Presidential Rhetoric as Correlate of National Integration and Political Participation in Nigeria 1999-2023
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Date
2024-12
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Lead City University, Ibadan
Abstract
A wide range of research has been carried out on national integration in Nigeria and other parts of the world just as there have been many studies on political rhetoric and citizens’ political participation, but there has not been any significant study on the influence of presidential rhetoric on Nigeria’s integration and citizens’ political participation, especially since the commencement of the Fourth Republic. This study fills the gap. The study investigated the influence of presidential rhetoric on national integration and citizens’ political participation severally and jointly in Nigeria between 1999 and 2023. Elaboration Likelihood Model was the theoretical basis of the study, while the explorative sequential research design was adopted for it. The population comprised of residents of six local government areas across Nigeria’s six geo political zones as well as all the national newspapers in Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was adopted for the selection of four Key Informant Interviewees and six newspapers for content analysis, while the 300 respondents for the survey were determined through the simple random sampling technique. The study found that the level of national integration and political participation achieved in Nigeria during the study period was directly proportional to the focus and quality of presidential rhetoric. While positive presidential rhetoric resulted in national integration and citizens’ political participation, negative presidential rhetoric engendered national disintegration and citizens’ political apathy. The study found that for every one-unit increase in the presidential rhetoric variable, there was an increase in peaceful co-existence by an average of 0.115. The study concluded that there is a knowledge gap among the nation’s political class about the nexus between presidential rhetoric and national integration on the one hand as well as presidential rhetoric and political participation on the other hand. Therefore, to bridge this gap, there is the need for presidents-elect to undergo training in communication before assumption of office.
Key words: Nigeria, Presidential rhetoric, National integration, Political participation, Citizenship, Election
Word count: 306
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Keywords
Nigeria, Presidential rhetoric, National integration, Political participation, Citizenship, Election
Citation
Kate turabia