Nande, Tarker
Department of General Studies,
Akperan Orshi Polytechnic, Yandev, Benue State.
tarkernande1963@gmail.com
08022733650
Abon, Isaac
Department of General Studies,
Akperan Orshi Polytechnic, Yandev, Benue State.
zaxabon@gmail.com
08109906681
&
Unom Dorothy M.
Department of French,
College of Education, Katsina Ala, Benue State.
dorotunom@gmail.com
07067184499
Abstract
Nigeria’s Security situation calls for everyone’s concern, including friends of the country globally. It appears the nation is under siege from violent crimes that were hitherto unknown. Foul or inflammatory language as well as hate speech is the order of the day. On a daily basis, Nigerians are faced with kidnappings, suicide bombings, ritual killings, politically and religiously motivated killings, armed banditry, herdsmen-farmers’ clashes, Boko Haram insurgency and many others. These are attributed but not limited to: ethno-religious conflicts, political corruption, unemployment, weak security system, high rate of illiteracy, and porous borders. These causes apart, the article asserted that the inciting and inflammatory language (tongue) by our leaders as well as their stooges have contributed largely in setting Nigeria ablaze. The article is of the view too that to build Nigeria, users of language should be mindful of the Pragmatic implication of their utterances. Data were drawn from secondary sources and personal observations using J. L. Austin’s Speech Arts Theory to analyse the information. Positive language is strongly suggested to arrest the insecurity situation in Nigeria.
Key words: Nigeria, Security Challenge and Language.
