‘Occupy Nigeria 2012’: A Critical Analysis of Facebook Posts in the Fuel Subsidy Removal Protests ‘Occupy Nigeria 2012’: Un análisis crítico de las publicaciones en Facebook tras las protestas por la retirada de ayudas al combustible
No Thumbnail Available
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca
Abstract
Description
This study critically examines the discourse of posts on Facebook in the
‘occupy Nigeria’ fuel subsidy removal protests. The Facebook posts are viewed as
protest discourse with its ideological imprints of positive ‘we’ in-group representations
and negative ‘other’ out-group constructions. With a CDA analytical approach, the study
shows that Facebook posts are effectively used to describe the identity of the actors,
articulate their arguments and demands, enunciate their activities and goals as well as
provide information updates to the protesters. The protesters apply linguistic strategies
such as code-switching between English and the local languages (e.g. Yoruba) and
the use of Standard Nigerian English and the local pidgin to express solidarity as well
as for social interaction. Interestingly, Facebook messages were posted from within
Nigeria and also from other countries of the Nigerian diaspora. However despite the
seeming effectiveness of the online protests via Facebook, the Nigerian protesters did
not ultimately achieve their aim partly because the protests did not attract sufficient participation. The individuals engaged in the protests were divided and many still
pledged their loyalty to political in-group and ethnic interest rather than national interest.
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), PE English