A Multimodal Critical Study of Selected Political Rally Campaign Discourse of 2011 Elections in Southwestern Nigeria

Mohammed Ademilokun & Moji Olateju

Obafemi Awolowo University， Nigeria

Abstract Multimodal communication is at the heart of political campaigns. The 2011 electioneering campaigns in Nigeria witnessed an interesting use of multimodal resources for the expression of meaning. While Ademilokun and Olateju （2016） examined and interpreted some of such multimodal elements from a descriptive perspective， the present study extends engagement with the subject as it seeks to tease out critical meanings embedded in the multimodal ensembles. Data for the study were purposively obtained from the collection of multimodal resources deployed in the Southwestern part of Nigeria during the 2011 electioneering campaigns in Nigeria. The study is hinged on the theoretical provisions of Machin and Mayr （2012）. The study demonstrates that the multimodal resources in the 2011 electioneering campaigns in Southwestern Nigeria are purveyors of gender， carnivalesque and communal ideologies which are used largely for negotiating and perpetuating political and class hegemony. The study further shows that cultural and political identities are strategically used for political marketing and legitimation through the political campaign visuals. Power is also enacted in the renegotiation of gender ideology and the hegemonic configuration of the rallies. The study concludes that visuality in political rally communication in Nigeria is a useful index for ideologies and identities drawn upon for political survival by politicians and political parties in the nation.

Keywords: campaign discourse, critical multimodal analysis, politics, political rally, Southwestern Nigeria, 2011 elections

1. Introduction

Political campaigns have long been an integral part of democracies as political contestants always have to present their political plans to the electorate in order to obtain their support. In fact， political campaigns can be said to be as old as democratic politics given the fact that it is through campaigns during elections that the electorate are able to access information that can help them to make choices. According to Shapiro （2003， p. 14）， “competition is the lifeblood of democracies and meaningful competition requires that there be opposition parties waiting in the wings， criticising the government and offering voters potential alternatives”. This competitive essence of politics implies that aggressive political campaigning is expedient in democratic political systems. Therefore， politicians invest a great deal of effort into political campaigns since obtaining the people’s consent and acceptance is central to their political success.

The electioneering campaigns for the 2011 elections in Nigeria were very creative and dynamic as both the ruling People’s Democratic Party and the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria competed keenly for the mandate of the people through aggressive campaigning. One major feature of the 2011 electioneering campaigns in Nigeria is the impressive use of multimodal resources by the participants in the discourse. Whereas there had been some efforts at previous elections on the use of multimodal resources， the 2011 elections witnessed greater use of multimodality owing to the growth of awareness among the electorate of the value of the phenomenon and greater access to it. The political actors used diverse multimodal resources such as vests，Ankara， colour， logos， dance， surrogate language， among others， to convey their messages on the candidates and parties to vote for in the forthcoming elections. Such multimodal resources are known to add a great deal of colour to political campaigns and make the scene of the campaigns more interesting to the public. Since some of the semiotic artefacts are given to the political followers gratis， they populate the political campaign spaces thus further extending the reach of the information conveyed through the artefacts by political aspirants and parties.

However， even though there is increasing use of multimodal resources in political campaigns in Nigeria， there is still scant research on the subject. The few studies on the use of multimodal resources in political campaigns in Nigeria have been largely descriptive （see Oyebode， 2015； Ademilokun & Olateju， 2016）. Such studies only paid attention to the interpretation of the meanings inherent in the multimodal resources used in the 2011 electioneering campaigns in Southwestern Nigeria. However， the critical meanings that are embedded in such multimodal texts have been largely neglected. This study therefore seeks to explicate the critical meanings in the multimodal texts used in the 2011 electioneering campaigns in Nigeria in order to show representations of power， ideology and identity in the discourse through the linguistic resources inherent in the discourse.

2. Politics and Multimodality

The relationship between politics and multimodality is best conceived as that between language and politics. In fact， multimodality on its own is a form of language which extends beyond verbal text. Therefore， in a way similar to how language is used to facilitate political processes and engage in political action， multimodality can equally be deployed for the realisation of political processes and actions. Durovic and Silaski （2016） opine that multimodality is significant in mediating political issues. Focusing on the multimodal representation of the Serbia-EU relations in political cartoons， the authors argue that multimodal metaphors and metonyms relay a critical voice of the people and thus serve as a tool for setting social agenda by the cartoonists.

