Reinventing identity and resistance ideology in protest narratives

Abstract

The Oduduwa secessionist group is a good reminder that Nigeria’s nationhood is still highly contested. Unfortunately, there appears to be very little or no linguistic research on the discourses produced by this emerging group of activists. This study examines Oduduwa agitators’ Facebook activism as a form of political communication in order to identify their prevalent ideology and techniques for constructing their group’s identity and activities. Facebook data are studied by applying Critical Discourse Analysis, more specifically van Dijk’s ideological framework, to investigate the rhetorical and discourse structures of the campaign narratives. Findings indicate that, since the Oduduwa agitators are a group of individuals determined to secede from Nigeria, the structures of their campaign discourse contain crucial metaphorical expressions that construct the group’s identity. Among those expressions, we find prejudicial generalisations, emphasis on victimisation of ‘Us’, the use of number games to stress victimhood and ideological polarisation of individuals and groups.