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by Solomon Williams Obotetukudo (Editor)
From Balewa's declaration, 'Today is Independence Day, ' to Azikiwe's impassioned plea, 'Let us bind the nation's wound and let us heal the breaches of the past so that in forging our nation there shall emerge on this continent a hate-free, fear-free, and greed-free people, ' to Buhari's patriotic fervor, 'This generation [of Nigerians]... have no other country than Nigeria, ' to Obasanjo's confident commitment, 'I will not spare any effort in rising to this challenge of building firmly and decisively on our achievements, ' and to Yar'Adua's clarion call, 'Let us set aside cynicism... Let us discard the habits of low expectations... Let us join together now, ' words by Nigerian leaders invoke common threads that are essential for nationbuilding. In a democracy, words initiate a relationship between leaders and citizens, a relationship deepened by sacred trusts not easily broken. This collection of inaugural and ascension speeches facilitates comparison of presidential themes, leadership styles, personal philosophies, and evolutionary communication strategies in Nigerian nationbuilding. Each chapter opens with biographical notes on the speaker, followed by an introduction to the prevalent political climate, and ends with the leader's unabridged speech.
Author Biography
Solomon Williams Obotetukudo holds a PhD in communication from the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism. He was previously a multimedia communications consultant and speechwriter in Nigeria and the United States before returning to the academy. He is currently an assistant professor of mass media arts, journalism, and communication studies at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he has taught public speaking, language and symbols in human communication, nonverbal communication, freedom of speech in American culture, and business and professional communication, among many other courses. His research and scholarly interests include political communication, presidential leadership rhetoric, philosophy of language, public address, rhetorical studies, international development communication, and democratic communications. His forthcoming book is Presidential Thematics and Communicative Practices in a Plural Nigerian Democracy, to be published by The Edwin Mellen Press of New York, in 2010.
