“Subsidy Is Gone”: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Power Relations in the Inaugural Speech of Bola Tinubu, on May 29th, 2023.

Abstract

This paper is a critical discourse analysis of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s Inaugural speech. On the 29^th of May 2023, Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria’s president and as part of his inaugural speech, he announced the removal of fuel subsidy from the nation’s budget as a presidential “gift”. That singular act plunged the country into economic hardship throughout his tenure. This study describes and interprets the inaugural speech to view the linguistic choices adopted and to investigate how the speaker uses language to communicate his ideologies and examine the use of linguistic properties in unearthing the hidden meaning of the text and to also examine the relationship between language and power in the society. The study adopted Norman Fairdough’s Socio-cultural practise as the theoretical framework with a three-Dimensional model which consists of text, discursive practice and social practice. The primary source of data is the inaugural speech while the secondary data include relevant critical writings and publications. The study reveals that Ahmed Bola Tinubu expresses his ideological belief in unity, nation building and governance all of which are couched in economic ignorance with the removal of subsidy without corresponding indices to fill the gap. He expresses power through threat, appeal and positive self-representation.