A rhetorical analysis of african unification oratory

Abstract

This study investigates how leaders aligned with the Monrovia and Casablanca blocs attempted, between the years 1957 and 1963, to secure adherence to their views on how to achieve African unity. It analyzes the published speeches that Kwame Nkrumah, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Julius Nyerere delivered at the Conference of African Heads of States and Governments held in Ethiopia in May 1963 and the published speech that Robert Sobukwe delivered at the Basutoland African Congress Conference held in Basutoland in December 1957. The study utilizes elements of selected classical and modern rhetorical theories to examine the speeches. It examines the context of these speeches, the appeals in each speech, the organization of each speech and the style of each speech. It also compares and contrasts the appeals, organization and style in these speeches. The study finds that these speeches rely on logical, pathetic and ethical proof for persuasiveness as well as on style and organization. The study also finds that these speeches are inspired by earlier Pan-Africanist literature as well as by English Literature.