Polarisation and the Sustenance of Biafra Secessionist Discourses Online

Ajiboye, Esther (2020) Polarisation and the Sustenance of Biafra Secessionist Discourses Online. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 55 (4). pp. 475-491.

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Abstract

This study examines polarisation in citizens’ online discourses about Biafra agitations in Nigeria. Using critical discourse analysis and the appraisal framework, it analyses 350 Biafra-related posts sampled from Nigerian digital communities. Analysis reveals that polarisation is discursively strengthened through labelling, ethnocentrism, generalisations, and historical allusions. This study concludes that the creation, consumption and unfettered distribution of such polarised discourses reflect Nigeria’s unitarist-federalism. It adds that the instigation of this socio-political fact about Nigeria can foster the cultivation/reinforcement of cognitive biases, harmful ideologies, and consequently, radicalisation/violence. It recommends that the minders of the Nigerian state should amicably address the Biafran agitations.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Biafra resistance stance separatist secession Africa Nigeria Online Social media IPOB protest
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Humanities
Depositing User:	Dr. Esther Ajiboye
Date Deposited:	26 Aug 2020 08:20
Last Modified:	26 Aug 2020 08:20
URI:	http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/13528

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