Textual Organization for Effective and Meaningful Communication: A Focus on the Speeches of Muhammadu Buhari

Abstract

Texts are not just texts. Texts are considered texts because of the structure and organization they have. Many linguists do not pay attention to the structure of the text instead attention is paid to the nature of delivery and other aspects of the text. Thereby leaving a vacuum as to what is the internal build of a text. In response to this, the present study presents an analysis of the textual patterns of four of Buhari’s speeches focusing on the textual patterning models of problem to solution, General to Specific and Claim to Counter Claim. The purpose of the study is to unravel the technique behind the arrangement of ideas in the speeches. The study adopts Hoey’s theory of textual patterning as the theoretical framework and reveals amongst others that in the problem to solution model, more problems are presented in Speech A and C which were presented in Nigeria against Speech B and D presented in the United States and in Ethiopia respectively. The problems presented in Speech A and C are local and remote problems related to Nigerians alone while the problems presented in Speech B and D have global links as they affect many countries. The study also discovers that the provision of a futuristic solution in the Problem to Solution Model of Textual Patterning acts as a pointer to the present situation even if it was not stated expressly and the use specificity in the general to specific model acts as a form of reinforcement on the information value of the general statement.