A Critical Discourse Analysis of Print Media Depictions of Insurgent Activities in Nigeria

A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF PRINT MEDIA DEPICTIONS OF INSURGENT ACTIVITIES IN NIGERIA

MATTHEW ABUA EBIM 109013002

B.A (HONS) ENGLISH & LITERARY STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF CALABAR, M.A ENGLISH (LANGUAGE) UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

A THESIS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, AKOKA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, (Ph. D) IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

2017

DEDICATION

To:

The Holy Trinity:

God the Father God the Son & God the Holy Spirit

For the Illumination

My Father Emmanuel Ebim Abua

My Mother Mrs Roseline Ebim-Abua

All Those Who Continue to Do Good, In Spite of Human Ingratitude

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank the Almighty God for his grace upon my life and for the courage to successfully navigate this academic journey.

I am grateful to my lead supervisor Dr Augustine Uzoma Nwagbara (Associate

Professor) whose critical ideas, suggestions and constructive criticisms helped to shape this thesis and give it a focus. He was more than a supervisor---a source of inspiration especially during down times, a father and a role model. There were occasions where I was “down and almost out” but he brought be back on track.

My second supervisor Dr (Mrs) Mojisola A. Shodipe played a significant role in ensuring that this thesis saw the light of day. Her calm and motherly dispositions ensured that I was not discouraged especially during trying moments; attributes which contributed to my regaining balance after certain setbacks. Her contribution to the development of the methodology is an experience I will never forget in a hurry.

I thank Dr Babatunde Opeibi (Associate Professor) for his interest in this work right from the onset and his constant criticisms and suggestions towards giving the thesis a focus.

His recommendation after the defence of my application to purchase a Ph.D. form that I contact Professor Innocent Chiluwa contributed to the many doors that opened for me in this study. I am most grateful to Professor Innocent Chiluwa for his assistance. My first

meeting with him resulted in his giving me three textbooks that opened the way for a clearer understanding of this study.

I thank my wife Mrs Elizabeth Ebim Abua and my two daughters: Sonia and God’swill for their patience and understandingand for accepting me as an absentee husband/father in the course of this study. I use this chance to thank My Parents Mr Emmanuel Ebim

Abua and Mrs Roseline Ebim-Abua for their constant prayers and understanding while this study lasted. My siblings: Alice and Michael Ebim are commended for staying by me even when all others deserted me while on this programme.

I appreciate Dr Patrick Oloko and Dr (Mrs) Bose Afolayan for their advice and encouragement in the course of the programme. I also appreciate all those who assisted in moulding my life in the course of this study. I appreciate my friends: Bartholomew,

Idongesit, Offiong, Voda, Steve and Barrister Esenowo Uwem for their constant probing into how things fared while this study lasted.

I remain grateful to Mr Benjamin, Adeniyi Osasona (Baba) for everything he has done for me. Baba provided me with “comfort” when things were really tough. Sir, I am grateful. Yaba College of Technology where I currently lecture is a wonderful place to be. I thank members of staff of the Languages Department for the friendship especially

Nnorom, Jacqueline, Dorothy, Tawa and Joke.

There is hardly a successful academic achievement without a comfortable abode. At this point I remain grateful to Mama Funmilayo Onyelohun for giving me comfort in her

apartment while this study lasted. The moment I moved into her house she saw me as a son rather than a tenant and ever since, things moved on well without any hindrance.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS P AGE Cover Page

Certification

Dedication

iii

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

ABSTRACT

xii

CHAPTER ONE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background to the Study

1.2 Profiles of Media Houses

1.2.1 This Day Newspaper

1.2.2 Vanguard Newspaper

1.2.3 Daily Trust Newspaper

1.3 Justification for Choice of Data

1.4 Statement of Research Problem

1.5 Aim & Objectives of the Study

1.6Significance of the Study

1.7 Scope of the Study

1.8 The Research Questions

1.9 Operational Definition of Terms

CHAPTER TWO: A REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE 13

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Insurgency and Militancy: An over View

2.3 The Boko Haram Sect

2.4 Militancy in the Niger Delta

2.5 Language, Power and Discourse

2.6 Ideology, Context and Resistance

2.7 Authority and Control in News Discourse

2.8 The Media and Conflict Management

2.8.1 The Media as an object of conflict

2.8.2 The Media as the Public’s Advocate

2.8.3 The Media as a rallying point in times of crisis

2.9 A Review of Empirical Works on Media Discourse in Nigeria

2.9.1 Significance of those Empirical Works to the Present Study

CHAPTER THREE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY 38

3.1 Critical Discourse Analysis

3.2 Critical Discourse Analysis and Media Discourse

3.3 Approaches to Critical Discourse Analysis

3.3.1 Norman Fairclough and the Dialectical - Relation Approach

3.3.2 Teun Van Dijk and the Socio-Cognitive Model

3.3.3 Ruth Wodak and the Discourse-Historical Approach

3.3.4 Allan Bells and the Socio-Political Approach to Critical Discourse Analysis

3.4 Criticisms of CDA

3.5 The Theory of Metaphor

3.5.1 Criticism of Metaphor

3.6 The Theory of Semiotics

3.6.1 The Triadic Models of Semiotics

3.6.1.1 Icon/iconic

3.6.1.2 Index/indexical

3.6.1.3 Symbol/symbolic

3.6.2 Criticisms of Semiotics

3.7 METHODOLOGY

100

3.7.1 Introduction

100

3.7.2 The Discourse Approach

101

3.7.3 Population

102

3.7.4 Samples and Sampling Technique

103

3.7.4.1 Sampling Technique

103

3.7.4.2 The Universe Sampling Frame

103

3.7.4.3 Sources of Data

104

3.7.4.4 Method of Data Analysis

105

3.7.4.5Justification for the choice of qualitative methodology

107

3.7.4.6 Categories of Data used for the Analysis

108

3.8 Conclusion

109

CHAPTER FOUR: CRITICAL-METAPHORIC ANALYSIS OF INSURGENT

ACTIVITIES AND THE MAJOR ACTORS IN NIGERIA 110

4.1 Introduction

110

4.2 Data Presentation

110

1.3. Data Analysis

112

4.3.1 Headlines

112

4.3.2. Lexical Representation of insurgency and the Major Actors

116

4.3.3 Representation and Thematization of Amnesty and Resource Control

120

4.3.4 The Niger Delta Case Studies

123

4.3.4 The Boko Haram Case Studies

129

4.3.5 Representation of Militancy, Vandalism and Bunkering: The Niger Delta

137

4.3.6 Representation and Thematization of Environment and Economy

147

4.3.6.1 The Niger Delta Case Studies

148

4.3.6 Representation of Ethnic Violence, Clashes and Armed Struggle

160

4.3.6.1 The Boko Haram Case Studies

160

4.3.6.2 The Niger Delta Case Studies

170

4.3.6.3 The Boko Haram Case Studies

174

4.3.7 Representation and Thematization of Politics, Religious Extremism and Terror

181

4.3.8 Militants and Insurgents as Terrorists

195

4.3.8.1 The Boko Haram Case Studies

196

4.3.9 Major Actors as Cultists, Kidnappers and Negotiators

204

4.3.9.1 The boko haram case studies

204

4.3.10 Insurgents/Militants as Educational Terrorists

222

4.3.10.1 The Niger Delta Case Studies

224

4.3.10.2 The Boko Haram Case Studies

230

4.4 Ideological Representation of the insurgency and the Major Actors

234

4.4.1 Language and ideology 236

4.4.1 Ideology of relieving burden

238

4.4.2 Ideology of Categorization

239

4.4.3 Ideology of Comparison 240 4.4.4 Ideology of Counterfactuals

240

4.4.5 Ideology of Disclaimers

241

4.4.6 Ideology of Evidentiality

242

4.4.7 Ideology of Exemplification/Illustration

244

4.4.8 Ideology of National Self-Glorification

244

4.4.9 Ideology of Negative other-Presentation

246

4.4.10 Ideology of Polarization, “Us” “Them”

247

4.4.11 Ideology of Positive Self-Presentation

250

4.4.12 Ideology of Political Strategy

251

4.4.13 Ideology of Discrimination/Marginalization

253

4.4.14 Ideology of Exclusion/Selective Favour

254

4.4.15 Ideology of Persuasion

255

4.5 Discourse Patterns in the Data

256

4.5.1 The use of Actor Description model

256

4.5.2 Appeal to Authority

257

4.5.3 Appeal to Consensus

259

4.5.4 Euphemism as a Rhetorical strategy

260

4.5.5 Use of Hyperbole

261

4.5.6 Use of Irony

262

4.5.7 Metaphoric Conceptualization of Insurgency in Nigeria

263

4.5.7.1 Metaphor of Time

269

4.5.7.2 Metaphor of Journey

271

4.5.7.3 Metaphor of Religion

274

4.5.7.4 Metaphor of War

277

4.5.7.5 Metaphor of Food

279

4.5.7.6 Metaphor of Sports 282

4.5.7.6.1 Conclusion of metaphoric depiction 286

4.6 The Use of Hyponym

288

4.7 Conclusion

291

CHAPTER FIVE: PRESS REPORTS OF BOKO HARAM & NIGER DELTA INSURGENCIES AS SEMIOSIS 293 5.1 Introduction

293

5.2 Semiotics and Pictorial Analysis

294

5.2.1 Semiotics and Pictorial Representation 296

5.3 Analysis of the Boko Haram Violence with Semiotic Approach

297

5.3.1 Semiotic analysis of an image of a senator superimposed on weapons

297

5.3.2 Semiotic analysis of a burnt police station in Bornu State

300

5.3.3 Semiotic analysis of dead members of the Boko Haram

302

5.3.4 Semiotic of Analysis 4: October 1st Bombing At Abuja

306

5.3.5 Semiotic Analysis of Inspection of the Police Headquarters at Abuja

308

5.3.6 Semiotic analysis of a B/H leader under surveillance

310

5.3.7 Semiotic analysis of a presidential media chats under watch by the B/H

312

5.3.8 Semiotic analysis of Boko Haram leader in a press release

313

5.3.8 Semiotic analysis of the B/H leader mocking the masses

315

5.3.10 Semiotic analysis of a destroyed community by the B/H

316

5.3.11 Semiotic analysis of a scene at the St Theresa Catholic church bombing

318

5.3.12 Semiotic analysis of a deviant B/H leader with a machine gun

320

5.3.13 Semiotic analysis of kidnapped Chibok girls in the forest

321

5.3.14 Semiotic analysis of a foregrounded Chibok girl

323

5.3.15 Semiotic analysis of B/H leader taunting the security operatives

324

5.3.16 Semiotic analysis of a victim of the B/H attacks in a wheel barrow

326

5.3.17 Semiotic analysis of the B/H founder arrested and paraded

329

5.3.18 semiotic analysis of alive and dead pictures of Shekau

332

5.3.19 Semiotic analysis of a captured armoured tank of the B/H insurgent

335

5.4 THE NIGER DELTA DISCOURSE AS A SEMIOSPHERE

337

5.4.1 A Social Semiotic Approach to the Niger Delta Discourse

337

5.4.2 Faircloughian/Wodakian Approach to Socio-Semiotic Construct

338

5.4.3 The nature/culture of pictorials in Niger Delta Discourse

339

5.5 Semiotic analysis of neglect in the ND & ND militants in a boat 342

5.5.1 Semiotic analysis of masked Niger Delta militants

346

5.5.2 Semiotic analysis of a devastated environment in ND

348

5.5.3 Semiotic analysis of oil spillage in ND

351

5.5.4 Semiotic analysis of gas flaring in Niger Delta 352

5.5.5 Semiotic analysis of polluted water for fishermen in ND 353

5.5.6 Semiotic analysis of effects of polluted water 354

5.5.7 Semiotic analysis of a deforested environment 357

5.5.8 Semiotic analysis of militants in a boat with a white captive

359

5.5.9 Semiotic analysis of militants with an Australian negotiator

361

5.5.10 Semiotic analysis of militants in search of shelter

363

5.5.11 Semiotic analysis of militant leader finally unmasked

366

5.5.12 Semiotic Analysis of militants’ surrender

369

5.5.13 Semiotic Analysis of unmasked leader of NDPVF

372

5.5.14 Semiotic Analysis of militants in a class room

374

5.5.15 Semiotic analysis of militants bombing of Delta government house

376

5.6 Relevance of Triadic Model to Pictorial Analysis

377

5.7 Conclusion of Semiotic Depiction of insurgent activities in Nigeria

380

CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY, FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION 381

6.2 Introduction

381

6.3 Summary of Findings

381

6.4 Contributions to Knowledge

385

6.5 Recommendations for further Studies

386

6.6 Research Implications

387

6.7 General Conclusion

388

REFERENCES 3993

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AJ------Access to Justice ACF------Arewa Consultative Forum AQIM------Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb BSCG ------Burundi’s Search for Common Ground BH------Boko Haram CL------Critical Linguistics CDA------Critical Discourse Analysis CAN------Christian Association of Nigeria CNDG------Concerned Niger Delta Group DDR------Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration

DRC------Democratic Republic of Congo EFCC------Economic & Financial Crimes Commission ECWA------Evangelical Church of West Africa EEE------Explicit Emotional Enumeration FCT------Federal Capital Territory FEC------Federal Executive Council FG------Federal Government FGN------Federal Government of Nigeria HQ------Head Quarters IGP------Inspector General of Police ICHRP------International Committee for Human Rights Protection JTF------Joint Task Force Lt-Col. ------Lieutenant Colonel LRA------Lord Resistance’s Army MNOCs------Multi National Oil Corporations MOSOP ------Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People MEND------Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta NDVS ------Niger Delta Volunteer Service ND------Niger Delta NEMA------National Emergency Management Agency NDFF------Niger Delta Freedom Fighters NOA------National Orientation Agency NNS------Nigerian Naval Service NEC------National Economic Council NNPC------Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NSCDC------Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NAN------News Agency of Nigeria NSA------National Security Adviser NDLF------Niger Delta Liberation Force

NIMASA------Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NOUN------National Open University of Nigeria NUM------Nigeria Maritime University NATRAC------Nigerian Army Training Centre ORO------Operation Restore Order PDP------People’s Democratic Party PTI------Petroleum Training Institute RTLM------Rwanda’s Radio Television Libre des Milles Collines SPDC------Shell Petroleum Development Company SSS------States Security Service TV------Television TRN------Trillion UN------United Nations US------United States UMTH------University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital UNAMID------United Nations Mission in Dafur USD------United States Dollar UN------United Nations WTC------World Trade Centre WSJ------Wall Street Journal

ABSTRACT It has been observed that studies on insurgency in Nigeria have in the most parts been anchored on politics, law, economy, the environment or religion; highlighting the economic implications of pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta and religious crises in the north. Quite a few others have taken into consideration the use of language and representations of the phenomenon focusing on labeling and ideological dimensions inherent in the News. Though insurgency and its media reports are not recent occurrences in Nigeria, most studies on the subject have not engaged the issues prominently from a linguistic view point. In the same vein, there has been a dearth of scholarly works on the phenomenon of insurgency reportage especially from the perspective of language with a

specific focus on metaphor and semiotics. Insurgent activities in Nigeria have rather been viewed as political or religious issues while studies of their discourse elements from a linguistic perspective have been neglected. It is therefore necessary to investigate the nature and patterns of English usage in the Nigerian print media reports on insurgent activities beyond the level of micro linguistic structures. The present study analyzed the nature and patterns of language use in portraying insurgent activities in the Nigerian print media. Particularly, it examined the discourse patterns that seem to emerge from the news reports. The study focused on the settings, topical issues and the major actors projected in the content and context of print media reports of insurgent activities in Nigeria. The study presented the linguistic features engaged in the reportage from the perspectives of depiction and revealed discernible patterns of discourse in the reports. Data elicited from three Nigerian newspapers: Vanguard, This Day & Daily Trust were analyzed under these headings: bombing, vandalism, pollution, amnesty, educational terrorism and politics. The data were examined from the perspectives of depictions, significations, ideological projections and strategies of the news reports. The study established that language use in the media in relation to crises reportage is judgmental and is capable of causing disaffection through linguistic labels. The study analyzed, using the Peircean Semiotic framework of Icon, Index and Symbol how specific patterns of meanings are expressed overtly and covertly and communicated through pictorial representations revealed that language use in crises reportage tends to be both an agent of peace and war depending on usages. It exposed the ideologies that shape news reports of crises thereby assisting members of the public to re-evaluate their perception of the insurgents based on media depictions. The study established that the media conceptualizes insurgency in Nigeria in metaphoric terms such as journey, warfare, sports, time and food because metaphors are strong source domains given that they provide a clear path with start and end points. This study thus unveiled the fact that: language use in the media in relation to crises reportage is judgmental and it is capable of causing disaffection through linguistic labels. It further explored semiotic constructs in Nigerian print media reports especially on insurgent activities by focusing on pictorial analysis to explicate the hidden messages in graphic illustrations of events. The study exposed the portrayal of insurgents and militants as stereotypes through the use of various shades of language that depict the insurgents in bad light. Since terrorism is alien to Nigeria and the nation was experiencing the menace of terrorism at the time of this research, the study is therefore a timely contribution to scholarship in that area from a linguistic perspective. It equally has the potential to promote peace and nation building through the reconstruction of media reportage on sensitive national issues.

