Unrestrained Use of Invective at Political Rallies in Nigeria. An Explanatory Critique

Abstract

Politicians have penchant for abusive, aggressive, hate diction. The practice arguably is more rampant in Nigeria than the advanced democracies of the world, and is a major cause of the disparities in national development between a developed country and its underdeveloped counterpart. The study employed the method of critical appraisal of extant literature, including samples of such hate speeches from Nigeria and abroad. It establishes the fact a politician’s choice of words is found to be one of the surest indicators of his/her character and therefore a predictor of the politician’s performance in office. The moral imbalance of an electorate that enjoys abusive words from a politician during campaigns but turns around to condemn the same politician’s abuse of office after being elected was emphasized. It then called on Nigerians to start the process of screening people aspiring to political offices from such politicians’ preferred linguistic expressions. It is only then that the journey towards sustainable national development through good governance can be said to have commenced in Nigeria. Among the measures recommended is aggressive public enlightenment so that heightened political and morality literacy may guide people’s assessment of political aspirants in order to have irresponsible people screened out of political contests.