Discursive Features of Selected Political Song Texts of the 2011 Electioneering Campaign Rallies in South-western Nigeria

Abstract

Political rallies are an integral component of political cultures in most participatory democracies. The political rally as a genre of political discourse is characterised by different signifying practices among which are talks, songs, costume and surrogate language. This study isolates songs as a system of signification in political rally discourse in South-western Nigeria with a view to describing their peculiarities. Data for the study were gathered from six  political rally venues in South-western Nigeria prior to the 2011 general  elections in Nigeria. Anchored on the theoretical guide of Systemic Functional Linguistics, songs are explicated in the study as vehicles of multiple  significations transcending territorial corridors of entertainment but ultimately devolving into a myriad of ideological, psychological, socio-cultural and  idiosyncratic imperatives. The study concludes that songs are an effective mode of political communication in South-western Nigeria.

Key Words: Politics; political rallies; political discourse; song texts; South-western Nigeria