Key Words: CDA, Insurgency, Media Depictions, Militancy, Print Media.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

This study, A Critical Discourse Analysis of Print Media Depictions of Insurgent

Activities in Nigeria examined language use and discourse patterns in the print media representation of insurgent activities in Nigeria. Specifically, the study analysed the reports of the Niger Delta militants’ activities and the Boko Haram insurgents. These two groups are considered relevant and significant subjects of study because firstly, their activities challenge the sovereignty of the Nigerian state and secondly, the “end” of hostilities in the Niger Delta through the amnesty programme more or less coincided with the emergence of the Boko Haram. This scenario raises questions of ideology of the insurgent groups and how they are represented in the media.

The plural nature of Nigeria and the intensely competitive relationship between the various ethnic divides implies that various composite groups often tend to insistently convey their diverse ideological interests and concerns in manners that sometimes seem to threaten the peaceful existence of the country. Researchers and scholars have largely attributed the insurgency in Nigeria to the complex pluralistic nature and composition of the country. Eruvbetine underscores this point when he advocates that: “Nigeria is a plural state with diverse and complex ethnic, economic, cultural, linguistic, religious and social realities with high conflict potential that the colonial masters who created the Nigerian state were quite aware of and utilized as the basis for enunciating its administrative policy

of divide and rule” (2001:2). This ‘conflict potential’ has progressively aggravated overtime in such a way that it is now not only a recurrent reality but has left the country in a consistent anarchic state. Eruvbetine further states:

More than four decades after independence, Nigerian leaders have continued to manipulate the socio-political, religious, economic and cultural forces in the country to precipitate persistent clashes among individuals, groups and institutions. These clashes accentuated by ethnic undercurrents, have become a plague that does not only retard development but also threatens the very basis of Nigeria’s existence as a nation (2001:1).

These social vices have also resulted in the proliferation of anti-social groups, miscreant elements, gangs and an upsurge in criminal and lawless activities against the citizens and the country. These anti-social elements who perpetrate unrestrained heinous acts are described generally in the media as: ‘militants,’ ‘terrorists,’ ‘bunkerers’ ‘insurgents’

‘criminal-gangs’, hoodlums, area-boys, (Chiluwa 2012:89). Insurgency in Nigeria has become so widespread that it has assumed diverse, complex, systematic and structured forms: hostage-taking and vandalism of state economic infrastructure such as oil pipelines

(in the Niger Delta region), ethno-religious massacre, and genocide among others in the

North. Mainly, media reports especially in the print genre/platform of insurgencies are considered in this study as constituting forms of discourse and are thus analysed to demonstrate how the activities of the insurgents are reported, the emergent discourse forms from the reportage and their communicative significance. This study is therefore motivated by an interest in the way the print media engages language as a communicative device and pragmatic infrastructure in meaning creations and portraying insurgent activities. The study also demonstrates how the print media have managed to report these insurgent activities; how the major actors are represented, as well as the significance of

the print media in mediating the tension generated from the crises. The study takes a

Critical Discourse Analytic approach in the interpretation of media depictions of insurgency in Nigeria by (1) demonstrating how the recurrent themes in the print media about insurgencies have affected public perceptions and discourse; (2) examining ideologies that underlie the issues and how they are legitimized and undermined (3) analysing how the reports characterize the actors, their actions and the events that constitute the conflict.Nigeria’s various composite groups often tend to insistently project their ideological positions in manners that sometimes seem to threaten the peaceful existence of the Nation as a result of the pluralistic nature of the country.

This conflict in ideological projection has degenerated such that it is now a recurrent reality consistently degenerating, thus leading to the state of insecurity in Nigeria. It has also resulted in the proliferation of anti-social groups, miscreant elements as well as an upsurge in criminal and lawless activities against the citizens and the country. These social elements who perpetrate heinous acts are described generally in the media as:

‘militants,’ ‘terrorists,’ ‘bunkerers’ ‘insurgents’ ‘criminal-gangs’, hoodlums, area-boys, etc. (Chiluwa 2012:89). Insurgency in Nigeria has become so widespread that it has assumed diverse, complex, systematic and structured forms: hostage-taking and vandalism of oil pipelines (in the Niger Delta region), massacre, genocide and bombing

(of places of worship and government parastatals) in the North. Print media reports of insurgenciesare considered in this study as constituting forms of discourse and are analysed to demonstrate how the insurgent activities are reported, their discourse forms and communicative import. Prior to the 1999 general elections that ushered in Nigeria’s

fourth republic; the country had been under various successive military regimes. The lawlessness, brutality and flagrant disregard for constituted authorities that came with the various military regimes possibly led to the outburst/emergence of militancy, insurgency and proliferation of arms in the country by regional militias to resist perceived exploitation, corruption and domination by other groups. This situation plunged the nation into a state of insecurity as noted by Emeka Anyaoku, the former Secretary General of the

Commonwealth. He states:

Government by coercion and the absence of public accountability over so many years have combined to breed a culture of corruption and general incompetence in public and private sectors. The state apparatus was turned into an instrument of patronage and personal enrichment for the ruling elite rather than of public service. It has now been established that in recent years vast sums of money disappeared from the public treasury and the country resources were so poorly managed that petroleum products which the country is so richly endowed were in short supply on the domestic markets. Nigerian transport and telecommunications infrastructure as well as its educational and health services all so vital for economic development were neglected. All this were accompanied by serious violations of human rights and fundamental freedom and disregard for the rule of law on the part of the state and its agents, which led to Nigeria’s suspension from the commonwealth in 1995 and to the institution of international sanctions against the country. (29).

This development as Daramola (2008:3) observed did not only attract attention, comments and reactions from individuals inside and outside Nigeria, but also incurred the wrath and condemnation of the international community. This study was therefore motivated by an interest in the way the print media make use of language to portray insurgent activities. The study also demonstrated how the print media have managed to

report these insurgent activities; how the major actors are represented, as well as the significance of the print media in mediating the tension generated from insurgency.

1.2 Profiles of Media Houses Under Study

1.2.1 This Day Newspaper

THISDAY newspaper is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of

Leaders & Company Ltd and was first published on 22 January, 1995 with its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria. As of 2005, it has a circulation of 100,000 copies and an annual turnover of some $35 million (US). It has two printing plants, in Lagos and

Abuja. The publisher was noted for his early investment in colour printing, giving the paper a distinctive edge among the few durable national newspapers that exist in Nigeria.

1.2.2 Vanguard Newspaper

The Vanguard is a daily newspaper published by Vanguard Media, based in Lagos,

Nigeria. Vanguard Media was established in 1983 by veteran journalist Sam Amuka-

Pemu with three friends. The paper has an online edition. The newspaper is one of the few in Nigeria that is considered independent of political control. In June 1990, the paper was briefly suspended by Col. Raji Rasaki, the then Military Governor of Lagos State. In

December 2009, a Niger Delta peace activist commended Vanguard Newspapers for its reporting on the government's intentions, which he said helped persuade the militants to accept amnesty.

1.2.3 Daily Trust Newspaper

Media Trust is a privately held Nigerian newspaper publishing company based in Abuja that publishes the English-language Daily Trust, Weekly Trust, Sunday Trust and the

Hausa-language Aminiya newspapers, as well as a new pan-African magazine,

Kilimanjaro. The newspapers have online editions, accessible through www.dailytrust.com and content from the newspapers is republished by All Africa and

Gamji. The company presents the "Daily Trust African of the Year" award, recognizing and celebrating Africans who have made positive contributions that impact the lives of other people and elicit a pan-African attention during the award year. The Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive officer is Kabiru Abdullahi Yusuf. He was a Senior

Lecturer of the Department of Political Science, Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, and has worked as a columnist and commentator for companies that include the Daily

Triumph, Citizen Magazine, Newswatch and BBC Africa Service.The rationale for the choice of the above media houses is as stated below:

1.3 Justification for Choice of Data

Our data elicitation is derived from the fact that the news reports were written at the time of Niger Delta and Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. The choice of text is anchored on the fact that insurgency has given media practitioners the freedom and opportunity to deploy linguistic resources freely in the description of the perpetrators of the various forms of violence evident in the data. Finally, the choice of the three media houses was based on the fact that they are spread along geopolitical zones and not concentrated in one region i.e. while the Vanguard is based in the south west (Lagos) and is owned by a

South-south person, Daily Trust is based in the North central (Kaduna) with minimal readership in the South, This Day Newspaper is based in the Federal Capital Territory

Abuja and is owned by a south-south person of Igbo origin. The three Newspapers are privately owned. This is because it was observed in the course of the study that most of the print media houses in Nigeria are owned by private individuals.

1.4 Statement of Research Problem

This research is built on the notion that language scholars within the Nigerian context have not been able to adequately cater for the various patterns of discourses that emerge from print media reports on insurgent activities in the country. Such patterns of discourses have provided understanding into the various dimensions from which insurgency is reported. This enabled us to decipher certain ideological traits discernible in print media reports on insurgencies in Nigeria. Media discourse and crises reports largely depend on language in order to develop clear strategies to represent and express ideas and realities.

The study argued that insurgencies provide media practitioners with the raw materials on which to report on and the database upon which linguistic scholars can underpin their study of insurgencies. We therefore tap from their repertoire of reports to examine the phenomenon from a linguistic perspective.

Some scholars have observed that most studies carried out so far on the Niger Delta and

Boko Haram insurgencies have been anchored on politics, law, economy, the environment or religion, (see Okpala et al, 2012; Wogu, 2010; Terwase, 2009; Babawale.2003:58;

Akindele, 2001; Olawale, 2000; Alali, 1991:90-105). Most of these studies approached

the issue from the perspective of economic implications of pipeline vandalism by militants in the Niger Delta region and the effects of religious insurgency in the northern part of the country. A few studies that have considered the issues from the perspective of linguistics e.g. Chiluwa (2011), Taiwo (2007) & Pam (2012) dwelt on Labelling and

Ideology in the News while Kehinde (2007) only focused on the issues of Niger Delta militancy as reported in the media. Even though the involvements of militia groups in the crisis and media reportage are not recent issues, many studies on the subject have not engaged the issues prominently and significantly. The few works that have been done in the area of linguistics have not given prominence to semiotic and metaphoric imports of the crises even though media reports are known to be full of metaphoric expressions and labelling. Studies on insurgency and the media in linguistics have focused on observable surface structures, such as the biased or partisan use of words in the description of activities carried out along socio-political lines (Fairclough, 1989: 326).

Most of the studies that show such interdisciplinary approaches to discourse do not combine metaphor and semiotics (Agger, 1990, 1991; Sokal & Bricmont, 1997). Very few scholars have explored the relationship between metaphor and CDA in a realistic portrayal of such insurgency in relation to media reportage. Almost all studies have dwelt on the use of Critical Discourse Analysis as their analytical models; nevertheless, they have dealt only with the issues of power and the struggle for its acquisition and retention.

On April 26, 2012 This Day Newspaper was attacked by the Boko Haram sect who claimed the paper’s style of reporting misrepresented Boko Haram and its activities. The bomber admitted in court that he was sent to bomb the media outfit because of the

lopsided nature of the newspaper reporting of the group’s activities. According to him, his action was to avenge the insult on “Allah” by This Day Newspaper.

The present study therefore focused on print media depictions of insurgent activities by incorporating metaphoric aspect of news reportage to explicate the hidden information in the journalistic portrayal of militant and insurgent activities. This is in accordance with

Bruhn Jensen, 1995; Hartley, 1982; Hodge & Kress, 1988; Kress & Van Leeuwen, 1990) widespread postulations on ‘the act of revealing the hidden truths’. The study ensured that the boundaries between media studies and linguistics, metaphor and discourse analysis are crossed, and a more detailed and explicit attention to the subtleties of 'texts' is the result.

The study employed the theoretical and analytical frameworks of CDA, to interrogate the issues involved in insurgent activities in Nigeria as depicted in media reports.

1.5 Aim & Objectives of the Study

Aim

The aim of this study is to explicate the linguistic features discernible in media depictions of insurgent activities in Nigeria.

The objectives of the study are to:

I. classify and describe the discourse patterns deployed in the print Media depictions of insurgent activities in Nigeria II. identify and explain the ideological beliefs projected in print media reports on insurgent activities in Nigeria III. explicate semiotic constructs revealed through language use in print media reports on insurgent activities in Nigeria

IV. describe the metaphorical depictions of insurgent activities in print media reports in Nigeria

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study is significant in the following ways:

II. It will bring about a better understanding of the ideologies that shape news reports

especially in crises situations and help members of the public to re-evaluate their

perception of the insurgents based on media depictions as well as a reference

material to media practitioners, media discourse analysts who may want to

explore further representation of insurgency in the media.

III. It will add to the body of existing literature on media discourse and media

representationand encourage other scholars to carry out further studies in other

areas of media discourse in terms of representation/depictions.

