Between Statements and Actions: A Speech Act Analysis of President Buhari’s Media Political Discourses

Abstract

The study of Buhari’s statements on “jailing of more thieves,” “rule of law should be subjected to national interest,” and “being fair in federal appointments” seem not to have been approached from speech act perspective. As such, this paper analyses the locutionary acts, illocutionary acts, and the perlocutionary effects of Buhari’s statements on the above subject matters. The data were obtained from the online version of Nigerian Dailies. Austin’s speech acts theory serves as the theoretical framework for data analysis. The findings of the study reveal that Buhari’s statement on “jailing of more thieves” is based on fact that he has already jailed some high-profile Nigerians since he was elected as the President of Nigeria. The findings of the study reveal the locutionary and illocutionary acts of Buhari’s statements. The study also shows how Buhari’s statements abided by or flouted Austinian felicity conditions. The perlocutionary effects of the statements were also identified.