Contextual Beliefs in General Ibrahim Babangida’s Independence Day Broadcasts
Contextual Beliefs in General Ibrahim Babangida’s Independence Day Broadcasts

Summary/Abstract: Contextual beliefs in discourse (spoken or written) have been described in scientific literature as assumptions that discourse participants make in respect of their interaction. Existing studies on contextual beliefs in variants of discourse have largely focused on medical and legal discourses, GSM communication, non-verbal communication, on-line communication and religious communication, etc. This study analyses the contextual beliefs in General Ibrahim Babangida’s Independence Day Broadcasts. Using the contextual belief theoretical approach, our findings reveal that the broadcasts are characterised by three kinds of contextual beliefs of the participants namely: (i) independent contextual beliefs (assumptions) of the president; (ii) independent contextual beliefs of Nigerians and (iii) mutual (shared) contextual beliefs (MCBs) of both General Babangida and the Nigerian populace.

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