By

Akan Nnaemeka .C. Eyo

Abstract This paper is my current work in which I applied Functional Theory to the NN24

Presidential Debate with the aim of identifying patterns with previous research

and to test some of the hypotheses in a different country and political context. A

total of thirteen videos on the Presidential Debate were collected and content

analyzed. Critical Discourse Analysis was also employed to construe the messages

in the political campaign discourse. Some areas of the Critical Discourse Analysis

employed content analysis. The results on all the hypotheses tested revealed

similarities with a host of researches in which Functional Theory had been

applied. Critical Discourse Analysis revealed the agenda-setting function of the

media. And that the media played a democratic role in the society by projecting

the ideas of the public.

Introduction Political governments and systems in Nigeria have been treated extensively in many

studies. Writers and scholars alike have often delivered a historical analysis of

Nigerian politics (Crowder, 1973; Diamond, 1988; Wright, 1998:1; Dike, 2003).

Content analysis on Nigerian debates is rare, and past research also falls short of

investigating ideology of discourse. Therefore, it is worth conducting a systematic

research. In their respective accounts, BBC (1999) and Wright (1998:77) assert that

in 1979 and 1999, political campaign discourse in Nigeria centred on personality

rather than policy. It is expected that the results of this paper will also inform the

pattern of ideology in Nigerian campaign discourse.

Contextual Background According to Wright (1998:77) the Presidential system of government in Nigeria was implemented in

1979 and it led to a spike in the number of political parties. Surprisingly, televised debates are alien tothe campaign strategies in Nigeria. Televised Debates have become a popular campaign strategy in mostdemocratic nations especially the United State as far back as the 1960 debate between Nixon and Kennedy.(The American Presidency Project, 2011).

IndepthAfrica (2011) claims that the last of such debates featured in the 1993 election between candidatesof the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) preceding the 1993elections which was eventually annulled. However, this form of campaign has been inconsistent in Nigeria.Prior to the 2011 General Elections several debates were organized around the 2011 Presidential Electionsin Nigeria.

This paper focuses on the 2011 NN24 Nigerian Presidential Debate which aired on the Network News 24(NN24) channel three weeks before the Presidential elections. The debate had one moderator and a timekeeper and it lasted for about two hours. This debate was selected because it featured the top challengersfor the Office of President. One of the candidates was a former Military President and vying with otherchallengers in a democratic era. The incumbent Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was absent from this debate. Oneimportant point is that functional theory is thought to be suited to countries that operate a two partysystem (Isotalus, 2011). Nigeria operates a multi-party democracy. It is within these contexts that thisproject applied Functional analysis of political campaign discourse.

Literature Review Functional theory propounded by William L. Benoit has become a popular method for

analysing political campaign discourses particularly in the United States. Functional theory hasbeen applied to televised debates, television spots, press releases and several speech acts.(Benoit and Currie, 2001; Benoit and Sheafer, 2006; Benoit et.al, 2008; Herrero and Benoit,2009; Wilson-Kratzer and Benoit, 2010; Henson and Benoit, 2010; Isotalus, 2011). Functionaltheory is established on the assumptions that (Benoit, 2004) political campaign messagesserve three basic functions all directed at persuading voters and accumulating sufficient votesto win elections, so far as the elections are contested: acclaims, attacks, and defences. Thesethree functions can occur on two topics: policy (issues) and character (image).

In debates acclaims were dominant, followed by attacks, then defences. Policy is addressedmore than character. Incumbent candidates in both countries acclaimed significantly moreand attacked less than the challengers. (Herrero and Benoit, 2009; Benoit et. al. 2008; Benoitand Sheafer, 2006. Isotalus (2011) identifies a cultural gap in the theory. Having tested it on aFinnish presidential debate, results differed in many ways to the American presidentialdebate; defences were mostly used, then attacks, followed by acclaims; a complete reversal ofthe fourth axiom (candidates establish preferability through acclaiming, attacking, anddefending).

This paper concentrates on ‘texts’, thus it discusses methods particularly suitable for

researching texts. It focuses on Critical Discourse Analysis is suitable (van Dijk, 1995) because

it is problem or issue oriented, focused on relations of power, dominance and inequality.

Critical Discourse Analysis basically deals with how language is constructed and the meanings

generated by the reflection of these constructions. The objective of applying this form of

analysis is to identify patterns, positions, identity embedded in language. van Dijk (1995)

points out that there are several forms of CDA but they all focus on discourse structures and

their reproduction of social dominance. Gillepsie and Toynbee (2006) make the distinction

between both forms of discourse analysis; Fairclough focuses on social and cultural processes,

while van Dijk’s approach is more critical on language in relation to society. The major

proponents of CDA are Norman Fairclough, Roger Fowler, and Teun van Dijk.

