A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE AND POWER IN NIGERIAN AIR FORCE SETTINGS

This work was a critical examination of power and ideology in the discourse of members of the Nigerian Air Force (henceforth NAF). The research placed specific focus on how language is used to create, enforce, and promote power relations between soldiers, as well as between soldiers and civilians, within selected NAF settings. Data for the study comprised observations and diary recordings, selected excerpts of press releases on the war against insurgency, as published on the verified Facebook page of the NAF and archived print and electronic media from relevant settings of the NAF Bases. The study employed the qualitative design and the theoretical framework was anchored on an integration of concepts from Norman Fairclough’s three-tiered model of Critical Discourse Analysis and Theo van Leeuwen’s legitimation approach. The findings showed that there are significant speech functions (such as commands, instructions, orders, and requests) and discourse settings (linguistic, social, and contextual situations) that reflect unequal power dimensions in the NAF parade settings. Also, the study demonstrated that military power is enhanced by discursive strategies embedded in Nigerian Air Force Cadences and their communicative goals such as depicting their dominance over the enemy, retelling military folklore, and promoting patriotism. Furthermore, the research revealed that the NAF authorities use language as a tool of diplomacy and (de)legitimation when communicating military policies in a positive image to the general public. Finally, the findings unveiled language as a vital tool for the legitimation of ideologies and soldier-civilian’ power relations inherent in the Nigerian Air Force Press Releases on the war against counterinsurgency; with these Facebook Press releases serving as psychological implements for legitimising military polices and delegitimizing the achievements of insurgent groups in the war of counterinsurgency.