Former President Muhammadu Buhari gave his farewell speech on Sunday, a historic moment for the country as he handed over to the new leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. While the political significance of the speech cannot be overstated, it also provides an opportunity to reflect on linguistic concepts and the qualities of a good speech.
A good speech should have focus and clarity to ensure efficient communication. Buhari’s farewell address achieved this by reviewing his policies and programmes during his eight-year tenure and discussing the future of the country. It was concise, yet filled with salient material – a reflection of the speaker’s respect for their audience’s time.
The use of facts and figures is also important in a good speech. Buhari advanced several facts about his administration’s achievements, although some of his claims may be controversial. The speech should also be convincing and engaging, with simple and correct language that the audience can easily understand.
However, the speechwriters fell into the trap of stative verbs, which refer to a state or condition instead of action and do not normally accept the continuous form. Buhari said “We are already seeing the outcome,” which is grammatically incorrect. The correct phrase should be “We already see the outcome.”
The speechwriters also made the common error of using “repatriate back,” which is redundant. The correct usage is “repatriate someone or something,” without the addition of “back.”
In conclusion, Buhari’s farewell address was a significant moment in Nigeria’s political history, which also highlighted the importance of good speech writing. A well-crafted speech should have focus, be concise, use facts and figures to back up claims, and be convincing and engaging. It should also avoid grammatical errors and redundancy, to ensure effective communication.
