The Language of Industrial Actions in Nigeria

Abstract

Previous studies have focused more on ways of mitigating and avoiding industrial disharmony to the neglect of the use of the language of ideological representations during industrial actions. Focusing on the six months (1^st July – 17^th December, 2013) old strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), this study describes the language use of industrial actions in Nigeria and its ideological representations. It makes use of the direct speeches and utterances made during the strike by the principal actors as indexed in two Nigerian daily newspapers – Daily/Sunday Sun, and The Nation. Privileging Critical Discourse Analysis, the study unearths the subtle and even some times blatant ideological representations in the language of employers and employees. In essence, it shows how ideology and identity shape discursive practices, and the strong affinity between language and ideologies. The findings also reveal the exploitation of the language of dominance, power, and authority by employers of labour; and the exploration of the language of collective bargaining, protest, struggle, and resistance against domination by the employees. It is further discovered that both the employers and employees employ the language of accusations and counter accusations, each always shifting and passing on the bulk of blame to the other.

Keywords: critical discourse analysis, ideology, identity, language, power and strike