A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF GUBERNATORIAL INAUGURAL SPEECHES BY ABDULRAHMAN ABDULRASAK

Abstract

This study examines the inaugural speeches of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State (2019 and 2023) through the lens of Searle’s Speech Act Theory. Gubernatorial inaugurals of governors in north-central Nigeria remain under-researched through the lens of Searle’s Speech Act Theory, and this study aims to bridge this gap. Using a quantitative, text-based methodology, the research identifies the dominant locutionary and illocutionary acts, explores their communicative functions, and compares the pragmatic strategies deployed across the two inaugurals. The analysis reveals a shift from commissives and assertives in the first-term address, reflecting promises and problem diagnoses, to directives and declarations in the second-term speech, emphasising consolidation and policy implementation. The study contributes to scholarship on Nigerian political discourse by offering the first diachronic pragmatic comparison of gubernatorial inaugural addresses, highlighting the role of speech acts in constructing legitimacy, mobilising support, and sustaining governance. The findings underscore the importance of pragmatics in political communication, providing insights for scholars, students, and practitioners of rhetoric.