Central to multimodality as a domain of visuality is that visuals make details salient to the audience and thus make it easier for the audience to recall the details provided through such visual information. This function of visuals to enable one to recall the details presented on them is the mnemonic function of multimodality （Domke， Perlmutter & Spratt， 2002， p. 133）. The scholars highlight the importance of multimodal resources when they assert that visual imagery used in combination with news can instruct audiences about how to think about news. Other values of visuals for politics， especially political campaigns， are its aesthetic appeal， its affective power， their historical and political power （see Domke， Perlmutter & Spratt， 2002， p. 133）.

The aesthetic appeal is in fact very significant as earlier mentioned in view of the colour that the multimodal resources or artefacts such as clothing， cars， electronic televisions， among others， inject into the participation space， that is， the political rallies. More importantly， in the Nigerian context where there is relatively diminishing attention given to merits of the arguments and propositions of political contestants at political rallies， political parties and political aspirants gain further popularity among a growing uncritical audience who may pay attention to the looks of the politicians than what he or she has to say.

The affective power of multimodal artefacts at political rallies also creates further bonding between political parties and political candidates on the one hand and the electorate on the other hand. Since the electorate who are givenAnkarafabrics， party caps and vests， umbrellas， among others， are excited about the materials given to them， as such materials are often important to poor party faithful， they become emotionally invested in the political campaigns as a way of showing appreciation. Therefore， through the attraction and emotional attachment that the political followers have for the semiotic resources， they collectively serve to promote and disseminate the ideologies that politicians and political parties index on the artefacts.

Machin and van Leeuwen （2016） remark that the relationship between politics and multimodality manifests in political discourse in various ways. According to the authors， one way by which political ideologies are passed down to younger generations in the present times is through video games that promote such ideologies to the benefit of the powerful class and the design of offices to feature certain politically sensitive logos and symbols. Machin and van Leeuwen （ibid.） also remark that digital technologies have also strengthened the use of multimodal resources in political communication since many of the new technological resources used for political communication like other forms of communication impact the messages delivered and the reception of the messages. For instance， the delivery of a political message through a technological gadget might likely attract some members of the electorate who are more interested in aesthetics than content. This is concomitant to the idea of aestheticisation that Machin and van Leeuwen describe as typical of political discourses through multimodality. For instance， the dances and the drumming at political rallies infuse significant aestheticisation into the discourse in the participation space and ultimately motivate the electorate to support certain political candidates or political parties.

3. Literature Review

Although the study of multimodality in political communication is relatively new in linguistic research， there are some studies on the subject matter. For instance， Lirola （2015） studies a sample of political posters in Ireland during and after the Celtic Tiger. The paper focuses on the analysis of four political posters of the Irish political party Fianna Fail across 1997， 2002， 2007 and 2012 elections in order to explicate how the political leaders are framed. Using critical discourse analysis， social actor theory and Kress and van Leeuwen’s （1996） visual grammar， the study shows that the multimodal resources in the posters were deployed to represent the political leaders positively to the electorate and to persuade them to vote for them in the elections.

Cotoc （2017） also works on multimodality in political posters and slogans in Romania. Using qualitative and empirical methods of data collection and analysis， the author interprets the meanings in selected multimodal expressions and the impact of the multimodal texts on the audience. The study reveals that multimodal texts are heterogenous constructs which often confuse the intended audience as such audience sometimes do not decode the meanings inherent in the multimodal texts. The author thus concludes that the incongruence in the meanings expressed in multimodal political texts often work against the interests of the political candidates and parties projected through the multimodal resources.

In the Nigerian context， there are studies that have examined the multimodal features of political cartoons. Ariyo （2017） focuses on selected political cartoons from TELL news magazine. Using van Leeuwen’s （2001） multimodal discourse analysis， the study shows that political cartoons are characterised by visual features that are rich in meaning and could mediate important issues in the society.

Abdullahi-Idiagbon （2013） analyses the multimodal features of a political speech of Goodluck Jonathan in his campaign for the 2011 presidential election in Nigeria. The study shows that visual cues in a speech are very important for the audience to discern the sincerity and omissions in the speeches of a politician as politicians often withhold information as a manipulative strategy in their communication.