IV. It will assist media practitioners, journalists and media house owners to appreciate

theneed to embrace self-reassessment of their roles in the management of crises in

terms of news reportage and take steps at addressing areas of negative

representation in the media.

V. The study however, presents a challenge to future scholars in that field of research

who might want to investigate the use of language in crises situations. The

academic environment and the larger society will benefit from this study and

redefine the utterances not only during political, legislative, judicial,

congressional or executive debates but also during moments of trials. It will serve

as a road map for policy makers in the media industry to re-evaluate the

criteriaused in reporting the activities of the members of the “out-group” in

relation to the members of the “in-group”.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This research focused specifically on print media reports of insurgent activities in Nigeria from 2007 to 2014. The News reports were elicited from Vanguard, Daily Trust and This

Day Newspapers. The period in focus marked the transition into amnesty in the Niger

Delta and the rise of insurgency by Boko Haram in the North Eastern part of the country, leading to the death of the founding leader of the Boko Haram sect; Mohammed Yusuf.

These issues were widely reported in the media and it is those reports that were examined in this study from a language view point.

1.8 The Research Questions

This study was guided by the following research questions:

I. What discourse patterns are deployed in print media depictions of insurgent activities in Nigeria? II. What ideological beliefs are projected in print media reports on insurgent activities in Nigeria? III. In what ways are semiotic constructs revealed through language use in print media reports on insurgent activities in Nigeria? IV. What metaphorical depictions of insurgent activities are depicted in print media reports of insurgent activities in Nigeria?

1.9 Operational Definition of Terms.

Certain key terms used in this study need to be clearly defined to enable us understand their relevance to this study. These key terms are:

1.9.1 Critical Discourse Analysis: The function of language as a social practice in a specific discourse which scrutinizes linguistic structures by making clear the representation of phenomena through language choices.

1.9.2 Insurgency: A form of violence stimulated by belief systems, especially between different sects of one particular mode of ideology or religion within a nation; a process that could imply a symmetrical confrontation between two or more non-state actors representing different population groups. This category of violence is perpetrated by a group of people who take up arms in protest against their government and the armed forces of their country to implement an ideology that runs contrary to the constitutional provisions of their country.

1.9.3 Media Depictions: The use of language to represent events in the print media through reportage; in this case insurgent activities as reported in the Nigerian print media.

1.9.4 Militancy: violence stirred up by sects of one particular mode of ideology or religion within a nation often orchestrated by religious segregationwhich plays a significant role in fanning the embers of the menace.

1.9.5 Militia Groups: Organized violence-oriented groups of diverse membership, cutting across different age strata, but drawing membership exclusively from an ethnic or religious group and established to promote and protect the interests of a regional or religious group.

CHAPTER TWO

A REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE

2.1 Introduction

In the course of this study, we reviewed a wide range of literature that focused on the use of language in media reportage of insurgency, power relations and linguistic labels in news discourse generally. Such literature include: Language, Power and Discourse,

(Wodak (1989:112); Power and Domination, (Van Dijk, 1998a, 1998b, 1996, 1995, 1993,

1991, 1988a, 1988b, Fairclough, 1995a, 1995b, 1996, 199, Wodak, 2000a, 1999, 1996,

1995 etc.); Ideology, Context and Resistance, Norman Fairclough (1989: 59), (Heberman,

1987: 173); Seargeant, (1984:89); Ideologies and Belief Systems or Social

Representations of Specific Groups (Van Dijk, 201). Encoding-Decoding Media

Discourse Hall (1974/1980), Frames of Interpretation. Context and Text or Utterance,

Davy Crystal (1979:81) Nwagbara (2007: 30), Durante & Goodwin, 1991: 192; Van Dijk,

1991: 254), Authority and Control in News Discourse, Media Institutions and the News

(McQuail 376); The Interdisciplinary Study of News as Discourse”(Teun van Dijk, 1989),

Media Discourse (van Dijk, 1972, 1977, 1980a, 1981); Racism in the British Press (van

Dijk, 1991; Hodge and Kress, 1993). At the end of the review, select scholarly studies in the area of insurgent reportage were critically examined and their relevance to the present study were considered.

2.2 Insurgency and Militancy: An over View

Insurgency and militancy are not straight forward issues; they however, have global, regional and local dimensions and milieu that have neither a single cause nor solution. In

arriving at any form of conclusions with regard to insurgency and militancy, the issues have to be investigated from different dimensions: linguistic, social, legal, political, economic and religious. The focus of this research was on the linguistic perspective.

Insurgencies are more or less historical events and to have a clear understanding of the issues, it is very important to take a historical survey of events that lead to this menace in any society. Insurgency refers to violence stirred up by sects of one particular mode of ideology or religion within a nation. Religious segregation often plays a role in insurgency and militant activities. The International Peace Research Institute avers that:

“traditionally, insurgency violence implies a symmetrical confrontation between two or more non-state actors representing different population groups” (Yearbook 2008:316) insurgency or militancy differ from the concept of race riot because the process may involve the dynamics of social disintegration, the balkanization of a geographical area along the lines of self-identifying groups, and protracted social conflict. Some of the possible inputs for insurgency include: environmental issues, power struggles, politics, social climate, cultural issues, and economic landscape.

2.3 The Boko Haram Sect

The Boko Haram sect which is said to have its headquarters in Maiduguri, Bornu state was founded in 1995 by Abubakah Lawan (originally Ahlulsunna Wal’jama’ah Hijra).

Lawan claims his mission was to call the government’s attention to the economic hardship and poor living standards of the people. He “later left the country for studies at the University of Medina in Saudi Arabia” (Onuoha 2011:56). The leadership of the organization fell on the shoulders of the radicalized Muslim cleric, Muhammad Yusuf,

who renamed the group ‘Boko Haram’. “The term ‘Boko Haram’ (western education is forbidden) comes from the Hausa word, Boko’, meaning ‘animist, western or otherwise non-Islamic education’; and the Arabic word; ‘Haram’ figuratively meaning, ‘sin’

(literally, ‘forbidden’). Yusuf established a religious complex containing a mosque and an Islamic school where many lower class families were said to have sent their children.

Unfortunately, the school became a proliferating ground for the recruitment of young jihadists into the Boko Haram organization (Onuoha 2011:92). Boko Haram’s principal objective has been to overthrow the secular Nigerian Government and enforce an anti-

Western Sharia - based government. Until the mid to late 2000, the organization was relatively quiet with little activity.

The attack on government and police buildings in 2004 was the first outward presentation of Boko Haram’s mission and in 2009, the organization carried out a more ferocious attack on a prison facility in Bauchi state. This attack was the beginning of a five-day stand-off which resulted in the deaths of over seven hundred people including the leader,

Muhammad Yusuf. There had been several other attacks; however, it was not until the

2011 attack on the United Nations office in Abuja that Boko Haram became more of an international interest. Not only did Boko Haram become a transnational concern, but the attack also marked the notable shift from strictly Nigerian to multi-national targets. The philosophy of the sect is rooted in the practice of orthodox Islam which abhors Western education and working in the civil service. This explains why the sect is popularly known as the Boko Haram, literally meaning “Western education is a sin”. However, the sect members refute such a label that:

Boko Haram does not in any way mean 'Western Education is a sin’ as the infidel media continue to portray us. Boko Haram actually means 'Western Civilization' is forbidden. The difference is that while the first gives the impression that we are opposed to formal education coming from the West…which is not true, the second affirms our belief in the supremacy of Islamic culture (not Education), for culture is broader, it includes education but not determined by Western Education. The sect frowns at Medias' description of it as the Boko Haram. Instead it prefers to be addressed as the Jamaatu Ahlissunnah liddaaw’atiwal Jihad, meaning a "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad, (2007:89).

Although the sect’s name has changed over the years, its ideological mission is quite clear: to overthrow the Nigerian state and impose strict Islamic Sharia law in the country.

Members of the sect are motivated by the conviction that the Nigerian state is filled with social vices and corruption, thus the sect members are of the view that the best thing for a devout Muslim to do was to migrate from the morally bankrupt society to a secluded place and establish an ideal Islamic society devoid of political corruption and moral deprivation.The sect therefore considers non-members as “kuffar” meaning disbelievers: those who deny the truth or “fasiqun” which means wrong-doers. The height of insurgency was December 2011 bombings of a church on Christmas Day, resulting in 41 deaths, and the January 2012 attacks, in which over 200 people were killed. On 7 August

2012, a mass shooting occurred at a Deeper Life Church in Kogi State. Three unidentified gunmen killed 19 people, including the church's pastor. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the bombing. Up till now the bombings continue and they are widely reported in most of the media houses in Nigeria.

2.4 Militancy in the Niger Delta

Militancy in the Niger Delta region became pronounced precisely On 23 February 1966, when Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro of the Niger Delta Volunteer Service (NDVS) and a group of 159 youths, took up arms against the Nigerian state as a result of the perceived injustice, marginalization, and political exclusion suffered by the Ijaws and other Niger

Delta indigenes in the immediate post-colonial Nigeria. Isaac Boro led a revolt against

Nigeria when he proclaimed the Niger Delta Peoples Republic and launched a guerrilla war against the federal government. With one hundred and fifty nine volunteers, Boro established the first ethnic militia in the Niger Delta known as Niger Delta Volunteer

Force that engaged the armed forces of Nigeria in a bloody battle before it was brutally crushed. This process marked the beginning of militancy in the Niger Delta (Onuoha

2011: 17). Several years of oppressive military dictatorships worsened the plight of the

Niger Delta region and her peoples; a situation which later culminated in the emergence of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa‘s Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP).

Despite the commitment of MOSOP to the principle of non-violence, a well-armed military outfit was expressly formed to repress the protests organized by MOSOP and the

Ogoni people, and numerous people were killed.

The hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995 showed that nonviolent tactics had failed to persuade the state and the multinational oil companies to proactively engage the Niger

Delta people on the salient issues of environmental despoliation, degradation, neglect, politics of exclusion and other forms of injustices imposed on them since the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities at Oloibiri, the present Bayelsa State in 1956.

Consequently, youths in the Niger Delta resorted to the formation of armed militant groups for the purpose of advancing the cause of the Niger Delta region and their targets were the oil pipelines to draw the attention of the government to their plight. The Human

Rights Watch writing on the level of militancy in the Niger Delta region says:

The successful return of Nigeria to a democratic dispensation on 29 May 1999 marked a major turning point in the subsequent brazenness of youth militancy in the Niger Delta. In addition, politicians…fanned the flames of youth militancy by the recruitment and supply of arms to militants, gangs and cults for the purpose of rigging of elections, intimidation, harassment and outright assassination of political opponents. Principal amongst them were Asari Dokubo and Tom Ateke‘s groups, which were obviously sponsored by the Peter Odili‘s government in Rivers state. However, when Dokubo and Odili fell out after the 2003 elections, he quickly turned to the art of populism by transforming his followers into NDPVF, which adopted an overtly political rhetoric, identifying itself in opposition to the perceived marginalization and neglect of the Niger Delta and framing its activities in terms of strident political demands (1999:57).

The arrest of Asari Dokubo in 2005 led to the formation of a more deadly and faceless group known as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which claimed its mandate was to unite militant groups in the region, embark on a systematic strategy of disruption of Multi-National Oil Companies’ infrastructure and activities, and the kidnapping of foreign oil workers as an extra legal method and bargaining weapon for negotiation, and redressing the political cum socio-economic dehumanizing conditions of the Niger Delta.

2.5 Language, Power and Discourse

Our focus here is to demonstrate how language use and its appropriation by powerful members of a given society situate indices of power to parties, most times to the detriment of the less powerful. Wodak (1989:112) opines that: “CDA chooses the perspective of those who suffer most and critically analyses those in power, those who are responsible, and those who have the means and the opportunity to solve such problems”. According to

Wodak (1990: 29), “power is maintained through language”. Power play is an important factor in Media Discourse. When an analyst theoretically and practically uses language as an ideological weapon for excluding or including a reader, a value system or even an entire culture, power makes a parade.

The main actors and victims of power play are not just analysts,power is not always exercised against the reader. It can also be directed against the text or author as well as the audience through the use of language.This process leads to dominance. Dominance being the power over society as a whole of one of the fundamental economically defined classes in alliance with other social forces. It is about constructing alliances and integrating subordinate classes through ideological means. It is the focus of constant struggle around points of greatest, instability between classes and blocs, to construct or sustain alliances and relations of domination which takes economic, political and ideological forms

(Gramsci, 1971:432).

Accordingly, David Birch (1993:98) argues that: The forms of language we ‘use’ are not freely chosen. Language choices are made according to a series of political, social,

cultural and ideological constraints. These constraints mean that people can be manipulated, kept ‘in good order’ and assigned inferior/superior roles and status by a system of social strategies which involve power, order, subordination, cohesion, antagonism, pleasure, and so on: all of which are an integral part of the control systems of societies. Where there is control, there is conflict, and where there is conflict there is always politics. No act of communication, no matter how seemingly simple and innocent, can escape this politics. Based on this background, there seems to be persistent power struggle in the Nigerian socio-political environment via the use of force by certain elements in the society who are seen as “enemies” of the state. It is the reports on those persons that this study is intended to research upon, (Birch, 1993: 195).

From the perspective of Fairclough (1995:218) “the role of power and power abuse in the discursive management of knowledge in communication becomes relevant, as we arrive at the heart of the issues through studies in Critical Discourse Analysis”. According to him, knowledge is not a natural product that ‘grows’ on people, but it is taught and learned, it is being produced and used, sold and consumed, and in all these interactions and transactions, social roles, groups and organizations are involved. In other words, who produces what knowledge for whom, and how is such knowledge discursively distributed in what is called the ‘knowledge society’? These questions at the same time address questions of legitimacy and access. Whose discourses are more or less credible? Who has active or passive access to what kind of text, talk or communication in society? Whose discourses are legitimate or not? Again, each of these questions at the same time may be reformulated in terms of the legitimacy of, and access to knowledge in society (Foucault,

2002; Goldman, 1999; Goldblatt, 2000; Sorlin & Vessuri, 2006; Stehr, & Meja, 1992).

Similarly, what kind of knowledge is communicated and de-emphasized by the media, and what relevant knowledge is hidden from the public? What official knowledge about society and the world people study, and what is found to be less relevant, important or innocent for people to know about. Government declarations, parliamentary debates, news reports in the press, textbooks and scientific articles, i.e. genres of discourse and forms of interaction and communication, and of course the economy.

Any adequate approach to the study of this nature should therefore involve a discursive and communicative dimension. Media discourse, basically studies socially situated text and thus permits the formulation of the general, abstract and macro approaches of traditional sociology into the much more concrete analysis of specific forms of text; and how in different social situations members of different social groups and organizations are involved in the way knowledge is expressed and formulated in various forms of public discourse. We then at the same time have much more explicit insight into the ways knowledge is (re) produced in society, for instance as part of the reproduction of power and domination.

