LEXICO-SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF OBASANJO’S LETTER TO PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, THE WAY OUT: A CLARION CALL FOR COALITION FOR NIGERIA MOVEMENT

Abstract

Obasanjo’s letter to President Mohammadu Buhari, The Way Out; a clarion call for coalition for Nigeria Movement. A simple random sampling technique was adopted for the study. The researcher hinged the study on lexical field theory in the first phase of the analysis then, used the semantic theory of Truth Conditional Semantic to ascertain the validity of the matters pointed out by the former president and finally the componential analysis approach in order to look at the features of every lexemes in analyzing the letter. The researcher discovered that Obasanjo as a true statesman has the sole credibility to write in a secret or open to any leader that abused his/her office. Just as the letter is in accordance with the situation of the country at that time, it has been observed that words used in the letter are words of wisdom. Therefore, the researcher recommended that Nigeria is a multiethnic and multi-religious country with over 200,000,000 million people; one man’s brain cannot suffice the demand of the masses. Therefore presidents and leaders should adhere to these types of letters without minding the writer’s status. Heed the advice given by others who can positively contribute to the act of governance. Also, National interest should surpass party interest so that the targeted development and plans would be achieved.