Asakitikpi and Adeyeye （2017） also examine the changing of identities and realities in Nigerian political discourse through multimodality. The authors argue that the popularity of online platforms such asFacebookin particular which affords the participants in a discourse creative mode of expression to mediate political issues and liberty to be as expressive as possible. Using multimodal discourse analysis， the study shows that multimodal resources are used in Osun Political Parrot pages onFacebookto mediate the 2015 presidential elections in Nigeria. The study shows that the multimodal resources used on the platform are grounded in intertextuality as messages derived from other texts are used to enhance the meanings expressed in the discourse.

The review of literature shows that multimodality in aspects of political discourse such as political posters， political speeches and online political discourse have been examined. However， most of those studies have been largely descriptive and interpretive focusing on the meanings communicated through multimodal elements in the discourses. However， the literature shows that the communication of critical meanings bordering on ideology and power have been largely ignored in multimodal political communication， especially in the Nigerian context. This study therefore fills this gap by exploring the use of multimodal resources to reflect broader meanings of political ideology， identity and power in Nigerian political campaign discourse.

4. Methodology

The data for the study were obtained purposively across the six southwestern states of Nigeria （Osun， Oyo， Ondo， Ekiti， Ogun and Lagos）. The political rallies focused on are those of the strongest three political parties in the Southwestern part of Nigeria then： People’s Democratic Party， Action Congress of Nigeria and the Labour Party. Data was obtained from one political rally of the two strongest political parties in each of the six states， making a total of twelve political rallies. The multimodal communication at the selected rallies was recorded by the researchers and additional data were obtained from television stations in the states. Subsequently， the data were printed out and ten images were selected for critical multimodal analysis based on the richness of their multimodal properties.

5. Theoretical Framework

Multimodal critical discourse analysis is a theoretical approach that builds on the initial efforts of Kress and Leeuwen （1996） on multimodal discourse analysis. The analytical approach fuses insights from Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics with established ideas on visual analysis （Machin & Mayr， 2012， p. 7）. Machin and Mayr （2012， p. 9） aptly capture the essence of multimodal critical discourse analysis when they remark that “what is central to multimodal critical discourse analysis is the sense of being critical… Texts will use linguistic and visual strategies that appear normal or neutral on the surface but which may in fact be ideological and seek to shape the representation of events and persons for particular ends”.

Multimodal critical discourse places premium on the exploration of representations of ideology， identity and power in expressions. It in particular shows how visual resources such as colour， pose， gaze， salience， modality， transitivity， among others， bear the critical discourse features in discourses. Although multimodal critical discourse is not fully developed as a theoretical framework， it has a set of tools drawn from interdisciplinary fields such as linguistics and social sciences. Some of the notable aspects of multimodal critical discourse analysis used to explicate representations of ideology， power and identity are frame， gaze， pose， distance， angle， exclusion， among others （see Machin & Mayr， 2012）.

6. Data Analysis and Discussion

This section focuses on the analysis of ideology， identity and power in the discourse drawing on the communicative potentials of all the signifiers in the participation space， including the social actors.

6.1 Visuals as a tool for ideological construction

6.1.1 Gender ideology and the expression of feminine power in political rallies

A significant aspect of the political rally discourse of the 2011 elections in Nigeria is the inflection of gender ideology in it. The discourse depicts the changing nature of gender ideology in the Nigerian society as it indexes the increased agency of women in political participation and marketing in Nigeria. Traditional norms of women behaviour in the Nigerian cultures require that they show modesty in public appearances but the images from the 2011 political rallies in Nigeria reveal that the female social actors in the discourse pushed the limitations against them to obtain social approval and favours. Below is an example：

Figure 1. PDP Women’s Rally in Lagos， 2011

Figure 1 shows a group of women dancing in the traditionalAso ebi（cloth for the family） orEgbejoda（cloth for a group）， that is， an item of clothing worn by many people （uniform） for a particular occasion. It is incorporated as a show of solidarity during ceremonies and festivities. This time around， it is for a campaign rally. Some of the women have it sown in long skirts and blouse while others have theirs inIro and Buba（traditional wear of Yoruba women）. The Yoruba people occupy the Western part of Nigeria and are noted for solidarity in politics and other matters that affect the Yoruba race. The attire is in white and green which are the colours of Nigeria’s national flag. Through their dressing， they truly prove that they identify with the desires of the nation for agriculture and peaceful co-existence， portraying the party as an advocate of peace.

