MUSIC AS CATALYST FOR PEACE, UNITY AND NATIONAL TRANSFORMATION: A SOCIO – PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF SELECT NIGERIA PEACE AND UNITY SONGS

Abstract

The incessant ethnic conflict, religious intolerance and political instability witnessed in the country, attributed to the multilingual and multicultural nature of Nigeria have left the citizens with sense of fear, despair and loss. These have also threatened the fabric of national unity and hindered social progress. Attempts aimed at putting an end to this menace are on – going. Musicians are not left out in this quest for peace and unity. Consequently, this paper sets out to examine how musical discourse functions as a catalyst for social change and national integration. A purposive sampling technique was adopted in selecting two peace and unity songs produced in Nigeria that directly address these challenges. The study adopts a socio-pragmatic framework, applying Presupposition, Context, and Leech’s (1983) Politeness Maxims as analytical tools. Through qualitative analysis, the study reveals among others, that the musicians exploit linguistic politeness, shared cultural presuppositions, and contextual cues to negotiate and broker peace, reinforce unity in diversity as well as appeal to loyalty and empathy. The study concludes that peace and unity songs in Nigeria do not only mirror societal aspirations but also perform pragmatic acts that can shape national consciousness, heal divisions and foster inclusivity and sustainable peace and transformation.