2.6 Ideology, Context and Resistance

Ideology as critically examined by Norman Fairclough (1995:59) “is a system of ideas which constitutes and pilots the large power blocks of our society”. Based on this position, language can be seen as a medium of ideological forces which serves to legitimize relations of organized power. This is premised upon the fact that the

legitimizing of power relations is not articulated, language is ideological. A language ideology can be a ‘correct’ conceptualization of language or it can dissent from the facts, and be a fallacious interpretation of language. Ideologies form the basis of the belief systems or social representations of specific groups (Van Dijk, 2001). The most prominent figure in the area of Ideology and resistance is Stuart Hall of the Birmingham school of linguistics. He observes that culture related studies such as ours in this research approach:

is opposed to the base-superstructure way of formulating the relationship between ideal and material forces, especially where the base is defined by determination by the economic in any simple sense….it defines culture as both the means and values which arise amongst distinctive social groups and classes, on the basis of their given historical conditions and relationship through which they handle and respond to the conditions of existence (Hall1980:267).

Hall however observes that the critical approach is responsible for an important shift from the question of ideology embedded in media texts to the question of how this ideology might be ‘read’ by its audience. Hall (1974/1980) proposed a model of encoding-decoding media discourse, which represented the media text as located between its producers who framed meaning in a certain way, and its audience, who ‘decoded’ the meaning according to their rather different social situations and frames of interpretation (1980:73-74). These ideas proved a considerable stimulus to rethinking the theory of ideology and of false consciousness. They lead to research on the potentials for differential decoding, with a view, especially, to finding evidence of working- class resistance to dominant media messages. The direct results were meagre in this respect, but indirectly the theory was very effective in re-empowering the audience and returning some optimism to the study of

media and culture. It also leads to a wider view of the social and cultural influence which mediates the experience of the media, especially ethnicity, gender and everyday life thus calling for a reappraisal of the contexts in which such activities occur. Nwagbara

(2004:30) observes that “Context is the total non-linguistic background to a text or utterance, including the immediate situation in which it is used and the awareness by the speaker and hearer of what has been said earlier and of any relevant external belief or presuppositions”. While Durante & Goodwin, 1992; as qtd in Van Dijk, 1995:254) view

Context as:

the (mentally represented) structure of those properties of the social situation that are relevant for the production or comprehension of discourse which consists of such categories as the overall definition of the situation, setting (time, place), on-going actions (including discourses and discourse genres), participants in various communicative, social or institutional roles, as well as their mental representations: goals, knowledge, opinions, attitudes and ideologies.

The process of controlling context involves control over: determining the definition of the communicative situation, deciding on time and place of the communicative event, or on which participants may or must be present, and in which roles, or what knowledge or opinions they should (not) have, and which social actions may or must be accomplished by discourse. For example, the contexts of a legislative debate, a board meeting, a trial, a lecture, or a consultation with one's doctor are usually controlled by (members) of dominant groups. Thus, only Legislators have access to a parliamentary debate, and only they may speak (with permission of the Senate President or Speaker depending on the

Legislative house that is deliberating on the issue and for a specific amount of time) and represent their constituencies, vote on a bill, and so on. In the event of a court case, only

Lawyers or judges have access to specific speaking roles and genres such as verdicts.

Secretaries may have access to board meetings, but often only in the role of silently writing the minutes. In an Editorial debate on the form or style of an editorial that is to appear in a particular publication, only members of the editorial team deliberate on such issues that are to culminate into an editorial. From this perspective, a Critical Discourse

Analytical approach specifically focuses on those forms of context control that are in the best interests of the dominant groups that make far reaching decisions on behalf of the majority of the people. To achieve this we focus on the reports on militants who foment insurgency in Nigeria to describe how their views, ideological beliefs and thoughts are reflected in those reports.

2.7 Authority and Control in News Discourse

The news remains the central ingredient of the press in accounting for the position of the media as a privileged social institution and its social position comes from the fact that it is one of the few original contributions by the mass media to the range of cultural forms of expressions. It is also the core activity according to which a large part of the media defines itself. Media institutions can barely exist without news (McQuail 1985:376). In

Nigeria for instance, the news is highly privileged and a highly contested space by both the political and corporate elite for its propaganda and publicity value. The news is an agency of representation and public knowledge which affords those with access the power to define and frame public issues and thus not only set agenda but also provide the interpretative and evaluative frameworks. One can therefore say that there is hardly neutral news: just ideological postulations. News reports constitute a particular type of discourse i.e. media discourse and it is our opinion in this study that media discourses

should be accounted for in their own right, e.g., as particular types of language use or text and as specific kinds of socio-cultural practice. This means, first of all, that such media discourses should be analysed in terms of their structures at various levels of description.

Such a structural analysis is not limited to the grammatical description of phonological, morphological, syntactic, or semantic structures of isolated words, word groups, or sentences as it is customary in structural or generative linguistics. Discourses however have more complex, higher-level properties, such as coherence relations between sentences, overall topics, and schematic forms, as well as stylistic and rhetorical dimensions. In his “Media contents: The interdisciplinary study of news as discourse”Teun van Dijk (1998:26) agrees that the study of news reports in the press is one of the major tasks of discourse-analytical media research. According to him, apart from advertising probably no media genre has received so much scholarly interest from researchers, semioticians, linguists, and discourse analysts. This attention is justified when we realize how important news is in our everyday lives. Most of our social and political knowledge and beliefs about the world derive from the news reports we read or see every day. There is probably no other discursive practice, besides everyday conversation, that is engaged in so frequently and by so many people as news in the press.

According to van Dijk, “the discourse patterns of news enable the researcher to describe texts in terms of theories developed for the several levels or dimensions of discourse, through this process, the hidden meanings in a particular news item can be made manifest through the application of relevant theoretical frameworks” (1993:69). Media Discourse recognizes that texts are vastly more complex, and require separate though interrelated

accounts of graphical, morphological, syntactic, micro and macro-semantic, stylistic, super-structural, rhetorical, pragmatic, conversational, interactional, and other structures and strategies. Each of these levels has its characteristic structures, which may be interpreted at other levels, both within and outside the traditional linguistic boundaries of the sentence, as well as in the broader context of use and communication. The analysis of text within and outside discourse varies relative to different theories, methods, schools, or even individual scholars. Some of the notions and the unifying framework that forms the background of this study has been developed in the works of van Dijk (see van Dijk,

1972, 1977, 1980a, 1981). The study of Media texts has grown significantly in recent times with especially the print media supplying the basis for critical analysis. Some studies examined the language of the press (e.g. Lüger 1995, Montgomery 2007), highlighting specific lexical, syntactic and stylistic features. Comparative studies revealed differences in language in different papers and linking these differences to the specific readership expectations.

In this respect, aspects such as the truth of reporting and ethics were addressed. Another area of interest was the analysis of ideology as reflected in the media and in textual structures, example van Dijk (1985, 1988, and 1991) and Fairclough (1995a, 1995b) showed how dominant elite ideologies were reproduced in the media and how ideologies could be revealed by examining language features used in texts. This was illustrated with reference to racism in the British press (van Dijk 1988). Attention has been shifted of recent to the “new media”, especially the Internet. Here analysis is of a structural nature, examining the amount of information, the positioning of information, and the combination

of verbal and non-verbal elements in the multimodal discourse (Kress and van Leeuwen

2001). Other aspects that have been addressed concern accessibility of information on the

Internet, the use and/or control of languages, and legal aspects. Our focus in this study will be based upon the fact that the media report on a variety of topics, and we find a number of different genres represented in the print media, including genres such as media texts (discourse), obituaries, sports reports, advertisements, horoscopes, and weather forecasts. We therefore assume that these genres do not simply report events in a neutral way, but they provide evaluations and thus can have an impact on public opinion about societal happenings and thus affect policy making in society.

2.8 The Media and Conflict Management

The media play specific roles in the society to ensure the continuous existence of such a society. In most cases the media is seen to play liberating roles as well as being non- partisan whereas in other instances, the media is not only a collaborator in the perpetration of insurgency but also plays a prominent role in ensuring that peace is elusive. The following instances of media roles have been examined in this research to show the positive and negative sides of the media in a given society.

2.8.1 The Media as an object of conflict

When the media functions or operates objectively and with a deep sense of integrity, it ensures the institutionalization of an informed society that respects individual freedoms and rights. But, there has to be a democratic state to provide the framework for stability and enjoyment of such rights. For instance, during the uprising in the Middle East, the media often referred to the Libyan opposition Army as ‘The Libyan Peoples’ Army’ while

the original Libyan Army was called ‘”Gaddafi Army”as (Sa’id Haddat 2012:6) observes, the Gadhafi army which was already dwindling opened fire on the protesters in a protest which was ignited on the 16th of February, 2011 causing the Libyan peoples Army to respond. Againthe Security Department of the Libyan Army was renamed after the last son of Gadhafi, Khamis who headed the outfit. It was called “Khamis Brigade” rather than the original name “Libyan Brigade” when the war broke out all in a bid to legitimize the actions of the opposition thereby making it an individualistic brigade. Again in the war raging on in Syria, the opposition Army has been tagged ‘The Free Syrian Army’ while the country’s Army is now called ‘Al-Assad Army’ thus making the group an individualistic Army. Also, during the June 12 struggle in Nigeria, some people and media organizations referred to the process as a ‘Yoruba Affair’ to further kill the agitation for the actualization of the annulled presidential election in Nigeria. As an

Editorial of The Nation newspaper rightly observes “whereas the editorial of the Nigerian

Tribune reduced June 12 to a purely Yoruba affair…”Nigerians were angry about the annulment but the real protests were at the south west…so IBB robbed the whole nation it soon became a south west affair” (July 23 2008).

These processes are what Chiluwa (2011b: back page ) terms linguistic labelling as he posits: This pattern of labelling which is often viewed as capable of causing further disaffection and conflict produced a highly negative characterization of the key players in the crisis. These are instances where the role of the media can make or mar the collective interest of the people depending on its perception of the crisis. Radoli (2012) observes that History records occasions where the media has been used as a destructive weapon to

fundamental human rights. She quoted instances were Adolf Hitler was said to have used the media to create hatred for Jews (Thompson, 1994:5). Rwanda’s Radio Television

Libre des Milles Collines (RTLM) was alleged to have urged listeners “to kill Tutsis” or what it called “the cockroaches” (Des Forges, 1999). In the Balkans, broadcasters polarized local communities to the point where, violence became an acceptable tool for addressing grievances. In the case of Rwanda, the media was said to have been used to guide the perpetrators of the genocide towards their victims. The media may also incite violence through manipulative, negative presentation of facts that create the impression that the situation is worsening. This type of reporting more often than not provides a justification for people or groups to take decisive action, including violence. Although the focal point here is the issue of perspective of news reporting and presentation as a discourse and power control strategy in media reports; the position of this study is that such discourses are judgmental and could fan the ember of political acrimony and lead to further break down of law and order. Both local and international media in Rwanda were said to have failed to report on the impact of the conflict as early as 1990 while local media ignored to report on massacres of political dissents and those suspected to be Tutsi sympathizers. The role of the media in the Rwandan genocide was in great disrepute of the legal and moral principles of Journalism and human rights. By instigating a genocide campaign, the media turned into a dangerous weapon for its prosecution. Its international counterpart failed to monitor escalating killings and rather pictured the crisis as a civil strife between the Tutsi and Hutus. Similar characteristics are portrayed in coverage of the Darfur conflict in Southern Sudan. Since 2003, local (Arab media) has passively dealt with atrocities committed in Sudan. The conflict in Darfur has been framed as an ‘Arab

war', a line quickly adopted in the local media. Authorities were accused of using Radio

Television Libre des Milles Collines RTLM and Radio Rwanda broadcasters to spur and direct killings where Tutsis were hiding. Radio Television Libre des Milles Collines

(RTLM) transcripts presented as evidence in the Arusha Tribunal show how broadcasters used hate speech on air and rendered the minority Tutsis vulnerable to the attacks.

Thompson (2007) has argued that ‘media spurs conflict in society by making derogatory remarks based on ethnic differences, race, colour, and sex’. In Rwanda like the Balkans, media messages were designed to sharpen ethnic and political sensitivities. Thompson writing on the Yugoslavian war notes that the media was saturated with intensified propaganda to mobilize the population and make war thinkable, let alone inevitable

(Thompson, 1994:1). These examples highlight the precarious role of the media in vulnerable society. In such circumstances the media can be viewed as “a double edged sword”. They can be weapons of war and conflict or can uphold prospects for peace. In the hands of totalitarian interests, the media can be a dangerous device. It can be used to spread misinformation and manipulate public sentiments.

2.8.2 The Media as the Public’s Advocate

The media has largely sustained its role as a platform where the public can exchange diverse issues and foster productive debates in the society. Essentially, the media is regarded as a contemporary “Greek agora”, usually a city or square in which the population gathers to discuss affairs of the state (Watson, 1998:99). The principle of the public sphere shapes the way human rights processes are initiated within media and institutional frameworks. On its part, the media can be seen to contribute to public good

by defending, protecting and promoting human rights. The media has a duty to facilitate the “public sphere” against the encroachment of the state and corporate powers that is, performing the role of the watchdog (ICHRP, 2001). This is not always the case, government and other authorities have used human rights themes to manipulate or inflame public opinion especially during periods of conflicts or political ventures. A

(2001) International Human Rights Policy (ICHRP) study on the media found out that those in positions of influence usually employ public relations strategies or persuasive communication to manage conflicts and peace. More often than not, politicians manufacture statements which help to push their agenda. The challenge is for the media to stand above such influence. The media, Curran (1991) contends can be seen as a source of redress against abuse of power by others. The media bears the responsibility of mainstreaming the agenda for development and dominant public discourse and suggest ways to promote and protect human conditions and prevailing situations in any society as well as to inform the public and politicians about significant national issues. In their capacity as watchdogs, the media are the “eyes and ears” of the public. They are defenders of possible abuses of rights in the society. While the mainstream media endeavours to achieve these roles, it cannot ignore competition from the alternative or sensational media. Alternative press is sometimes characterized with the manufacture of misinformation and falsehoods (ICHRP, 2001). The argument goes that a critical and objective media can judge whether the power used by opposing parties to a peace process is legitimate and consistent with people’s aspirations for peace, democracy and social justice or just resisting each other’s power to enact national strength. In a situation of political uncertainty, what is critically important is how political actors achieve common

good together, not what they oppose. Essentially, how the information is gathered, processed and disseminated in a society or social system becomes a matter of great public concern. This is captured in John Hartley’s (1992:18) statement that “the media defines what is right by describing what is wrong”. By reporting on insurgency in the Nigerian society, the media provides a synthesis to the social problem and opportunity to correct errors. Thus, the media can be utilised to bridge the gap between violent conflicts and peace and in turn promote human rights. In this research it is our position that the media preservation of human rights is only possible in the presence of a legitimate government, which acts as an instrument of public power and provides the framework and proper environment for the media to assume its responsibility, rather than a state which coerces the media to manufacture consent or threatens to limit it.