Most of the women in this particular image are notable women in the society. Judging by their comportment and dressing， the quality of their handbags and shoes worn， one can easily conclude that most of them belong to the high and middle class groups in the Nigerian society. They are women of substance and have what could be called “dress sense”. The group uniform must have been bought for them by the party they are trying to support. Their comportment and gaze exude confidence in the party they are supporting. It would probably not be out of place to state that some of these women are business people or have husbands who are part of the party’s financiers given the high level of confidence that they exude.

The bold appearance of the women in the discourse reflects their conscious will to assert themselves on the political landscape in Nigeria by resisting all limitations against them. Apart from the dress sense and comportment of the women which reflect their confidence， their dances also capture their excitement about their political relevance. The confident attitude and spirit of the women is however not accidental as they were actually making active demands for affirmative action on women participation in government in Nigeria which was put at 35%. The fact that the women were asserting themselves in the Nigerian political space also manifested in the fact that the political rally in question was exclusively for women， showing that women consider themselves ripe enough to organise political rallies. Therefore， the women seem to be saying that we are not just asking for inclusion in Nigerian politics， we are actually involved and excited about our involvement.

The involvement of women in the political rally seems to be in tandem with the global wave of greater women participation in politics. For instance， in countries such as Germany， Croatia， Liberia and many others， women have either just left office as presidents or are still in office as president. Therefore， the bold appearance of women in the campaign images seems to contest findings in Jennings （1983） that participation in politics is naturally a male role and not a female role in the society. This particular study also challenges the general thinking in the society that privileges men as seen in Lindstrand， Insulander and Selander （2016， p. 6） where two media texts analysed present females as different from and inferior to males.

Below is another image that reflects the negotiation of gender ideology in the discourse：

Figure 2. APC Rally in Ile-Ife， 2011

Figure 2 also projects the dynamism of gender ideology in the contemporary times in Nigeria. The image shows a woman traditional religion worshipper ofIfaoracle participating in the political rally with the full paraphernalia of her occultic status. It is generally believed thatIfaoracle is powerful and capable of magically scanning the future of an individual or community and also solving problems. Even though women are allowed to worship and practiseIfaamong the Yoruba in Nigeria， the association ofIfawith the political rally for declaring spiritual support for the political party holding the rally is no doubt an iconoclastic act in the Nigerian setting. It indexes the self-assertion of women irrespective of class and religion in Nigeria’s political space.

The female identity of theIfapriest is marked by her appearance in a free blouse with drawings and inscriptions on them， which can only be understood by adherents of the religion. The front of the blouse has the drawing of a local warrior with hand raised holding a weapon of war. The warrior also seems to be decorated with an outfit that has all kinds of charms on the neck， waist bands and wrist bands， etc. These are all forms of power display， （1） to show the traditional worshippers’ support for the party， （2） to send warnings to intending criminals that their nefarious activities would not be tolerated， （3） to intimidate the opposition party that they do not only have the physical support of the populace but also the spiritual support of worshippers of traditional religion， （4） to show that the party does not discriminate between people of different religions， and （5） to show the inclusion of other powerful women apart from the women of substance identified in the plate.

On the back of the free blouse is the inscription ofEji ogbe. It is the first in the outline of “Ifa” messages in traditional religion. The inscription is coupled with the sign

The appearance of the woman in a religious garment on whichEji-Ogbeis inscribed further speaks volume about her conscious desire to legitimate female spiritual support for the political party holding the rally.Eji ogbein Ifa divination is cast when someone or a group is embarking on a journey or venture and they are scared or unsure of the outcome but the divination reveals that once a sacrifice is offered， there would be glad tidings for the people. Therefore， through the religious symbol， the woman gives a message of assurance and hope to the political party that they would triumph in the electoral contest.

The presence of the traditional worshippers could be said to be oppressive because people believe that they have charms which they could use to harm or hurt anybody at will. Their presence could send fears down the spines of ordinary people who do not have any charm or those who may intentionally want to cause trouble for politicians at political rallies. It is also intimidating to the populace in the sense that it sends a message of additional power to anybody who may think the contestant has only political power. Many people seem to believe that political activities cannot be done without some other forms of powers that would keep the people in check and also stop them from either legitimate or unnecessary protests before， during or after elections. Therefore， the woman performs the heroic act of displaying magical， or invisible powers meant to lead to the success of the elections.

