AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY JOUNAL OF ARTS

Abusive language, rhetoric, propaganda, defamatory speech, political jargon, false promises, persuasive words, and vulgar language are common characteristics of politicians' language use, especially during electioneering campaigns in Nigeria. In the Nigerian political arena, voters are swayed by these speeches and interpret them differently from the politicians' intent. This research aims to provide a pragmatic analysis of the terms used in politics during campaigns, particularly focusing on Peter Obi, one of the presidential candidates in the recent Nigerian general election, titled "Nigeria’s 2023 Elections: A vision for policy change and institutional reforms". The study's data was obtained online and analyzed pragmatically from the perspective of the speaker's intentions and the listeners' reactions. The study found a communication gap between politicians and voters, as campaign speeches can convey multiple messages simultaneously, making them highly didactic. The study highlights at least ten pragmatic elements, with some sentence structures serving as persuasive, assertive, and directive tools, allowing the speaker to connect with the audience. Others required inference from the audience. The study recommends that voters/public be aware that the linguistic competence used by politicians during elections differs from superficial meanings. Similarly, politicians must be held accountable for their promises, as voters believe those promises and look forward to the fulfillment of same.

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