2.8.3 The Media as a rallying point in times of crisis

In conflict situations, the public tends to be desperate for information, for assurance and for guidance and leadership, while sometimes conflict may push the public together in pursuit of peaceful solutions. In other cases, conflicts could present opportunities for further tension. The public relies on the media for information, while the media depends on authorities to provide updates on the situation. However, the media has failed to be critical and analytical on conflicts and shaping the peace agenda. This position emanates from the media coverage of the conflicts in Kenya which was said to lack concise explanation of root causes of problems and only mirrors simplistic causal effect features, which do not offer adequate answers to consumers.The essential role of the media in reporting conflicts is to accurately present events in a fair and balanced manner. Usually, these values are used interchangeably and entail giving each side an opportunity to

express its opinion. However, there are contradicting views on the social responsibility role of the media. This role has been criticised as being too idealistic in the absence of free and democratic structures. Simply put, the media can inflame conflicts by circulating

“negative messages” in society, but it can also be a messenger of peace, reconciliation and unity of people by being sensitive to inherent conflicts. This shows how messages are shaped to address complex social political phenomenon. The research is associated with how different actors endeavour to influence policy decisions to arbitrate conflicts. It is assumed that only under certain and generally unlikely conditions might one expect media coverage to force intervention decisions. In contrast, Livingstone (2007) observes:

Media content can affect policies, since leaders today prefer to communicate through media programmes to accelerate political decisions rather than, using traditional diplomatic channels (cited from Thompson, 2007:196).

There are positive examples where the media has been useful in peace initiatives, albeit when violent conflicts have ended. Since 2002, Mega FM is said to have promoted peace in Northern Uganda through encouraging dialogue between the Lord Resistance’s Army

(LRA) factions, government and civil society as a good step towards peace (Oriarie,

2009:5). Earlier in 1995, Burundi’s Search for Common Ground (BSCG) initiative launched radio Ijambo (“wise words” in Kirundi) in the months ending the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda (Gardner, 2001). Gardner (2001) affirms the radio has been a safe haven where Tutsis and Hutus work together using radio as a “voice of hope” in finding solutions to end ethnic animosities. The Hirondelle Foundation established radio

Agatashya (“little swallow” in Kinyarwanda) in the Great Lakes Region, to secure peace and dialogue among Rwandans coming from the genocide scourge. Dahinden (2007) portrays how Agatashya broadcasts of facts devoid of political voices, were effective in

promoting an environment for securing human rights. The Hirondelle News Agency continued to report on the ICTR proceedings in Arusha Tanzania long after it became defunct following increasing conflicts in the DRC. The influence of the media on society has attracted international agencies closely involved in peace-building since the early

1990s. The media can contribute to peace, by engaging in credible reporting, representing balanced opinions in its editorial content, and opening up communication channels among parties in a conflict. It can also identify and articulate without bias the underlying interests of warring factions. By doing so, the media is capable of disseminating information that builds on the confidence of stakeholders in a conflict.

2.9 A Review of Empirical Works on Media Discourse in Nigeria

Generally, media discourses on insurgency in Nigeria are not new though studies on the same area in Linguistics are rather scanty; and for the purpose of this study, we have chosen four works on general media discourse and stylistics for review, one of them a textbook and three scholarly papers. The selected works are: Pam (2012), Chiluwa (2012),

Alo (2007) and Taiwo (2004). Pam’s (2012)“A Linguo-Stylistic Analysis of Newspaper

Reportage on the 2010 and 2011 Crises in Jos: A Case Study of The Nation and This Day

Newspapers’ investigates how the English language is used in editorials to effectively communicate sensitive issues. According to Pam, these sensitive issues cut across security, religion, health and a wide variety of academic subject fields. The research explored the linguistic and communicative significance of editorials in influencing readers’ attitudes by identifying those linguistic features of grammar, lexis and semantics that are used distinctively in editorials. He concludes that a good writer consciously manipulates linguistic and stylistic devices in order to communicate effectively-words are

essential in language and that they influence the outcome of whatever we write or say. -

Chiluwa’s (2012) “Labelling and Ideology in the Press: A Corpus-Based Critical

Discourse Study of the Niger Delta Crisis” examined the discursive construction of

Nigeria’s Niger Delta ethnic militias in the Nigerian press. Chiluwa opines that certain lexical items have been noted to occur frequently in the Nation’s press in representing the militia groups and their activities. He argues that any form of linguistic labelling in the media could be seen as judgmental and has the potential of heightening the already tensed situation in the land. Alo (2007) maintained that representing people and their identities in the news by names reflects cultural reality because events, actions and people in the news are represented in the structure of the sentences in English, which denotes the actions, with a view to discovering patterns of identifying people in the news and the specific functions of these in the Nigerian context. He further observed that in naming and representation of people and their identities in newspaper reporting in the Nigerian context, it is anticipated that cultural realities like naming systems, titles, socio-cultural values, expressions of goodwill, courtesy and politeness, ideologies of power and status would be reflected. He based his theoretical framework on Hallidayan Systemic

Functional Linguistics by applying the ‘meta-functions’ of language. He observed that representation of people in the media is generally exploited by news reporters in drawing the attention of readers to the people in the news and influencing the readers’ perception of such people. Taiwo (2004), “Language, Ideology and Power Relations in Nigerian

Newspaper Headlines” took a critical look at the way language is used in news tabloids, particularly in headlines to reflect specific societal ideologies and power relations. He believes that the role that headlines play as precursors to the news makes them to be

constructed in such a way that they usually evoke readers’ emotions. He observes that most editors ensure that the choice of expressions in headlines reflects the feelings, opinions and attitudes of people about issues in the news. His examined the headlines of some Nigerian newspapers and the social contexts from which they emerge and identify the various uses editors make of the linguistic resources to portray the various existing societal ideological postures and power relations. He said the use of speech as headlines is very significant since news is woven around personalities.

2.9.1 Significance of those Empirical Works to the Present Study

Pam (2012) has a major influence on our present study because it discusses crisis reportage from a linguistic perspective. Though Pam’s analysis focused on Newspaper

Headlines, the present study incorporates the body of the news. Chiluwa’s research is relevant to this study in the area of labelling and ideology and the application of CDA in the analysis; though the researcher focused on the Niger Delta crisis, the present study further expands this idea of linguistic labelling to incorporate the Boko Haram. Alo’s research is relevant to our study in the area of ‘naming’ in the media but the present study juxtaposes this with the reports of militia activities and describes how the process of linguistic labelling of the ‘terrorists’ in the media has had effects on their modus operandi.

Taiwo’s study focused on headlines, the present study did not only study the body of the news reports on militant activities in Nigeria but also studies the headlines of such reports in the analysis.

CHAPTER THREE

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 Critical Discourse Analysis

This study adopted Critical Discourse Analysis as a platform upon which Metaphor and

Semiotics were used as theories for the analysis. Critical Discourse Analysis is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of discourse which views language as a form of social practice. Given that Critical Discourse Analysis integrates a variety of social and linguistic theories into a shifting synthesis of theories, this study adopted specifically two aspects which hinge on metaphor and semiotics in the data analysis. This is because

Critical Discourse Analysis mediates between the social and the linguistic - the ‘other of discourse’, the social structuring of semiotic hybridity leading to interdiscursivity. As

Fairclough (2004) states, this is a more concrete way of looking at how particular texts or conversations, or interviews draw upon and potentially rearticulate more stable combinations of discourses, genres, and styles. Critical Discourse Analysis’s multidisciplinary perspectives enable it to engage social, political-economic, linguistic and semiotic analyses of texts and interactions.

Critical Discourse Analysis plays a key role in mediating inequality, injustice and oppression in the society through the use of language. Norman Fairclough’s (1989) approach to Critical Discourse Analysis which this study adopts draws primarily on the

Hallidayan Systemic Functional Linguistic model’s claim that the resources of language simultaneously fulfill three major functions: the ideational function of constructing representation of the world; the interpersonal function of constituting social interactions

and the textual function of creating cohesively structured texts and communicative events.

This suits the purpose of Critical Discourse Analytical model which engages the way language is used to construct and disseminate discourse-ideologically specific representations of some aspects of the world. It also integrates how language enacts hegemonic social dominations; (see Fairclough 1993, 2000, van Leeuwen 2005) and constructs and enacts social identities. According to Fowler (1991: 71), and Fairclough

(1995b: 25), Halliday's view of language as a "social act" is central to Critical Discourse

Analysis (Chouliaraki & Fairclough, 1999; Fairclough, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995b, 1995a;

Fowler et al., 1979; Fowler, 1991; Hodge & Kress, 1979). Critical Discourse Analysis therefore reveals those hitherto underlying ideas in texts and talks; and perceives language use as social practice; as users of language do not function in isolation, but in a set of cultural, social and psychological frameworks and networks. Based on social contexts,Critical Discourse Analysis studies the connections between textual structures and the links between textual structures and their function in interaction. Critical

Discourse Analysis is differentiated from other forms of discourse in society by its attribute of ‘critical’, which implies revealing connections and causes which are hidden.

Critical Discourse Analysis engages both the way language is used to construct and disseminate discourses-ideologically specific representations of some aspects of the world. It also involves the way in which language is used to enact hegemonic genres which involve specific ways of using language to achieve purposes of social domination;

(see Fairclough 1993, 2000, van Leeuwen 1995) on uses of language to construct and enact social identities. According to Fowler (1991: 71), and Fairclough (1995b: 25),

Halliday's view of language as a "social act" is central to CDA (Chouliaraki &Fairclough,

1999; Fairclough, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995b, 1995a; Fowler et al., 1979; Fowler, 1991;

Hodge & Kress, 1979). CDA therefore exposes those hitherto hidden ideas in texts and talks. CDA according to Norman Fairclough: 1992:16) is obviously a shared perspective on doing linguistics, semiotics or discourse analysis; not a homogenous model, a school or a paradigm, CDA perceives language use as social practice; as such users of language do not function in isolation, but in a set of cultural, social and psychological frameworks. CDA accepts this social context and studies the connections between textual structures and takes this social context into account and explores the links between textual structures and their function in interaction within the society. The one element of

CDA by which it is differentiated from other forms of discourse in society lies in its attribute of ‘critical’, which implies showing connections and causes which are hidden.

CDA also implies intervention by providing resources for those who may be disadvantaged through change, Fairclough (1989:9). It is important to expose the hidden things, since they are not evident for the individuals involved, and, because of this, they cannot be fought against. Of the theoreticians of discourse linguistics, who, in the words of Van Dijk contributed “many articles and books that establish CDA as a direction of research which focuses on various dimensions of power”, is the work of Norman

Fairclough (1989, 1992). It is for him that CDA is perceived as a research tactics rather than a direction of thought or a model of analysis. What the followers of CDA try to achieve has been summarized by Batstone (1989:98)

Critical Discourse Analysts seek to reveal how texts are constructed so that particular (and potentially indoctrinating) perspectives can be expressed delicately and covertly; because they are covert, they are elusive of direct challenge.

NormanFairclough, inhisworkLanguageand Power (1989), says he wishes to: “examine how the ways in which we communicate are constrained by the structures and forces of those social institutions within which we live and function.” (Fairclough, 1989: vi) in the same publication, the possible procedures for analysing texts are suggested. Fairclough gives his opinions on the actual nature of discourse and text analysis. In his view, there are three levels of discourse, firstly, social conditions of production and interpretation, i.e. the social factors, which contribute or lead to the origination of a text, and, at the same time, how the same factors effect interpretation. Secondly, the process of production and interpretation, i.e. in what way the text was produced and how this affects

Interpretation and thirdly, the text, being the product of the first two stages. Fairclough subsequently gives three stages of CDA, which are in accord with the above mentioned levels of discourse:

Description is the stage which is concerned with the formal properties of the text. Interpretation is concerned with the relationship between text and interaction – seeing the text as a product of a process of production, and as a resource in the process of interpretation….Explanation is concerned with the relationship between interaction and social context –with the social determination of the processes of production and interpretation, and their social effects (Fairclough 1989: 26).

The conceptual basis in this study was adapted from Norman Fairclough’s ideas on discourse and power and discourse and hegemony as well as Teun van Dijk’s approach to

CDA especially media discourse. The study is an attempt to link social practice and linguistic practice, as well as micro and macro analysis of discourse by focusing on the possible interrelatedness of textual properties and power relations. Teun van Dijk applied his discourse analysis theory to media texts mainly focusing on the representation of

ethnic groups and minorities in Europe. In his News Analysis (1988:218); he integrated his general theory of discourse to the discourse of news in the press, and applied his theory to authentic cases of news reports at both the national and international level. What distinguished van Dijk's framework for the analyses of news discourse is his call for a thorough analysis not only of the textual and structural level of media discourse but also for analysis and explanations at the production and "reception" or comprehension level

(Boyd-Barrett, 1994) by structural analysis, van Dijk posited analysis of "structures at various levels of description" which meant not only the grammatical, phonological, morphological and semantic level but also "higher level properties" such as coherence, overall themes and topics of news stories and the whole schematic forms and rhetorical dimensions of texts. He claimed that structural analysis will not suffice, for Discourse is not simply an isolated textual or dialogic structure; rather it is a complex communicative event that embodies a social context, featuring participants (and their properties) as well as production and reception processes, (Van Dijk, 1988: 2).

By "production processes" van Dijk means journalistic and institutional practices of news- making and the economic and social practices which not only play important roles in the creation of media discourse but which can be explicitly related to the structures of media discourse. Van Dijk's other dimension of analysis, "reception processes", involves taking into consideration the comprehension, "memorization and reproduction" of news information. What van Dijk's analysis of media (1988, 1991, 1993) attempts to demonstrate is the relationship between the three levels of news text production (structure, production and comprehension processes) and their relationship with the wider social context they are embedded within. In order to identify such relationships, van Dijk's

analysis takes place at two levels: microstructure and macrostructure. At the microstructure level, analysis is focused on the semantic relations between propositions, syntactic, lexical and other rhetorical elements that provide coherence in the text, and other rhetorical elements such as quotations, direct or indirect reporting that give factuality to the news reports. Central to van Dijk's analysis of news reports, however, is the analysis of macrostructure since it pertains to the thematic/topic structure of the news stories and their overall schemata. Themes and topics are realized in the headlines and lead paragraphs. According to van Dijk (1988) headlines define the overall coherence or semantic unity of discourse, and also what information readers memorize best from a news report (1988:248). He claimed that the headline and the lead paragraph express the most important information of the cognitive model of journalists, that is, how they see and define the news event. Unless readers have different knowledge and beliefs, they will generally adopt these subjective media definitions of what is important information about an event, (Van Dijk, 1988, p. 248). For van Dijk (1988, pp. 14-16), the news schemata

("superstructure schema") are structured according to a specific narrative pattern that consists of: summary (headline and the lead paragraph), story (situation consisting of episode and backgrounds), and consequences (final comments and conclusions). These sections of a news story are sequenced in terms of "relevance," so the general information is contained in the summary, the headline and the lead paragraph. According to van Dijk, this is what the readers can best memorize and recall. Van Dijk essentially perceived discourse analysis as ideologically based, because according to him, "ideologies are typically, though not exclusively, expressed and reproduced in discourse and communication, including non-verbal semiotic messages, such as pictures, photographs

and movies" (1995:17). His approach for analysing ideologies has three parts: social analysis, cognitive analysis, and discourse analysis (1995:30). Whereas the social analysis pertains to examining the "overall societal structures," (the context), the discourse analysis is primarily text based (syntax, lexicon, local semantics, topics, schematic structures, etc.). In this sense, van Dijk's approach incorporated the two traditional approaches in media education discussed earlier: interpretive (text based) and social tradition (context based), into one analytical framework for analysing media discourse.

