A Pragmatic Analysis Of Accommodation In Selected Political Discourses In Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines accommodation in selected political discourses in the Nigerian political landscape. The study begins by looking at how the lack clear political ideology and/or the total disregard for it by some Nigerian politicians them to defect from one political party to another and how they employ the nuances of language to prove their allegiance to the new political parties/political associates on the one hand while on the other, using language to distance themselves from their former political parties/former political associates. The data utilized for this study was obtained from secondary sources comprising newspapers and social media handles such as twitter currently X.  After the data analysis using Howard Giles’s (1973), Communication Accommodation Theory as its framework, the study established that politicians who defect from one political party to another converge their speeches to show absolute allegiance and gain acceptance in their new party while also using language , to distance themselves from their former political parties. The findings also revealed that in the face of rampant defections, defectors are sometimes pressured into going the extra mile to prove  their allegiance to their new  political parties or associate by demonizing their former political parties and/or associates whom they once praised to high heavens. The paper concludes by condemning the exploitation of language to surreptitiously pursue personal interests under the guise of contributing to nation building and deepening of democracy.