Women are involved in this display of invisible power because it is believed that strong traditional cults have women as members and that some of these women are even more powerful than the men. It is believed in some quarters that women have been so created and gifted that their presence during the preparation of some terrible charms could either make or mar the efficacy of such charms. As a result of these， politicians tend to consult and also give some seemingly spiritually powerful women recognition during their campaigns.

6.1.2 Visual representation of carnivalesque ideology

Carnivalesque ideology which is rooted in the idea of carnival according to Jarrar （2016） can be “traced to the cultural festivities of the Middle Ages and the impact of Francois Rabelais （1483-1553）”. Bakhtin （1965） says that carnival gives room for “the material bodily element ” （p. 79） which is often characterised by indulgence in food， drinks and even violence. The carnival aspect of Nigerian political campaign discourse seems to be receiving more attention in the present times than the discussion of serious issues grounded in progressive ideologies and this is adequately captured by the visual resources in the 2011 political rally campaigns in Nigeria. Below is an image that illustrates our point about the political rally as carnival：

Figure 3. PDP Rally in Osogbo， 2011

Figure 3 is a visual representation of a typical political rally scene in Nigeria where participants indulge themselves in excessive dancing， often times at the expense of paying attention to the manifestoes of political aspirants. The poses of the social actors in the visual show that they are in a state of delirium， listening and dancing to popular music at the political rally campaign. The raising of the hands by the actors shows their ecstasy which is even emphasised by the fact that most of the hands in the image are raised in reaction to the musical sounds being listened to. Going by the explanation of Machin and Mayr （2012）， the fact that most of the social actors represented in the image are looking off frame shows that they are thinking about something other than campaign messages. Evidentially， the social actors are more pre-occupied with the fun of the political rally rather than the developmental issues needing attention especially in a nation that is economically challenged. Also， since Machin and Mayr （ibid.） remark that settings can make us to know the kind of people represented in an image in terms of their values， identities and actions， it is discernible that the rally attendees are people who are more fascinated by entertainment than ideology.

Even though entertainment is a tool that politicians and political parties deploy to entice people to their parties and candidatures， the immodesty in the immersion of the social actors in the frenzy of the moment shows that they can be reckoned with as frivolous people who may not really pay attention to the real issues about governance. This is however not also so surprising in view of the fact that the social actors are persons who obtained the vests they wore gratis from the politicians and political party and are thus expected to show absolute loyalty. This further highlights the poor educational and economic levels of the people which limit their ability to think rationally and raise critical questions rather than over-concentrate on entertainment through sensual body movements. Below is another image that elucidates the penchant of political rally participants for feasting in the participation space：

Figure 4. APC Rally in Ile-Ife， 2011

The image above also highlights the carnivalesque ideology of participants in the political rallies studied. The social actors in the image are youths who are recruited by the political party holding its rally to sing and dance at the political rally in order to inject a lot of fun into the atmosphere at the rally. A close look at the poses of the actors represented in the visual which actually reflects their body movements in the dancing activity shows that they are very ecstatic and are enjoying the frenzy of the moment. However， while it is important for fun to be part of the youthful contributions to a political rally， the overconcentration of the youths on the banal activity of dancing at a political rally raises some questions， especially in a Nigerian society where there is growing disenchantment among the youths due to inadequate employment opportunities for them. There are many Nigerian graduates who are unable to get jobs many years after graduation， leading to frustration not only among the youths themselves but also the parents. Therefore， one would imagine that the youths would exhibit soberness by focusing more on interrogating the political aspirants on fundamental issues regarding their plans for the youth， rather than engaging in ecstatic dancing.

However， the dancing acts of the youths at the political rallies also serves to highlight the configuration of the society to keep people down so that they would serve the political elite. For instance， of the youths dancing， it is usually the case that none of the children of the political aspirants would be there as they are often in universities outside the country while the undiscerning youths are made to dance to project the aspirations of their fathers. Therefore， the carnivalesque ideology of political campaigns in Nigeria as reflected in the 2011 electioneering campaigns serves as a subtle tool for marginalising the unwary citizens as it is often the case in the democratic process in Nigeria. Food is also sometimes served at rallies to complement and reward the dancing especially towards the end. Since the poverty level is high in Nigeria which makes people easily vulnerable to peanuts from politicians or political godfathers， some people would do anything for a plate of food or a piece of flesh. In short， many people attend the political rallies for what they think they can get from political stalwarts and their supporters and dance to show their appreciation and loyalty to the political “benefactors”.

