Music, Political Messaging, and Nigeria’s 2015 Presidential Election
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IGI Global
Abstract
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Music and songs command public attention and generally appeal to a large number of people. During
the 2015 Nigerian presidential election, some politicians and their parties virtually took over the musical
space to woo voters. The message creators for incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and his challenger,
Muhammadu Buhari, crafted music-laden television commercials to convey their manifestos. This chapter
used a content analytical method to investigate how various pieces of musical compositions were used as
communication tools in the television adverts used in the elections. Specifically, it examined the musical
genre, words, context, message, and discourse. Overall, most of the political advertisements used in the
election were built around music and songs in praise of the candidates or used to tarnish their image.
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), JA Political science (General)