THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN POLITICAL DISCOURSE: A PRAGMATIC STUDY OF PRESUPPOSITION AND POLITENESS IN PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU’S 2025 DEMOCRACY DAY SPEECH

Abstract

Since 2018, when the former Nigeria President, Mohammad Buhari declared June 12th a national holiday in Nigeria to commemorate the restoration of democracy in 1999, it has now become an annual ritual, marked with social activities and a presidential speech, christened: “Democracy Day Speech”. It is an observance that constitutes the formal review of socio- political developments in the country since the annulment of June 12 presidential election in 1993. Democracy Day Speech is usually anticipated for the soothing promises it makes and the reassurances it contains. This study investigates pragmatic presuppositions made and politeness strategies employed by President Bola Tinubu in the 2025 speech delivered at his Democracy Day ceremony. The text of the speech is downloaded from the net to ensure accuracy, and the fifty-seven (57) sets of sentences are numbered serially for ease of reference and close analysis. The study reveals that Tinubu presupposes among others, the uniqueness of the event, the socio- political and economic challenges facing Nigeria, and deploys the imperatives to address some key areas in the country. Regarding politeness, the paper unravels both the face saving and face threatening acts performed by the speaker through the various strategies deployed. It concludes that although Tinubu strives hard to mitigate the threats to the face of the past political leaders among others, the emotional touching effects of the threat still remain painfully memorable for their enormity and emphasis.