This is similar to the American Tea Party which is a good example of merriment that comes with politics. The occasion affords politically inclined Americans to enjoy their political leaders in a relaxed mood. The display of affluence， entourage of posh cars， distribution of food items and other materials are in themselves oppressive as the populace get emotionally and psychologically intimidated to accept the materials and promises from the sugar-coated mouths of intending political aspirants.

Therefore， the carnivalesque ideology in the multimodal political campaign discourse is manipulative in a way similar to Cotoc’s observation on political slogans and posters in Romania where the multimodal political discourse is constructed to confuse the intended audience by making the audience unable to decode the messages being passed across. So， as Nigerian politicians try to keep the electorate down with dances and food， Romanian politicians keep theirs down through incomprehensible political texts.

6.1.3 Communal ideology as a trope

Communal ideology is an integral aspect of the African experience which although has been challenged in the present times still has a place in the Nigerian society. Although the idea of “communalism” suggests different things， for the present purpose， we are interested in its manifestation in the invocation of the collective spirit with regards to living and pursuing other actions relating to human existence. Political aspirants and political parties generally appeal to this ideology to gain support for themselves in preparation for elections. This manifests copiously in the discourse in focus as the politicians try to present themselves as integrally part of the electorate and that their political ambition is indeed a collective project， thus making their rallies filled with the people. Below is an image that indexes the communal ideology in the discourse：

Figure 5. Labour Party Rally in Akure 2011

Figure 5 above depicts a scene at one of the political rallies where people are made to bond together to project the political aspiration of a particular person and maybe the top echelon of his political party. Distance is used by the social actors in the image to depict their communal essence and support for the political aspirant in question， as the participants are very close to one another physically. In fact， the political actors crowded the political aspirant who waves at them in the middle of the crowd as a mark of being part of them and being for them. According to Machin and Mayr （2012）， such close contact shows that the social actors are in close proximity and share similar values and aspirations. The communal ideology in the visual is also reinforced by the appearance of the political actors in the same vests produced by the political aspirant and party for them. Let us consider another image that reflects the deployment of communal ideology for mobilising the electorate in the discourse：

Figure 6. PDP Rally in Lagos， 2011

In figure 6， the women community is presented as dancing to support another woman contestant. Until recently when women were sensitised into more active participation in politics， most present-day women had lukewarm attitude towards national politics. In the 2011 political campaigns， one of the contestants promised women 35% notable positions politically in the country and this made many more women to get involved in political affairs. This was a way by which the women were being encouraged to support the political aspirant. In this particular image， the women are supporting a woman like theirs as a way of showing solidarity. This thinking and action of promoting a fellow woman by the social actors is rooted in the communal ideology of the many cultures of Nigeria which demands that one supports members of his or her group， whether ethnic， gender or religious.

The gazes of the women show that they are happy to project their fellow woman as their faces are quite bright. The distance among them also portrays them as united as they maintain close physical contact. The bright and glamorous appearance of the women in a typical traditional female mode of dressing in Nigeria is meant to illustrate that there is beauty in women generally which the woman projected by the banner indicates and they emphasise. The women also show that they are passionate about the nation by appearing in the green and white which are the national colours of the nation.

6.2 Visuals as a resource for identity construction

Another significant feature of the deployment of visuality in the political campaign rallies is the use of multimodal resources for constructing certain identities for the purpose of strengthening the positive effects of the political rallies and the ambition of the political aspirants and parties. Two notable identities constructed through visuals in the discourse are cultural and political identities.

