“Onaapo” vs. “One Factory”: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ghanaian Political Campaign Lyrics (2012-2016)

“Onaapo” vs. “One Factory”: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ghanaian Political Campaign Lyrics (2012-2016)

G. Edzordzi Agbozo, Mary Edward, Fatiatu Inusah
Copyright: © 2019 |Pages: 20
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-7295-4.ch012
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Abstract

In this chapter, the authors investigated how ideological differences between the two main political traditions in Ghana manifested in their campaign lyrics. The authors diachronically interrogated the 2012 and 2016 campaign songs of the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party of Ghana using critical discourse analysis. The findings suggest that there are no clear manifestations of ideological differences between the two political traditions in their campaign songs. The songs had pragmatic themes that essentially dwelt on the lived socio-economic conditions of the voters. As such, these daily economic needs of the voters became the defining concerns in political campaign songs rather than ideological affinity.
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Ghana: Vignette Of Politics And Political Music

Ghana is a former colony of Britain. The British government established control over most parts of the territory through the bond of March 6, 1844. The country became independent on March 6, 1957, although the struggle for independence began in 1948 through the formation of the United Gold Coast Convention (U.G.C.C) and later the Convention People’s Party (C.P.P.). Headed by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the C.P.P. became the frontier force for the independence struggle. Upon independence, however, certain policies of the C.P.P. became unpopular, both to Ghanaians and the Western powers. Political agitation against these unpopular policies resulted in the overthrow of Dr. Nkrumah’s government on February 24, 1966 (Ayee 1999; Gyimah-Boadi, 1993; Morrison, 2004; Ninsin & Drah, 1996; Oquaye, 1980; Osei-Kwame & Taylor, 1984; Rooney, 1988).

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