Theories Visited Agenda-setting

Public Sphere

Democracy

Globalization

In contemporary society public opinion is generally mediated by the mass media,which has come to encompass the Habermasian ‘public sphere’. This arena is nowcharacterized by the conflict between market and democratic principles, bycompeting interests of politicians and the media (Kenterelidou, 2005).

As McQuail (2005) states the mass media are the institution of the public spherebecause they provide the space through which public discourse ensues.

Televised debates could be referred to as an apparatus of the public spherebecause they are in their nature designed to galvanize dialogue and discoursetaking place in a given space with a broader societal implication and effect.

Methodology Triangulation is important in research to reduce bias so this paper has adopted two

methods to collect and analyze data: Content analysis and Critical Discourse

Analysis (CDA). They are used in tandem to build a quantitative and qualitative

design. The chosen methodological approach for this study has sought to engage

with primary data.

Research questions (The first two are hypotheses of Functional Theory):

What are the proportions of themes raised? (Attacks, acclaims, defences)

What does the rhetoric of the debate emphasize policy or character?

What is the frequency of issues discussed?

What is the ideology of the political campaign discourse?

What are the positions of the candidates in relation to policy and character?

Procedure for Data Collection First, the debate was transcribed using Express Scribe v 5.30 NCH software, and later coded

using QSR Nvivo 9 software. In other words, this is a computer aided research. Using themes

as coding units, a coder classified the function of each theme: acclaims (portray the candidate

favourably), attacks (portray other candidates unfavourably), and defences (are used to

respond to attacks from other candidates). A coder then classified the topic of each theme:

policy (governmental actions) or character (image). Another coder classified which of the

three forms of policy (past deeds, future plans, or general goals) or character (personal

qualities, leadership ability, or ideals) occurred in each theme. Finally, to answer RQ3, a coder

also classified policy themes according to issue addressed: economy, education, electricity

(power), unemployment, security to determine which occurs the most. It is important to

notify that the words ‘electricity’ and ‘power’ can be used interchangeably sometimes in texts

to refer to the same thing so careful attention is paid to this in the content analysis.

Functions in NN24 Presidential Debates

68%

27%

5%

Themes of Functions

Acclaims

Attacks

Defence

24%

44%

32%

Candidates uses of Acclaims

Buhari

Ribadu

Shekarau

13%

47%

40%

Candidates uses of Attacks

Buhari

Ribadu

Shekarau

31%

15%

54%

Candidates uses of Defences

Buhari

Ribadu

Shekarau

Acclaims Attacks Defences

Buhari 37 (76%) 8 (16%) 4 (8%)

Ribadu 70 (69%) 29 (29%) 2 (2%)

Shekarau 51 (62%) 25 (30%) 7 (8%)

Total 158 (68%) 62 (27%) 13 (5%)

Topics of NN24 Presidential DebatesPolicy Character

Buhari 22 (49%) 23 (51%)

Ribadu 50 (51%) 49 (49%)

Shekarau 41 (54%) 35 (46%)

Total 113 (51%) 107 (49%)

51%49%

Topic of Themes in the NN24 Presidential Debates

Policy

Character

20%

44%

36%

Candidates utterances of Policy on Topics Theme

Buhari

Ribadu

Shekarau

21%

46%

33%

Candidates utterances of Character on Topic Themes

Buhari

Ribadu

Shekarau

Forms of Policy and Character in the NN24 Presidential Debate

Past deeds Future plans General goals

Acclaims Attacks Acclaims Attacks Acclaims Attacks

Buhari 1 (100%) 0 2 (100%) 0 19 (100%) 0

Ribadu 2 (67%) 1 (33%) 19 (95%) 1 (5%) 16 (59%) 11 (41%)

Shekarau 10 (77%) 3 (23%) 4 (100%) 0 15 (62%) 9 (38%)

Personal qualities Leadership Ideals

Acclaims Attacks Acclaims Attacks Acclaims Attacks

Buhari 2 (25%) 6 (75%) 5 (71%) 2 (29%) 8 (100%) 0

Ribadu 10 (45%) 12 (55%) 5 (56%) 4 (44%) 18 (100%) 0

Shekarau 7 (39%) 11 (61%) 7 (78%) 2 (22%) 8 (100%) 0

21%

46%

33%

Functions in the NN24 Presidential Debate

Acclaims

Attacks

Defence

8%16%

32%12%

11%

21%

Candidate's uses of Forms of Policy and Character to acclaim in the NN24 Presidential

Debate

Past Deeds

Future Plans

General Goals

Personal Qualities

Leadership Ability

Ideals

6% 2%

32%

47%

13%

0%

Candidate's uses of Forms of Policy and Character to attack in the NN24 Presidential