6.2.1 Cultural identity

Cultural identity involves the depiction of strong traits of association with a particular culture， which could be through verbal and non-verbal means. In the present study， cultural identity manifests in the foregrounding of the Yoruba culture of Southwestern Nigeria through the drums， drumming and clothing in the discourse. Let us consider the visuals below：

Figure 7. PDP Rally in Lagos， 2011

Figure 7 shows the significance of drums and drummers and other musical instruments such as trumpets， band sets， gong， etc.， for indexing Yoruba culture in the political rally space. The presence of drummers at political rallies recorded in plate 7 seems to suggest that preparation for a change of government is a joyous occasion and a time to celebrate as people roll out many drums during political rallies. Drumming， singing and dancing are part of the African culture in every way. Even when some deaths occur in some communities， drums could be used to announce the death， sing praises of the departed or create the necessary atmosphere for the right mood for the occasion. One of the musical instruments that accompany drums is calledSekerewhich is a gourd with beads around it. A Yoruba proverb saysSekere kii ba won rode ibanuje. This means thatSekereas a musical instrument is never used where people are mourning. It is only used where people are rejoicing.

Drums have a lot of cultural significance in almost every culture. Drumming， music and dancing attract people and make a gathering easy to address. There are different kinds of drums in Yoruba land—Gangan，Dundun，Agidigbo， etc.， which are used for different occasions. TheGangan， however， is about the commonest along with the modern band sets used by very young people in the society. TheGanganis a double-faced drum constructed in such a way to give different tunes. If drummers are not well taken care of， they could use their drums to send wrong signals to any group of people they are trying to entertain. Some drummers attend functions as freelance drummers while some are invited.

Figure 7 shows some drummers wearingDansikiwhich is a type of attire for men. It is mid-way betweenBubaandAgbada（another set of male attire in Yoruba land）. Many of the drummers wear theDansikias a form of uniform to identify with the political party that invited them to the different rallies. Most professional drummers take drumming as a means of lifelihood and so will be willing to perform at political rallies with the hope of getting something from the politicians. This means they would unreservedly play for the good and the bad politician except they are forcefully rejected or sent away by law enforcement agents， which does not usually happen. They could use the drums to make comments， sing a popular lyric， which only the gifted in drum language would be able to interpret. Drummers could be hired permanently by a political party to play for them alone and to follow them wherever they go for rallies or campaigns， but if they are freelance drummers， they could play for any group of people—prominent or opposition party.

Drummers go out everyday with the intention of finding joyous gatherings where they could perform. They do not only play for politicians but also the supporters at a rally with the intention of also getting some money from them. They do not usually dance but entertain others at functions. This they also did at the 2011 campaign rallies analysed in this paper. Drumming also empowers the drummers financially because apart from being paid by the politicians who invited them， they also get tipped for good performance by some of the party supporters at the rallies. Below is another image used to project cultural identity in the discourse：

Figure 8. APC Rally in Abeokuta， 2011

Figure 8 is a visual representation of the conscious effort of political aspirants to identify with their culture through their dressing in order to appeal to the electorate. Since the politicians address a Nigerian audience， they often connect with them by dressing in a way that unifies the people with them （the politicians）. By appearing inagbadawhich is the Yoruba attire for elderly dignified and successful Yoruba man， the political actors represented in the image project themselves in a confident manner as proud， capable and competent Yoruba who can lead their people. It is also significant that the men in the image all have their caps on showing that they have remarkable dress sense， as they appear like properly dressed Yoruba men. In appearing like this， politicians are aware that since they are marketing themselves to the people at the political rallies， they needed to appeal positively to people who are culturally sensitive and might evaluate them based on their fidelity to Yoruba culture as lucky ambassadors of the culture and the people.

6.2.2 Symbols and colours for marking political identity

Given that political campaign rallies are generally events through which political aspirants and their parties strive to strengthen their following and acceptance by the people， they also pay great attention to the construction of distinct political identities for themselves and their parties. This often manifests through the inscription of the logos of certain political parties and or images of political aspirants on the clothing of the rally attendees or on some physical objects in the political rally environment. Since theegbejoda（uniforms） worn by the political followers are given gratis to the people and are meant to serve the purpose of further marketing the politicians and their parties， the names of the political parties and candidates and the logos of such parties are usually inscribed on them for people to know where the wearers belong. Consider the following image：

