An Analysis of Hausa Political Rhetoric in Gubernatorial Campaign Speeches in Kano State

Political campaign rhetoric in the Hausa language draws on a rich reservoir of cultural references, Islamic values, and community solidarity appeals to persuade and mobilise electorates in northern Nigerian states. This study analyses the rhetorical strategies employed in Hausa-language gubernatorial campaign speeches in Kano State during the 2023 general election cycle. A critical discourse and rhetorical analysis framework was applied to a corpus of 15 campaign speeches delivered in Hausa by gubernatorial candidates, recorded and transcribed during campaign rallies across five local government areas. Analysis focused on persuasive strategies including appeals to Islamic identity, invocations of historical figures and events, solidarity appeals, metaphor use, and rhetorical question framing. Secondary sources on African political rhetoric and Hausa political culture were reviewed. Findings reveal that candidates overwhelmingly employed Islamic discourse framing, invoking Quranic verses and prophetic traditions to legitimise their candidacy, and deployed historical references to Hausa emirate traditions to construct leadership credibility. Solidarity appeals centred on poverty alleviation, security improvement, and youth employment were the most frequently recurring substantive themes. Negative campaigning through insinuation rather than direct attack characterises the rhetorical style of most sampled speeches. The study contributes to the emerging literature on Hausa political communication and recommends further research on audience reception of these rhetorical strategies across different demographic groups. Keywords: Hausa political rhetoric, Campaign speeches, Kano, Gubernatorial election, Discourse analysis.