However, what noticeably distinguished van Dijk's approach from other approaches in

CDA is another feature of his approach: cognitive analysis. For van Dijk it is the socio- cognition--social cognition and personal cognition---that mediates between society and discourse.

He sees social cognitions as "the system of mental representations and processes of group members" (1995:18). For van Dijk, "ideologies … are the overall, abstract mental systems that organize … socially shared attitudes" (1995:18), ideologies, thus, "indirectly influence the personal cognition of group members" in their act of comprehension of discourse among other actions and interactions (1995:19). He calls the mental representations of individuals during such social actions and interactions "models". For him, "models control how people act, speak or write, or how they understand the social practices of others" (1992:2). What is of crucial importance here is that, according to van

Dijk, mental representations "are often articulated along Us versus Them dimensions, in which speakers of one group will generally tend to present themselves or their own group in positive terms, and other groups in negative terms" (1994:22). Analysing and making

explicit this contrastive dimension of Us versus Them has been central to most of van

Dijk's research and writings (1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998a, 1998b). He believes that one who desires to make transparent such an ideological dichotomy in discourse needs to analyse discourse by: examining the context of the discourse: historical, political or social background of a conflict and its main participants, analysing groups, power relations and conflicts involved, identifying positive and negative opinions about Us versus Them, making explicit the presupposed and the implied, examining all formal structure: lexical choice and syntactic structure, in a way that helps to (de)emphasize polarized group opinions. (1998b:61-63).

3.2 Critical Discourse Analysis and Media Discourse

Another main arena for CDA is media discourse and since media report from the world of politics, and since politicians need to be in the news, the two fields – or orders of discourse – have become increasingly intertwined or interdependent. Or as Bhatia (2006:

174) puts it:

CDA and Media Discourse share a paradoxical relationship whereby one needs the other to survive, or another to thrive, yet each endorses considerable hostility for the other. The interest in media discourse is important not only because media are a rich source of readily accessible data for research and teaching, but because media usage influences and represents people’s use of and attitudes towards language in a speech community.

Thus, media use can tell us a great deal about social meanings and stereotypes projected through language and communication, as well as reflect and influence the formation and expression of culture, politics and social life (Bell & Garrett 1993:3-4). In some of his studies, Fairclough has focused particularly on the media, scrutinizing the assumption that

media language is transparent. Media institutions often purport to be neutral, that they only provide space for public discourse, that they reflect states of affairs disinterestedly, and that they give the perceptions and arguments of the newsmakers. Fairclough nullifies this position by stating that one must not forget that journalists have quite a prominent role in their own right, they do not just ‘mediate’ others (Fairclough 1989: 148) journalists are just one of many categories of agents that figure in the media. Hence, ‘mediatised’ political discourse as an order of discourse is constituted by a mixing of elements of the orders of discourse of the political system – the life world (ordinary life), socio-political movements, various domains of academic and scientific expertise, and so forth – with journalistic discourse’ (Fairclough 1989: 148). While there is often a struggle both between agents and between orders of discourse in media discourse, that might not always be the case; one must also be aware of confluences and alliances. Teun van Dijk

(1993:69) “demands a critical look at media discourse, especially considering that the increasingly influential role of the mass media not necessarily paves the way for more objective reporting”: ‘Control of knowledge crucially shapes our interpretation of the world, as well as our discourse and other actions. Hence, the relevance of a critical analysis of those forms of text and talk, e.g. in the media and education, that essentially aim to construct such knowledge’ (van Dijk 1993: 258). He also points out that it is through mental models of everyday discourse such as conversations, news reports and textbooks that we in fact acquire our knowledge of the world, our socially shared attitudes and finally our ideologies and fundamental norms and values (van Dijk 2001: 114).

3.3 Approaches to Critical Discourse Analysis

Here we take a critical look at the ways various scholars have viewed this school of thought. Works of such scholars as: Teun van Dijk, Allan Bells, Norman Fairclough and

Ruth Wodak are given a special attention in this regard.

3.3.1 Norman Fairclough and the Dialectical-Relation Approach

The Faircloughian approach adopted here is on the need to identify a semiotic ‘point of entry’ to overcome the obstacles that are preventing change to ‘social wrongs’ (1989:

239). Norman Fairclough is of the view that such societal obstacles are the hegemonic struggle by ‘orders of discourse’ that dominate and integrate (dialectically) competing discoursal ideologies to maintain prominence in social and political life. Fairclough uses

‘semiosis’ as a more accurate term for ‘discourse’ by emphasising that semiosis is one part of any particular social process in society as they also constitute non-discursive elements such as visual imagery and body language. So it follows that a specific catalogue of these aspects is required to develop or cause action in society in the form of social practices. Social structures are broadly defined as institutions, such as an executive office of a president, the legislature etc. and serve to mediate between social practices and

‘particular and concrete social events.The use of ‘semiosis’ also serves a practical purpose as Fairclough distinguishes certain elements of semiosis, one of which being

‘discourse’, the others ‘genres’ and ‘styles’. These elements then correlate to three areas of semiosis: How these elements interact and contest against one another forms the particular discoursal nature of the social practice—a process which can be changed by ideological shifts in any one of the elements because this will affect its relation to the other elements and areas of the practice. Where the social practice changes, this has a

wider effect on social structures and so, the interpretation of social events. Subsequently, the semiosis of the social practice can be ‘operationalized’, or ideologically accepted, in and across societal institutions because an ‘order of discourse’ is created as ‘networks of social practices’ are established. This is because the interaction of the semiotic elements in the social relations between institutions across time and space, allows ideology to be accepted and remain in action. Correspondingly, networks of social events produce particular discoursal ‘texts’. Where texts develop intertextuality can be found, which is an aspect of ‘interdiscursivity’ that shows how texts are made up ‘of diverse genres and discourses’, and it ‘highlights a historical view of the past… in the present’. Texts refer to the, ‘written or spoken language produced in a discursive event’, with a ‘discursive event’ being an, ‘instance of language use’. Discourse practice in such a situation becomes what Fairclough terms ‘recontextualisation’.

3.3.2 Teun Van Dijk and the Socio-Cognitive Model

Teun van Dijk’s approach to Critical Discourse Analysis emphasizes cognition to a much larger extent than his fellow scholars. Nevertheless, he, too, holds the analysis of the complex relationship between dominance and discourse as the main aim of Critical

Discourse Analysis (van Dijk 1993: 252). His approach is covertly neo-Marxist in his assertion that ‘those who control most dimensions of discourse have the most power’

(Wodak 2006: 14) running parallel to Marx’s idea that ‘those who control the means of production also control the outcome, the capital and collect the dividends’. Van Dijk did a research on mass media and parliamentary debates, especially focusing on issues such as racism and xenophobia. The assumption that elites in many ways pre-formulate and

thus instigate popular racism stems from his many studies within these fields (Wodak

2006: 13). One of the perceived flaws of CDA according to van Dijk is: the failure to show how societal structures influence discourse structures and precisely how societal structures are in turn enacted, instituted, legitimated, confirmed or challenged by text and talk, (Wodak 14). According to him, Cognition is the missing link of these studies.

Hence, he broadens the scope for CDA by including and emphasizing socio- psychological factors and concentrates his efforts within the theoretical discourse- cognition-society triangle. Afraid of being exposed for reductionist misinterpretations, van Dijk spells out his understandings of these three notions. He perceives ‘Discourse’, as a communicative event including a range of extra-linguistic components; a slightly broader definition than that of Fairclough and Wodak. Van Dijk opines:

‘cognition involves both personal as well as social cognition, beliefs and goals as well as evaluations and emotions, and any other “mental” or “memory” structures, representations or processes involved in discourse and interaction’. ‘Society’ includes local, microstructures of situated face-to-face interactions, and also the more global, societal and political structures variously defined in terms of groups, group-relations (such as dominance and inequality), movements, institutions, organizations, social processes, political systems and more abstract properties of societies and cultures, etc. ( 1993:97-98).

He observes that cognitive and social dimensions of the triad together define the relevant context of discourse. These elements need detailed analysis, a mere study of text and talk added to some cognitive or social ponderings simply will not do, van Dijk avers that:

Only through an integration of these accounts may one reach a sufficiently descriptive, explanatory and criticaladequacy in the study of social problems (van Dijk 2001: 98). In the area of the analysis of social dimensions, understanding the nature of social power

and dominance is an essential presupposition. Such power deals with properties of relations between social groups, for instance privileged access to forms or contexts of discourse and communication. Teun van Dijk claims (1993: 255) that powerful groups always have special access to discourse. In fact, the power and dominance of groups can be measured by their control over and access to discourse. The most effective form of dominance is when the minds of the dominated can be influenced in such a way that they accept it, and act in the interest of the powerful out of their own free will:

Power involves control namely by (members of) one group over (those of) other groups. Such control may pertain to action and cognition: that is, a powerful group may limit the freedom of action of others, but also influence their minds… ‘modern’ and often more effective power is mostly cognitive, and enacted by persuasion, dissimulation or manipulation, among other strategic ways to change the mind of others in one’s own interests. It is at this crucial point where discourse and critical discourse analysis come in: managing the mind of others is essentially a function of text and talk (van Dijk 1993:254).

Dijk believes that ‘Modern’ power has also got a major cognitive dimension. Such mind management, or gaining access to the public mind, is conceptualized in terms of social cognition in the meaning of ‘socially shared representations of societal arrangements, groups and relations, as well as mental operations such as interpretation, thinking and arguing, inference and learning’ (van Dijk 1993:257). Even though social cognitions are embedded in the minds of individuals, they are social because they are shared and presupposed by members of a group; they monitor social action and interaction, and underlie the social and cultural organization of society as a whole. Indeed, ‘ideologies are the fundamental social cognitions that reflect the basic aims, interests and values of groups’ (van Dijk 1993:258). Context plays an important role in van Dijk’s cognitive

model but he claims that there is no such thing as an explicit theory of context. Van Dijk thus ventures into pastures unknown and sets forth his thoughts on the matter. He distinguishes between global and local context where:

the former is ‘defined by the social, political, cultural and historical structures in which a communicative event takes place’ and the latter sounds like an echo of the sociolinguistic concept of accommodation theory; ‘what we say and how we say it depends on who is speaking to whom, when and where, and with what purpose’ (van Dijk 2001: 108).

This position of his leads him to the idea of a context model, a form of mental model that control many of the properties of discourse production and understanding, which ‘allows subjective interpretations of social situations and differences between language users in the same situation, strategically incomplete models, and in general a flexible adaptation of discourse to the social situation’ (van Dijk 2001: 108-09). These models are important because they are the interface between mental information about an event and actual meanings being constructed in discourse. They do not only link discourse and society, but also the personal and the social. Without such models, we are unable to explain and describe how social structures influence and are affected by discourse structures (van

Dijk 2001: 110-12). He also introduces the concept of an event model. As the context model, the event model is also a mental representation. Such a notion is important to better understand the events or situations language users speak or write about – because it

‘is not the facts that define coherence, but rather the ways the facts are defined and interpreted by the language users in their mental models of these facts. These interpretations are personal, subjective, biased, incomplete or completely imaginary’ (van

Dijk 2001: 111). The two models are mental representations stored in episodic memory;

that is, ‘the part of long term memory in which people store their knowledge and opinions about episodes they experience or read/hear about’. To simplify, one might say that context models control the ‘pragmatic’ part of discourse and event models the ‘semantic’ part. And: Understanding adiscourse basically means being able to construct a model for it (van Dijk 2001: 110-112). Since CDA deals with power, domination and social inequality, it tends to focus on groups, organizations and institutions, and thus requires an analysis of the social cognition – or the social representations – shared by these groups.

Most important, according to van Dijk, are knowledge (personal, group and cultural), attitudes (socially shared opinions) and ideologies (basic social representations of social groups) (van Dijk 2001: 113-14). Dijk sees observable makers in speeches to separate the high and the low in a discourse, these according to him include:

stress and intonation; word order; lexical style; coherence; local semantic moves such as disclaimers (local meaning, lexical meaning, meaning of words, as well as the structures of propositions, coherence, implications, presuppositions, allusions and vagueness); topic choice (global meaning of the discourse, semantic macrostructures); speech acts; schematic organization; rhetorical figures; syntactic structures; propositional structures; turn takings; repairs; and hesitation (van Dijk 2001: 99).

One can say that all these linguistic devices are more or less susceptible to speaker control, although not always consciously controlled or controllable by the speakers.

However, with the object of study mostly being ideologically biased discourses, CDA is especially interested in the way these polarize the representation of in-groups (us) and out-groups (them). This can be done, often quite consistently, by juxtaposing the positive self-presentation with a negative other-presentation, where our good sides and actions are

emphasized and our bad things deemphasized and vice versa. Such ‘othering’ can be done on many levels:

Speakers or writers may emphasize our good things by topicalizing positive meanings, by using positive lexical items in self-descriptions, by providing many details about good actions, and few details about bad actions, by hyperbole and positive metaphors, by leaving implicit our negative properties, or by de-emphasizing our agency of negative acts through passive sentences or nominalizations … such formal and meaning aspects of dominant discourse not only express and enact power, but are also geared to the construction of desired mental models and social representations, that is, to influence, manipulation or control of the mind (van Dijk 2001: 108).

The most central element in a polarized model is still content, but to make sure that statements that entail positive evaluations of ‘us’, or negative ones of ‘them’, are both credible and persuasive, discourse structures like those mentioned above or those summed up below are used.

Argumentation: the negative evaluation follows from the ‘facts’. Rhetorical figures: hyperbolic enhancement of ‘their’ negative actions and ‘our’ positive actions: euphemisms, denials, understatements of ‘our’ negative actions. Lexical style: choice of words that imply negative (or positive) evaluations. Storytelling: telling above negative events as personally experienced; giving plausible details above negative features of the events; Structuralemphasis of ‘their’ negative actions, e.g. in headlines, leads, summaries, or other properties of text schemata (e.g. those of news reports), transactivitystructures of sentence syntax (e.g. mentioning negative agents in prominent, topical position). Quoting credible witnesses, sources or experts, e.g. in news report (van Dijk 1988:264)

van Dijk puts forth a six step-strategy on how to conduct the actual analysis (see also van

Dijk 2001: 101-08 for an example of how he uses this analysis). At any rate, Meyer's

finding with regards to van Dijk’s postulation is summarised as follows: Analysis of semantic macrostructures: topics and macro-propositions Analysis of local meanings, where the many forms of implicit or indirect meanings, such as implications, presuppositions, allusions, vagueness, omissions and polarizations are especially interesting. Analysis of ‘subtle’ formal structures: here most of the linguistic markers mentioned are analysed: Analysis of global and local discourse forms or formats;

Analysis of specific linguistic realizations, for example, hyperboles, litotes; Analysis of context.

