1.0 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Today, language is a vital part of human society. Language has been the sole enabler of human civilization. Only via language has humanity emerged from the Stone Age and generated significant amounts of science, art, and technology. Language is a means of communication; it is arbitrary; it is a network of networks. We know that speech comes first and writing comes second. Language is human, it differs in numerous ways from animal communication. Language possesses a plethora of features, but the following are the most fundamental: it is arbitrary, productive, creative, systematic, vocalic, social, non-instinctive, and conventional. These features of language distinguish human communication from those of animals. While some of these characteristics may be associated with animal communication, they do not constitute it entirely. Language, as a medium of human communication, encompasses much more than spoken or written words. Its true definition is comprised of five separate traits. Language is a system; it is dynamic, dialectal, sociolectal, and idiolectal in nature. There are various linguistic levels within a language's system. The most fundamental level is phonological. It establishes a link between acoustic variances and semantic differences.

Language usage in political campaigns has a number of distinguishing characteristics that set it apart from other forms of language use. As common as some of these characteristics are in ordinary life, they remain somewhat unique when it comes to politicians and politics. Political campaign language, as reflected in propaganda and rhetoric, is compelling. Politicians employ these linguistic strategies to persuade voters to vote for them and their parties by portraying themselves as the only qualified candidates.

Elections are fundamentally a form of political communication. If elections are about organization, then communication between campaign staff and volunteers, financiers, activists, and supporters is critical. If political campaigns are about forming alliances amongst parties with common interests and goals, communication is critical for creating and sustaining links and coordinating operations. If political campaigns are about mobilizing supporters, communication is necessary to reach out to them and persuade them to become active campaign supporters. If election campaigns are about how the news media covers politics, communication is necessary to develop relationships with editors and journalists and to exert influence over the news media's agendas and framing of issues, events, and procedures. If election campaigns are about voter contact, communication is necessary to contact voters by phone, outdoor activities, or door-to-door canvassing, as well as for interpersonal conversations with voters. And, if election campaigns are about controlling the information environment in order to position the campaign favorably and opponents negatively, any effort to shape the political information environment, branding, or positioning involves political communication.

Propaganda is the dissemination of false information, ideologies, and opinions, as in political propaganda films and plays. These are considered disparaging because they tend to diminish or detract from the value of something or someone. Propaganda's main objective is to misinform and mislead, as well as to subtly indoctrinate. Propaganda is a one-of-a-kind political tool. This is most frequently witnessed during election campaigns. Longe and Ofuanu (2014:17) maintain that propaganda is used mainly to undermine character.

Elections are critical to the concepts and practices of democracy worldwide. This becomes even clearer when one considers that with the collapse of the primordial traditional system and the emergence of the modern state, as well as the significant advancements made in terms of popular will as the source of sovereignty, as opposed to the whims and caprices of rulers, election has provided a mechanism for people to exercise their right to choose who they wish to entrust with the mantle of leadership in their society. In light of the foregoing, experts suggest that elections are best viewed as a single mechanism for aggregating specific preferences, as they provide electorates with a choice between two or more alternatives.

Similarly, election bestows considerable legitimacy on those elected; as such, the process of political recruiting reflects the public's intentions and goals. Along with choice, this is a necessary component of democracy, elections foster accountability by exerting pressure on those in power to act responsibly and to consider common interests and wishes when making choices (Egwu, 2013).

Today in Nigeria, lies, misinformation, and abusive utterances are the order of the day during political campaigns. These languages can be classified as propaganda and have played a significant role during political campaigns in Nigeria. Rather than launching issue-based campaigns, political parties engage in political propaganda, which is detrimental to our electoral process. However, the purpose of this research is to demonstrate how language plays a key part in political propaganda in connection with electioneering campaigns, most notably in elections campaign in Nigeria.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In politics, propaganda has been described as a language filled by scorn and censure, pleading and persuasion, color and bite. It is a language intended to glorify certain persons, demolish others, and influence others. The idea is that persuasion is a necessary component of politics and the quest and exercise of power. Politicians employ a range of strategies to capture voters' attention and develop credibility and trust with their constituents. Propaganda is a kind of communication that is frequently biased or deceptive in nature and is intended to influence the public's attitude toward a certain cause, stance, or political agenda. Language is used to persuade people to vote during political campaigns. This is referred to as rhetoric. According to Owuamalam (2015:19), "political rhetoric is indispensable to the art of politics, both as a method of thought and as a vehicle for expression and action." This perspective explains why the political commercial is designed to spread a political notion through an expression that is believed to affect electorate political action through voting during elections. In recent times, political rallies and campaigns in Nigeria have been rife with abusive language, completely condemning opposition parties and manipulating and misinforming voters. These acts do not sit well with Nigeria's democracy, as they have created space for an ethnic and biased political system, masterminded by political propaganda. Therefore the study center’s on

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main purpose of the study is to examine propaganda in politics: the use of language for effect in electioneering campaign. Other specific objectives include:

1) To examine the types of political propaganda languages used by political parties during electioneering campaigns.

2) To examine if the use of propaganda language has a significant effect on electioneering campaigns in Nigeria

3) To examine the implication of propaganda language to democratic consolidation

4) To examine the significance of language and communications in political campaigns

5) To recommend ways in which political campaigns can be propaganda free

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1) What are the types of political propaganda languages used by political parties during electioneering campaigns?

2) Does the use of propaganda language has a significant effect on electioneering campaigns in Nigeria?

3) What is the implication of propaganda language to democratic consolidation?

4) What is the significance of language and communications in political campaigns ?

5) What are ways in which political campaigns can be propaganda free?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0: The use of propaganda language has no significant effect on electioneering campaigns

H1: The use of propaganda language has a significant effect on electioneering campaigns

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study of this nature will be of immense benefits to politicians, especially, the public office holders who normally use abusive words during electioneering campaigns as well as make false promises to the citizens. This study will also serve as literature (reference) source to students, individuals and the entire public who wish to carry out further research on propaganda in politics in Nigeria.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT: Insufficient funds to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, interview).

Time constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study is restricted to identifying the Propaganda In Politics: The Use Of Language For Effect In Electioneering Campaign

1.9 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

CAMPAIGN: A campaign is a planned set of activities that people carry out over a period of time in order to achieve something such as social or political change.

PROPAGANDA: Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence an audience and further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is being presented

POLITICS: Politics is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations between individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies politics and government is referred to as political science

ELECTION: An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since the 17th century