political language traits. The popular Chief ObafemiAwolowo, the opposition's leader, established the opposition in Nigeria during the First Republic. The opposition practiced during the First Republic was similar to the opposition practiced in the United Kingdom at the time (Egbewole and Etudaiye 2015). Because of colonial legacies and cultural considerations, opposition is muted in many regions of Africa. Democracy in Nigeria would grow if the opposition effectively recognizes and executes its duty with the required altruistic objectives (Alabi 2009 cited in Egbewole and Etudaiye, 2010).

Political opposition is a fundamental characteristic of modern democracy. Opposition in this usage refers to an organized party movement devoted to opposing and perhaps replacing an incumbent administration (Okoli, 2016). Okoli goes on to say that "opposition is formally institutionalized in the process of public governance in parliamentary democracies." In this setting, the opposition party strives to establish itself as a "shadow government" by monitoring the existing administration in the interim and promoting itself as an alternative platform in the next election." Similarly, Robertson (2017) defined an opposition as "a political organisation, party, or informal association of individuals who desire to alter the administration and its politics." Okoli (2016) eventually finds that "political opposition is operated along inter-party lines in mature democracies across the world."

In politics, opposition takes the shape of inter-party struggle. One of the characteristics of modern democracy is the contest for power between political parties. Opposition is extensively practiced by political parties in Nigeria, however it is sometimes done illegally because it frequently leads to bloodshed. Opposition is more effective when it is used to improve the country's governing process. Politicians should view opposition as a form of competition aimed at improving the management of the country, rather than a chance to further their own ambitions. The 2015 general election in Nigeria provides fertile ground for the application of pragmatic aspects to the study of meaning construction in politicians' battle of words on the Nigerian political scene. As a result, this study focuses on pragmatically analyzing the language aspects of selected political speeches delivered by Barrister Olisa Metuh, one of the most active players in the run-up to and following the 2015 general election. Metuh, the People's Democratic Party's (PDP) national publicity secretary, could not disguise his dislike for the APC's flag bearer, General Muhammad Buhari, other than completing his primary task of expressing the PDP's opinions on national problems (rtd). Buhari finally won the 2015 general election, ousting incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, making him the first incumbent President in Nigerian history to be defeated in an election by the leader of the opposition. On May 29, 2015, he was sworn in. Of course, this exacerbated many objections and remarks from the electorates in which Olisa Metuh is a member.

Olisa Metuh, People's Democratic Party (PDP) national press secretary, comes from OtoloNnewi in Anambra State and was born to a fourth generation law officer, Chief J.N Metuh. Olisa Metuh graduated from the Ivy League University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu campus with a degree in law and was admitted to the bar in 1988. In 1996, he established his own law firm, Olisa Metuh and Co, and gave many young attorneys the opportunity to work in legal practice, real estate and share acquisitions, and other capital market operations. He is a member of the Nigeria Bar Association and the Nigeria Association of Business Lawyers. Olisa was appointed as a National Auditor in 2007 and was immediately appointed to the National Working Committee. It is worth noting that Olisa Metuh is both the longest and youngest serving elected member of the PDP's National Executive Committee.

Olisa Metuh has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari's government in a variety of dysphemistic ways, and as the PDP's press secretary, his views might and would be seen as those of the party. Dysphemism is derived from the Greek word 'dys'. 'mis' and 'pheme' are words that signify speech, voice, and reputation, respectively. It is a term having offensive connotations concerning the topic matter, the audience, or both. It is sometimes motivated by emotions such as fear, dislike, hatred, or contempt (Wikipedia, 2015). Dysphemism is an obvious trait in speeches that indicates the speaker's natural state in connection to sociocultural variables.

President Muhammadu Buhari was born in Kastina, Nigeria, on December 17, 1942. He ruled Nigeria as a military dictator (December 31, 1983 – August 27, 1985). Buhari was deposed in a coup headed by General Ibrahim Babangida and other members of the governing Supreme Military Council (SMC) on August 27, 1985, reportedly because he persisted on investigating charges of corrupt contract awarding in the Military of Defence. In 2003, Buhari ran for President as the candidate of the All Nigeria People's Party. On December 18, 2006, Gen. Buhari was nominated as the All Nigeria People's Party's consensus candidate. In the 2007 April elections, his major opponent was the governing PDP's UmaruYar'Adua, who is from the same state, Katsina, but he lost. Buhari left the ANPP in March 2010 to join the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and was the presidential candidate in the 16 April 2011 general election, running against incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). They were the major contenders among twenty candidates. Buhari won the 2015 general election, ousting incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, making him the first incumbent President in Nigerian history to be defeated in an election by the leader of the opposition. On May 29, 2015, he was sworn in. Of course, this exacerbated many objections, remarks, and affects on readers and listeners (that is, Nigerians open to the mass media). The goal of the research, however, will be to analyzeOlisa Metuh's selected speeches in their many variations using the approach of pragmatic theories. This study is conceptualized as a consequence of a personal desire to discover the motivation for Olisa Metuh's usage of dysphemism, the supports provided as a basis for the reader's inference, and the pragmatic importance.

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