3.3.3 Ruth Wodak and the Discourse-Historical Approach

What is known by most scholars as the Wodakian approach to CDA or the Discourse-

Historical approach bases its model on sociolinguistics by tapping from the Bernsteinian tradition, the Frankfurt school, especially those of Habermas. Significant for Wodak and her followers is ‘the attempt to integrate systematically all available background information in the analysis and interpretation of the many layers of a written or spoken text’ (Wodak 2006: 15). This branch of CDA is said to be the most linguistically orientated and has got its focal point in politics. Wodak (2006: 15) posits that this approach is designed to enable the analysis of indirect prejudiced utterances, and indeed to identify and expose the codes and allusions contained in prejudiced discourse. Thus, she never hides CDA’s political agenda or its practical applicability: a major aim for this approach is to help find a set of guidelines both for non-discriminatory language use towards women, for more effective communication between doctors and patients, as well as to provide expert opinions for courts on anti-Semitic and racist language use by

journalists and newspapers (Wodak: 14-15). Wodak is of the opinion that the discourse- historical approach follows three aspects of the complex concept of social critique: ‘Text or discourse immanent critique’ aims at discovering inconsistencies, (self) - contradictions, paradoxes and dilemmas in the text-internal or discourse-internal structures. ‘Socio-diagnostic critique’ is concerned with the demystifying exposure of the possibly persuasive or manipulative character of discursive practices. The analyst has to exceed the purely textual or discourse internal sphere and make use of her or his background and contextual knowledge. ‘Prognostic critique’ contributes to the transformation and improvement of communication. (Wodak 2001: 64-65. Wodak perceives discourse as a form of social practice; this she did by distinguishing between the notion of ‘discourse’ and the notion of ‘text’. To further specify her concepts, Wodak embraces the postulations of Girnth (1996) and argues that:

discourse could be understood as ‘a complex bundle of simultaneous and sequential interrelated linguistic acts, which manifest themselves within and across the social fields of action as thematically interrelated semiotic, oral or written tokens, very often as “texts”, that belong to specific semiotic types, i.e. genres’ (Wodak 2001:66).

She further claims that discourses are open and hybrid systems; new sub-topics can be created, and intertextuality and interdiscursivity allow for new fields of action. These comments call for a few more clarifications: Wodak (2001: 66) defines ‘texts’ as

‘materially durable products of linguistic actions’ whereas a ‘genre’ is understood as

‘conventionalized more or less schematically fixed use of language associated with a particular activity’; ‘Fields of action’ could be seen as ‘segments of the respective societal ‘reality’, which contribute to constituting and shaping the ‘frame’ of discourse.

The Wodakian school of thought sees the concept of ‘context’ as crucial for CDA analysts. She particularly considers four aspects of this concept:

(1) the immediate, language or text internal co-text; (2) the intertextual and interdiscursive relationship between utterances, texts, genres and discourses; (3) the extra- linguistic social/sociological variables and institutional frames of a specific ‘context of situation’ (middle-range theories); (4) the broader socio-political and historical contexts, which the discursive practices are embedded in and related to(‘grand theories’) (Wodak 2001: 67).

The preferred analysis of Reisigl and Wodak (2001) and Wodak (2001) is three- dimensional: Start off by establishing the specific contents of topics of a particular discourse with racist, anti-Semitic, nationalist or ethicist ingredients, then investigate the discursive strategies. Thirdly, examine the linguistic means (as types) and the specific, context-dependent linguistic realizations (as tokens) of the discriminatory stereotypes

(Wodak 2001: 72). Wodak’s discourse-historical approach also views the discursive polarization of ‘Us’ Versus ‘Them’ as the basic fundament of discourses of discrimination. Of the many linguistic and rhetorical means in use, she names five questions which could detect discriminatory discursive elements:

How are persons named and referred to linguistically? What traits, characteristics, qualities and features are attributed to them? By means of what arguments and argumentation schemes do specific persons or social groups try to justify and legitimize the exclusion, discrimination, suppression and exploitation of others? From what perspective or point of view are these labels, attributions and arguments expressed? Are the respective utterances articulated overtly? Are they intensified or are they mitigated? (Wodak 2001: 72-73).

She argues that the different forms of polarization and discrimination can be discussed by means of argumentation strategies or topoi. Within argumentation theory, ‘topoi’ are

‘parts of argumentation which belong to the obligatory, either explicit or inferable premises. They are content-related warrants or “conclusion rules” which connect the argument or arguments with the conclusion, (Wodak 2001: 73-74). Briefly summarized from Wodak (2001), the list of topoi could be described as follows. The topos of usefulness, advantage can be paraphrased by the conditional: if an action will be useful, then one should perform it. The topos of uselessness, disadvantage more or less covers the opposite assumption. The topos of definition, name-interpretation implies that if either one of an action, a thing, a person or a group is named/designated (as) X, it carries or should carry the qualities/traits/attributes contained in the (literal) meaning of X. The topos of danger or threat: if there are specific dangers and threats, one should do something against them. The topos of humanitarianism could be paraphrased by the conditional: if a political action does or does not conform to human rights, one should or should not perform it. The topos of justice is based on the principle of equal rights for all, whereas the topos of responsibility could be summarized by the conditional: because a state or a group is responsible for the emergence of specific problems, it or they should act in order to find solutions to these problems. The toposof burden is causal: if burdened by specific problems, act in order to diminish those burdens. The topos of finances: if something costs too much money or causes loss of revenue, one should perform actions which diminish the costs or help avoid the loss. The topos of reality could be said to be tautological: because reality is as it is, a specific action should be performed. The topos of numbers - if the numbers prove a specific topos, a specific action should be performed.

The topos of law/right simply implies that if a law prescribes or forbids something, the action has to be performed or omitted. The topos of history means that one has to learn by the lessons of history, whereas the topos of culture is slightly cultural relativistic following the argumentation scheme: because the culture of a specific group is as it is, specific problems arise in specific situations. Finally, the topos of abuse is paraphrased by the conclusion rule: if a right or an offer for help is abused, one should change it, or the help should be withdrawn (Wodak 2001: 73-77).

3.3.4 Allan Bells and the Socio-Political Approach to Critical Discourse Analysis

As a reaction to the theory of Critical Discourse Analysis, Allan Bells (1995) maps out the approaches made in the study of media language and discourse from, first, Critical

Linguistics and then Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). He notes that the growing importance of CDA and its socio-political concern to reveal inequalities of power as a standard approach to media texts, outlining the contributions of Fowler through his development of Critical Linguistics to apply functional grammar to news texts; of van

Dijk’s using text linguistics to develop discourse analysis to apply to news story structure; of Fairclough’s bringing social theory, especially the work of Foucault, to discourse analysis, and to his contribution, along with that of van Dijk, to the development of Critical Discourse Analysis with its explicit socio-political stance. His work links text analysis of news stories to media production processes and the role of the audience. He is of the opinion that Critical discourse analysts are interested in both details of the text itself and the broader social, political, and cultural functions of media discourse to determine other layers of meaning. He further observes that much of the

work has been on the analysis of factual genres like news rather than fiction or advertising. According to him, CDA has become an important approach for studying media texts, especially in European linguistics and discourse studies. He however says to argue uniformity in the CDA approach could be misleading arguing that the use of the individuals’ contributions to structure overviews of the field is instructive. His position is that CDA is not a holistic approach, using a single theory or even a single methodology but that its foundations are derived from classical rhetoric, pragmatics, text linguistics, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics and reflect the growing interdisciplinarity in research between the humanities and the social sciences. This therefore means that

Ideology and power underpin applications of CDA to issues relating to gender, class, and ethnicity and also to more general discussions about media discourses relating to politics or the economy (Media, Politics, and Discourse: Interactions). Bells opines that depending on the discipline background of the researcher, the methodologies may differ, with both large empirical studies found as well as small, focused qualitative case studies.

He substantiates this by pairing up with Weiss and Wodak in their (2003) volume which covers some of the research practices under the umbrella of CDA, and their introduction outlines some of the critiques and debates that have evolved with it. Their position is that the dominant paradigms of media language research have tended to produce critical evaluations of the power of the media to influence and even to subordinate their audiences. Bells et al believe that much of the work on media language, especially in critical linguistics and critical discourse analysis has been undertaken on the news and is concerned with uncovering its underlying ideologies. He states that this work targets for special attention social problems like discrimination and prejudice citing van Dijk’s 1991

work on racism). The studies undertaken in CDA are designed with an emancipatory purpose; that is, they have a socio-political agenda intended to shed light on issues of power and domination. Thus, it should not be surprising to see so much CDA focused on the news because News is not considered as some neutral image of the real world but as a product of news gathering and news making. In other words, news is the end result of a number of processes, including organizational policies and preferences that set the news agenda and selection and judgments about relative importance and significance. It is thus a representational discourse made by converting the raw data from a variety of sources, including eyewitness accounts, interviews, and media releases, into stories within the context of technical constraints like production deadlines, and in accordance with the news values of the time (see News Language; Newspeak). News values or the set of criteria used to determine newsworthiness and hence whether or not an item is likely to appear as news, act as a filtering mechanism or gate-keeping device for what is reported.

The study of the news has always been at the forefront of media discourse research. The construction and selection of the news and its concentration on negative events, together with its connection to powerful institutions and commercial market imperatives, have proved compelling for language researchers, especially those who are interested in critical approaches to ideology, and have stimulated Media and Language: Overview investigations into story content, underlying values, and structure, as well as studies of representations of specific issues and groups. However, media language has been studied at other levels beyond journalistic practices, media production processes, and textual analysis. The traditional distinction between news and entertainment has transferred into analytic approaches, with linguists and discourse analysts using conventional, language-

focused, empirical methods on news texts, especially on news content, news values, and ideals of objectivity. This has left theorists from other fields like sociology, cultural studies, and women’s studies to supply much of the insight into the entertainment side of media output.

It is from these traditions that studies about consumption, popular taste, the politics of the everyday, and notions of pleasure and resistance have been undertaken. A major contribution here has been insights from reception studies into reading practices and how readers or audiences negotiate meaning and respond to various media texts such as soap operas and women’s magazines, as well as news programs. These are questions that usually lie outside traditional language or discourse analysis. Audience research has been the mainstay of media and cultural studies research for some years now as researchers endeavour to find out how audiences make sense of media texts. Reception studies have focused on specific genres to see how different social groups (based on age, class, ethnicity, or gender) or subcultures interpret texts in different ways. Hermes (1995), for example, in her analysis of women’s magazines, draws heavily on responses from women who describe the pleasure they derive from reading what is often considered a devalued genre. Fewer studies have undertaken detailed linguistic analysis to relate textual features to audience interpretation. Richardson’s work (1998) on economic reporting in television news is an exception here, as she links an analysis of media discourse on the economy with an analysis of the reception of that discourse. Studying texts with images and sounds has presented challenges to conventional discourse analysis, which has valued modes of language through speech and/or writing over visual images or music. The mass media

produce multimodal texts, that are, texts that draw from language, pictures, or other graphic elements and sounds in various combinations. Considerations of the multimodal nature of media texts are difficult to incorporate in language-based media analysis. Two examples of work on multimodality in the media, linked to linguistics, are Kress and van

Leeuwen’s work on text layouts on advertisements.

3.4 Criticisms of CDA

A lot of criticisms have been levelled against the theory of Critical Discourse Analysis such that the activity according to Haig “threatens to develop into a whole new academic cottage industry of its own” (Haig, 2004). The most fundamental aspect of the criticism lies in the claim of validity or otherwise of the knowledge of CDA. Most scholars of the

CDA theoretical framework are always positive that the theory has more advantages to offer than the negative criticisms levelled against it. Hammersley (1997) based his criticism directly on the foundations upon which CDA is built. This is potentially the most damaging criticism since it targets the validity of the philosophical foundations that serve as the basis for much of fieldwork undertaken within this framework. In addition to criticising lack of clarity on what theoretical premise that CDA is built upon, critics of this theory query the lack of what they perceive as a robust enough body of sociological theory on the one hand; and for what they regard as the overemphasis of an ambition to effect social change that interferes fatally with its scholarly task. From the onset,

Hammersley (1997) places CDA within the ‘critical’ perspective in the social sciences, saying that the word ‘critical’ signals to him “an abandonment of any restraint on evaluation of the texts and contexts that are studied” (1997:243), which is seen to be

different from the dominant positivist rejection of normative judgments in favour of a concentration on ‘factual’ enquiry. Hammersley’s definition of the term ‘critical’ could be deemed as aimed at provoking unnecessary debate. In choosing to ignore the issue of

Hammerley’s framing of the critical social sciences, it seems apparent that ‘critical’ social enquiry cannot be founded on the same philosophical base as the physical sciences.

So what serves as its philosophical roots, Hammersley identifies three possible alternatives, namely Marxist theory and its later Frankfurt School variant; decisionism; and Habermas’ notions of public sphere and speech community. Hammersley suggests that CDA’s premise in Marxist and neo-Marxist theory makes for a shaky one as it removes historical development from the scope of any such analysis. However, Ruth

Wodak and others have specifically worked to incorporate socio-historical context into the analysis of discourses on national identities (see Wodak et al, 1999). Hammersley also criticises CDA researchers of decisionism, of deeming their work as valid on the basis of their own personal values. By this, he works from a position that denies that values are amenable to rational justification. Hammersley (1997) observes that:

‘According to this [that is, a decisionist] position, one chooses one’s values and this involves a leap of faith or an act of will: it cannot be based on rational deliberation’

(249). According to him, ‘leaps of faith can go in any direction’ in a discourse

(1997:250).

Here, Hammersley’s criticism attacks any claim to validity which results produced through CDA might have. If CDA is based on a simple conviction that the emancipatory ends are right, then how likely is it that practitioners will worry unduly over the validity

of the means whereby they are achieved? As Haig (2004) points out, at worst, what we get is the use of CDA by powerful groups, who will further develop their manipulation of discursive tools. After all, if CDA really is a powerful tool it will inevitably be used by powerful groups and individuals. Of course, as further states, the decisionist position can, and notoriously does, lead many people into a third option: not jumping at all, that is, political quietism. While this criticism is a heart-rending one, it is itself open to the same.

Generally speaking could any academic engaged in social scientific research ever say that their areas of interest and indeed their choices of methodology is unaffected by their personal values?CDA has been criticised for bringing in a priori categories to analyses which are known to be relevant to interaction, such as the position or intention of the producer and tends to take certain concepts for granted. For instance, an analysis of discourse on multiculturalism takes for granted that certain social cultural categories are intended by the author or that definitions of these categories are intended, which might not necessarily be the case. Be that as it may, CDA is a methodology that works to reveal subjectivities in social communication which might otherwise go unquestioned.