Debate

Past Deeds

Future Plans

General Goals

Personal Qualities

Leadership Ability

Ideals

Issues in the NN24 Presidential Debate

25%

20%

15%

15%

14%11%

Themes of Issues

Corruption

Security

Economy

Electricity

Health

Education

Excerpts Ribadu: I’m a young person, I’m a young man, I belong to the age of leaders who are doing

well in the world today and that is where it matters. [Acclaim, Character, Personal Qualities]

Ribadu: I have been in government and I have the experience in the last twenty fiveyears, others have been in retirement in the last twenty five years.[Attack, Character, Leadership Ability, Buhari (Target)]

Shekarau: Between 2003 to date I have employed over six thousand fresh secondary schoolteachers which is twice the number. [Acclaim, Policy, Past Deeds]

Buhari: There are ministry’s, there are parastatals, there are security institutions so the part of the constitution that the military administration under me suspended were of course the election and the partisan politics...” [Defence, Policy (Past Deeds)]

Shekarau: “There are two major problems. Number one is the issue of several leakages alongthe line, fraud going on. Am happy my brother Nuhu Ribadu has said there are lot ofmultiplication of agencies and with all due respect I want to say that the agency he headedwas one of the agency that we need not to have... [Attack, Policy, Past Deeds, Ribadu (Target)]

Critical Discourse Analysis Laughey (2007:68) discusses the work of Williamson which deals with ads and their meaning. He

concurs that ads have an ideology and that this ideology is imposed through representation. The first

advert of the programme is on security and this advert is not a commercial advert so is put together

by the NN24 Station itself. The female voice in the advert reads: “So much insecurity in this

country, we are prisoners in our own homes, you can’t even walk the streets freely, it doesn’tmake

sense, this is our country, this is our motherland, it has to be protected, our lives and properties

need to be protected. If there is a will, there will definitely be a way.” The people are referred to as

‘prisoners’, suggesting that they are in bondage and need to be set free be it

socially, politically, economically. The Guarantee Trust Assurance Plc advert the narrator says

“...there was a small burglary at the office on Thursday” This line reiterates the discourse on

insecurity already discussed in the opening commercial on insecurity. It can be argued that this may

be an inference but the Guarantee Trust Assurance Plc is an affiliate of Guarantee Trust Bank and out

of all their adverts they chose to use this one for this programme. This choice is thematically linked

and driven.

The term ‘development’ appears a total of three times on the banner giving the viewers anidea on the aim of the debate. The UNDP logo was used without spelling out the acronym orelse the term would have appeared four times. Not ignoring the French translated version ofthe Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The background carries the coloursgreen and white which symbolize the Nigerian flag. The visuals last and tune lasts for 2seconds.

Moderator: “... given your antecedents when you were a military leader, why should Nigeriansvote for you under a democratic dispensation?”

Moderator: “... a disproportionate amount of leaders we’ve had in Nigeria have been from theNorth, why shouldn’t a Southerner be the next President of Nigeria?

Moderator: “Okay.... Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, are you satisfied with the quality of education inpublic schools?”

In his opening remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of NN24 Station Mr. Tony Dara states that“...We’ve organized this to enhance our democracy.” He also states “It’s all about the voters”supports theorists who assume that the media agenda is public agenda. These are adeliberate summary of all the activity to ensue on the night. This ideology stretches to theclosing remarks made by the moderator "... I hope this conversation continues in ourhomes, in our offices, the task of electing Nigeria's President is a very important one. It iscritical to our development as a nation. Keep talking, keep debating and please make sureyou go out and vote. Thank you very much and good night."

Results BBC (1999) and Wright (1998:77) stated earlier that political campaign discourse in

Nigeria centred on personality rather than policy. However, the results of

Functional Theory and Critical Discourse Analysis of the NN24 debate established

that policy was accentuated more than character. That the media sets agenda in

political campaign discourse through their choice of issues discussed in the

debate, adverts to be aired on the programme, and questions asked. Also when

mass media operates autonomously it projects the ideology of the public. Agenda

is dynamic and the public who are thought to be at the centre of the battle for

dominance of the other two agenda’s are attracted by favouritism.

Conclusions The media in itself is a fortress of power because of the mediated role it plays in

society. Striking the balance, hence, becomes the challenge of contemporary media

in its pursuit for objectivity. One major flaw of functional theory as observed by this

research is that it does not provide for a space where candidate’s reason alike or

agree, and this is part of discourse. Another observation is that defences are not

offered forms through which they can be coded or categorized and this also

accounts to why this function frequents very low compared to other functions.

Lastly, if there’s any apparatus in society that can make or mar the growth of

democracy it is the media. Public agenda is the ground on which the media and

political agenda attempt to dominate. Globalisation has further expanded these

challenges owing to the presence of homogenous and heterogeneous media.

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Thank You