Figure 9. APC Rally in Ile-Ife， 2011

The vest worn by the social actor represented above depicts his political affiliation. This is because once one sees a person appearing like this in the political rally setting， it becomes instantly clear that the person is a supporter of the Action Congress of Nigeria which was the opposition party at that time. Apart from the fact that the acronym for the name of the party is inscribed on the vest， the logo of the party which is a broom meant to signify the cleaning that the party sought to achieve in the nation. The broom signifies the intention of the political party to clean the rot in the nation which the text producer aligns with. Invariably， through the political affiliation indexed through the linguistic and non-linguistic items on the vest and the meaning， the social actor identifies himself with the progressive ideology in the nation. Below is another visual that projects political identity in the discourse：

Figure 10. PDP Rally in Lagos， 2011

The image above also conveys political identity in the political rally context of its use. The wearer reveals his political affiliation in the setting of the discourse through the colour of the People’s Democratic Party and the candidates of the party inscribed in the front of the hat. The stylish way the hat is worn shows the excitement of the wearer about his identification with his favourite political party as he reflects youth culture even in his promotion of the People’s Democratic Party. The hat is designed like that of cowboys who are usually fun-seekers who go on holidays， ride horses as a way of enjoying themselves. Therefore， being a youth himself， the text producer conveys the subtle meaning that he is enjoying himself by showing affiliation with the PDP.

The use of the image above confirms Lirola’s （2016） observation that through multimodal resources， politicians are presented in a positive way in order to persuade people into voting for them since they are trusted as political leaders. The dropping of the namesGoodluckandSamboin figure 10 simply confirms Lirola’s message that politicians create multimodal texts that are meant to present political leaders as trustworthy and thus should be voted for. This further aligns with Schill’s （2011） observation that visuals are now the major means of political information because politicians fully realise the importance of using visuals to create image bites that will have positive impression on the public in a similar manner to sound bites.

7. Conclusion

This study has carried out a multimodal critical discourse analysis of the political rally discourse of 2011 elections in Nigeria. The study shows that beyond the descriptive meanings inherent in the semiotic resources， the visual texts contain hidden meanings that are worth teasing out through the critical lenses of MCDA as the texts reflect certain ideologies and identities which reflect the socio-cultural context of the multimodal productions and serve the interests of the text producers.

The paper reveals that the political rallies serve as a space for the expression of the renegotiation of gender ideology in the Nigerian society through the assertion of the female gender which manifests in their colourful and confident participation in the political rallies to justify their demand for affirmative action for significant inclusion of women in governance in the nation. The study further shows that to legitimise the shifting gender ideology advocated and exemplified in the discourse， there is the foregrounding of traditional spiritual power mobilised by women for the support of political parties.

The study however also reveals that manipulative and hegemonic ideologies such as carnivalesque and communal ideologies manifest in the visual representations at the political rallies for the protection and actualisation of the interests of the political elite. While through the carnivalesque ideology， the political elite are able to keep the electorate or political followers uncritical， the communal ideology is used to appeal to the emotions of the audience to give them the sense that the aspiration for the elective positions is their collective project. This invariably reflects the hidden power of the political elite over the citizens which they use to keep them underdeveloped to the extent that Nigeria is rated 157 out of 189 countries in human development index （seePunch Newspaper， 2018）. This condition is also found in other countries， for example， Romania where according to Cotoc （2017）， multimodal political discourse is made a heterogenous construct meant to confuse the audience such that the audience do not understand the meanings in the multimodal political texts. Even though according to Cotoc （ibid.）， the opaque multimodal resources ultimately inevitably work against the politicians and political parties， they serve the immediate purpose of manipulating the electorate.

The study also reveals that cultural and political identities are key in the visual component of political rally discourse in Nigeria. Cultural identity serves the purpose of appealing to the cultural sensibilities and emotions of the electorate and a weapon for attracting people to political rallies. On the other hand， political identity primarily helps in the marketisation of politicians and political parties and engraining their political largesse such as vests，Ankara， which are worn by the party faithful. A similar deployment of multimodal resources can be found in Western countries according to Schill （2011） who states that in a manner similar to how politicians use sound bites， they now use visual bites to create positive political identities for themselves and their political parties. Oostendorp （2014） also corroborates Schill’s opinion by reporting that multimodal resources are strategically used to create identities for politicians. Citing the case of former South African President， Jacob Zuma， Oostendorp reports that Zuma is positively constructed through intertextual multimodal resources in South Africa. The study thus concludes that visuality in political rally communication in Nigeria is a useful index for ideologies and identities in Nigerian political campaign discourse.