Intertextuality in discourse: Chief Obasanjo's open letter to Dr. Jonathan

This study employs the concept of intertextuality to examine the open letter written by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to the then-president of Nigeria, Dr. GoodluckJonathan. The open letter titled Before it is too late had two main themes: first, thatDr. Jonathan had failed as a leader, and second, that he should not seek re-electionfor a second term in office. Direct quotations and allusions were the forms of intertextuality employed in the open letter. I conduct a descriptive analysis by classifying intertextuality in the open letter into five categories: reference to a speechearlier delivered by Chief Obasanjo, reference to a speech earlier delivered by Dr.Jonathan, reference to quotations from published texts, reference to English andYorùbá proverbs, and reference to the Bible. I propose that the use of intertextuality in the open letter, as well as access to classified information in the letter madeavailable on the Internet to the public, may have contributed to Dr. Jonathan’s lossin the 2015 general elections in Nigeria.