Furthermore, it never pretends that the readings of any particular text by any singular analyst are definitive. Intertextuality is not entirely foreign in the analysis of media texts either (Hall, 1981; Wodak et al, 1999). As this is the case, then any piece of text could contain different ideology/model and any or all of these could be picked up by any of its reader/interpreters. CDA allows for the presence of different sphericules for public discourse (Cunningham and Sinclair, 1999) which means that different communities can construct and deconstruct meanings heterogeneously, a shift away from Habermas’ notion of a singular public sphere, with an ideal speech community and not much scope

for cultural pluralism or linguistic diversity. Further supporting the above point, Van

Leeuwen (2007) highlights Gunther Kress’s analysis (1985) of a speech by Helen

Caldicott at a large Anti-nuclear rally in Sydney which powerfully demonstrates the contemporary proliferation of legitimation discourses. He shows that a single text can invoke many different, sometimes even contradictory, discourses: ‘medical, Christian, populist, (Jungian) psychiatric, patriotic, sentimental/parental, romantic, patriarchal, technological, prophetic, feminist’. Kress (1989) opines:

The traces of these different discourses are evident enough; they have not been closely integrated by the writer/speaker into anything like a seamless text the discursive differences are not resolved. Consequently the text is unlikely to provide that definitional impulse which would act to give unity to the diverse groups which had assembled that day to hear this speech. Although the text is that of a single writer the contention of the different discourses is clearly evident, so much so in fact that it has been beyond the writer’s ability to control that difference. (Kress, 1989: 17)

This idea is very important in CDA because it gives validity to any of the many results that are revealed in the analysis. CDA does not claim to give a singular, unequivocal reading of any discourse, making this attribute a key strength. CDA has at its core an ideology of relativism and embraces the subjectivity of its researcher, giving validity to the multiplicity of the readings possible. The criticism that CDA is political and subjective in its approach, therefore compromising any claim towards having an objective analyst/researcher has been countered by the reply that it is impossible to exclude the analyst’s values from any research and that indeed, there are often good political reasons for not doing so (Billig, 1999a). Furthermore, as is the case in even methods which follow the more quantitative traditions, the analyst/researcher subjectively predetermines

categories, personally choosing the manner in which data will be coded and analysed.

Additionally, CDA is interdisciplinary and generally goes beyond linguistics in its theory and practice. For instance, the Wodakian discourse historical model not only looks at language, but also prides itself in looking at it in a socio-historical context so that analysis while starting off at the entry point of the text, focuses more on the text as a product of a specific socio-historical context. This approach is not concerned so much with the linguistic structure of a text as it is with how such structures interact with other wider social practices. As such, CDA while not patterning itself after quantitative frameworks should not be accused of being incapable of producing valid knowledge. Another key criticism which has been levelled against CDA is that it has set for itself an aim which is unrealistic. Hammersley (1997), states that the “extraordinary ambition” revealed by the task he purports that CDA had set itself of providing insights to not only discursive processes, but also to whole societies, their problems and the means of fixing these, was perhaps more damning than the philosophical considerations he addressed ( 252).

Similarly, JimMartin who has expressed concern about the unachieved practical ambitions of ‘linguistics which is articulated as a form of social action’ (Martin 1992: p.

587) alludes to this issue. In the closing section of his work, English Text, he posits:

Where critical linguistics has fallen short of evolving into a form of social action lies in its observer as opposed to an intruder role. Even in educational contexts, critical linguists have tended to stand back and let teachers and consultants do the work of changing educational transmissions …, being somewhat reluctant to shunt themselves between theory and practice. As far as linguistics as social action is concerned this is not adequate. The theory has to be developed to the point where it informs interventions in the political process – where critical linguists take charge for example of public relations for the ANC or intervene directly with education ministers in curriculum debates.

This involves developing appropriate theories of semiotic subversion” Martin (1992:587–8).

There is very little doubt that CDA entertains such ambitions, and that in its younger days was quite strident about them. However, as Haig (2004) points out, as the framework has come to mature and perhaps in response to the criticisms it has faced, there is increasingly detectable a measure of realism as to the possibilities, under present social conditions and state of development of CDA itself, of fully actualising such aspirations.

Even in its younger days, there have been analysts like Van Dijk who been less focused on ideological norms and instead have viewed discourse cognitively. As such, it seems unfair to generalise all work in CDA as having the same fundamental aims. With regards to crusader tendencies, while such aims of CDA have become perhaps more realistic, more streamlined and down-to-earth, there is still a tendency for ambition to result in over-interpretation of data, which in turn leads to a tendency to judge results “according to their political implications as much if not more than their validity” (Hammersley,

1997:253). Perhaps one of the most resonating critical voices against CDA is that of the critical linguist Henry Widdowson, who has in a series of papers built and sustained a four-prong argument against critical approaches to discourse analysis, particularly

Faircloughian CDA. Much of his arguments lie with the idea that he, like Hammersley regards CDA as having a decisionist foundation. As such, he argues that:

CDA is not analysis in support of theory. Rather, its works serves merely as interpretation in support of beliefs held by the analyst. The beliefs of analysts are ideologically biased. As such analysts read meaning into, rather than out of texts. This bias is further compounded by the fact that analysts only select texts which confirm their beliefs. The distinction between the interpretation of the analyst and that of a lay reader is ignored.

Much of Widdowson’s criticisms are targeted at Fairclough’s work and others which follow in this tradition. As such, this criticism is not necessarily relevant to all research in

CDA. In any case, the first three points which Widdowson raises against CDA seem to be unduly unfair for in varying degrees, every research is subject to influences of its researcher’s own personal values. Additionally, Widdowson also constructs his own arguments to favour his criticisms mainly by defining the term “analysis” in very stringent terms. Regardless even if CDA permits analysts to select texts which serve to demonstrate that discursive tools are used in particular ways, this does not necessarily render the knowledge invalid or useless. Indeed, as Martin posits:

CDA could be used to demonstrate how discursive practices serve to counter dominant thought models or ideologies. The role that CDA takes is mainly to highlight instances where subjectivities maybe present in the construction of social communication (2000:89).

Widdowson also, argues for an introduction of analysis which examining alternative possible readings and seeking evidence to support or refute them. In defence of CDA however, Edward Haig (2004) points out that the failure to test findings by falsification is also prevalent amongst the great majority of orthodox applied linguists and is not peculiar to CDA. What is more pertinent in Widdowson’s critique is his point about the possible lack of interest in the principle of falsification being due to ideological beliefs. Again, such criticism comes across as a bit hypocritical, especially as no researcher; including

Widdowson himself could with full confidence declare freedom from ideological commitments. Ignoring any possible failings on the part of other textual analysts, it is crucial to stress again that CDA does not pretend to hold the answers to any social issue.

What it does accomplish is to indicate instances of certain strategies in discourse from a qualitative perspective. Its findings are only useful when considered in conjunction with the wider body of knowledge on any issue, not excluding those provided by other approaches to discourse analysis and social analysis which are considered more conventionally mainstream or quantitative. Edward Haig (2004) and Jim Martin (2000) make an interesting criticism of CDA, which is perhaps a bit more transparent than most of the philosophical ones put forward by most other critics. Haig (2004) points out that by claiming to be “critical”, CDA effectively “offers” the more established, mainstream approaches to discourse or linguistic analysis. As Haig states:

From personal experience I have found that it also seems to cause the hackles of other discourse analysts to rise because of the implication that they are ‘non-critical’ or even ‘sub- critical’ and therefore somehow in favour of things like oppression, exploitation and inequality: by commandeering the moral high ground of being critical, CDA thus ‘others’ mainstream discourse analysis and performs the very kind of domination through language that it seeks to oppose. (2000:94)

In being perceived as taking “the moral high ground” in the way which Haig suggests,

CDA in a sense is challenging the validity of other approaches. As such, even though these approaches are themselves flawed, because they conform to the hegemonic norm rather than the explicitly oppositional stance that CDA espouses, they tend to attract less attention, while at the same time exercising their dominance. Even so, this does not afford CDA practitioners the right to adopt the label of victim. Instead, it behoves researchers who employ this methodology to work towards curtailing the supposed excesses which have been associated with CDA and ensuring that any analysis conducted is as systematic and transparently conducted as possible. It is noteworthy that CDA is not

as rigid theoretically as most other approaches to discourse or textual analysis. Perhaps, this might be more due to the fact that CDA has never set itself up as a theoretical or conceptual approach to social research. Instead, it might be more useful to regard it as a methodological framework which allows researchers to among other things, analyse texts in relation to their wider societal contexts. The study adopted the critical metaphoric analysis of the data to explicate the metaphoric dimension to the analysis of the data hence the need to explore the theory of metaphor and its concepts as presented below:

3.5 The Theory of Metaphor

Metaphor is a human conceptualization as well as a linguistic expression. In linguistic studies, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson found that most of thought is metaphorical and that people think in terms of frames and metaphors. “…The human conceptual system is metaphorically structured and defined. Metaphors work by mapping a source domain, or a domain of cognitive experience, onto a new target domain (Schaffner, 2005; Chilton,

2004). Lakoff and Johnson (1980) argue that metaphors help create new similarities by conceptualizing nonphysical experiences in terms of physical ones. Metaphors are vital instruments to explain the complexities of linguistic circumstances; where, metaphors serve an important cognitive purpose. Metaphor’s role as a linguistic expression serves to illustrate its persuasive power. Kenneth Burke (1984:90-95) describes metaphor as

“perspective by incongruity” and notes, “…There is really a good deal to be said for attempting to convey facts by substituting metaphors for them rather than by using the ordinary intellectual method of substituting abstractions reached by analysis.” Burke sees the persuasive appeal of metaphors in how they define and create reality.

Reality in metaphoric terms is constructed by symbolic interaction linguistic frames (Ivie,

1996). Metaphors not only define reality, but create a frame of interpretation for a particular worldview. Linguistic metaphors emphasize certain accounts of the source- target relationship while excluding other accounts. The persuasive process of reification is accomplished when metaphors define and rename linguistic reality. Reification mixes abstractions with material experience, thus allowing linguists to name and frame new events (Green, 1987). The representation and naming of events is a powerful linguistic tool because framing meanings affects shared linguistic consciousness. Metaphorical naming is an example of the way that metaphors activate alternative schemata to persuade audiences. Media practitioners use these and other metaphors as tools of persuasive communication, to bridge gaps and build identification between strangers; to frame issues; to create, maintain, or dissolve political alliances. To be effective, the metaphors must reflect and engage the audiences to which they are directed.

Charteris-Black (2004: 28) establishes the connection between Critical Discourse

Analysis and Metaphor arguing that “Metaphor is . . . central to critical discourse analysis since it is concerned with forming a coherent view of reality”. Where Critical Discourse

Analysis has been concerned with ideological and mystificatory structures of discourse, metaphor is just such a structure. Following Hodge and Kress (1993: 15) contention that ideology involves “a systematically organized presentation of reality’ metaphors are ideological in so far as they “define in significant part what one takes as reality” (Chilton and Lakoff 1995: 56). Chilton (1996: 74) affirms that metaphors “can contribute to a situation where they privilege one understanding of reality over others makes it a

significant interpersonal and ideational function of language. Chilton (2005a:21) further observes “Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar has supposedly provided the toolkit for deconstructing the socially-constructed (and thus linguistically constructed) machinery of power”. It is on this basis that we incorporate metaphorical concepts in analyzing data in this study to describe how ideologies are metaphorically constructed in news reports on insurgency in Nigeria. Originally considered a field of cognitive linguistics, metaphor was first introduced in 1980 by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson but got incorporated into

Critical Discourse Analysis by van Dijk and Norman Fairclough to explain the conceptual systems of language within the general study of the brain and the mind. Metaphor attempts to unify those disciplines to explain as many aspects of language as possible, including syntax, semantics, and discourse (Lakoff and Johnson 1980: 270). The theory of

Metaphor is largely influenced by Michael Reddy’s article “The Conduit Metaphor”

(1979) in which he observed that English speakers tend to use in at least 70% of the cases what he called the conduit metaphor. Conceptualized ideas as objects, words as the containers where we put ideas, and communication as the process of sending ideas (286-

292).

Charteris-Black (2004: 28) states, “metaphor is . . . central to critical discourse analysis since it is concerned with forming a coherent view of reality”. Where CDA has been concerned with ideological and mystificatory structures of discourse, metaphor is just such a structure. Hodge and Kress (1993: 15) contend that ideology involves “a systematically organised presentation of reality”. Metaphors are ideological, then, in so far as they “define in significant part what one takes as reality” (Chilton and Lakoff 1995:

56). According to Chilton (1996: 74), metaphors “can contribute to a situation where they privilege one understanding of reality over others is critically examined’ because metaphors also play an important role with regard to both the interpersonal and the ideational function of language described by Halliday (1985) as Chilton (2005a:21) observes “Halliday’s systemic functional grammar has supposedly provided the toolkit for deconstructing the socially-constructed (and thus linguistically constructed) machinery of power”. Chilton believes that properties of discourse to have received much attention include, for example, passive constructions and nominalisations (Fairclough

1989; Fowler 1991; Fowler et al. 1979; Kress 1985; Kress and Hodge 1979). It is on this basis that we incorporate metaphorical concepts in analysing data in this study to describe how ideological concepts are constructed in metaphorical terms in news reports on insurgency in Nigeria. Metaphor belongs to the field of cognitive linguistics and it was first introduced in 1980 in the book Metaphors We Live By, by George Lakoff and Mark

Johnson but got incorporated in CDA by van Dijk and Norman Fairclough. The aim was to explain the conceptual systems and language within the general study of the brain and the mind. Metaphor attempts to unify those disciplines to explain as many aspects of language as possible, including syntax, semantics, and discourse (Lakoff and Johnson

270). Metaphor theory has been expanded in a series of articles published by them and some of their collaborators such as Mark Turner and Zoltán Kovecses. The theory of

Metaphor is influenced by the work of Michael Reddy as defined in the article “The

Conduit Metaphor” published in 1979. Reddy observed that when talking about language, English speakers use in at least 70% of the cases what he called the conduit metaphor. According to this postulation, ideas are conceptualized as objects, words are

conceptualized as the containers where we put ideas, and communication is conceptualized as the process of sending those ideas (1979:286-292).

Commenting on the contributions of Reddy in an essay entitled “The Contemporary

Theory of Metaphor,” Lakoff states that: Reddy showed, for a single, very significant case, that the locus of metaphor is thought, not language, that metaphor is a major and indispensable part of our ordinary, conventional way of conceptualizing the world, and that our everyday behaviour reflects our metaphorical understanding of experience

(1980:204).Lakoff and Johnson argued that metaphors that people use every day such as

‘to win an argument’ are surface manifestations of underlying conceptual relationships.

They argue that metaphors constitute mechanisms of conceptualization for understanding and expressing complex concepts or situations. According to the theory, every metaphor is based on a single idea (called a conceptual metaphor) that links a body with a non-body experience. In the example ‘to win an argument’ Lakoff and Johnson posit that the corresponding conceptual metaphor is that “argument is war”. According to Lackoff &

Johnson, conceptual metaphor has two domains, using the example of winning an argument, they observe that: the source domain (e.g. war) and the target domain (e.g. argument). The target domain represents the non-bodily concept that is being communicated, and it corresponds to the domain that we are trying to understand when using the metaphor. The source domain, on the other hand, corresponds to the bodily domain that is being used in the metaphor to understand the target domain. That is to say, the source domain is the domain from which the metaphorical expression is drawn. For instance, in the following examples from our data for analysis in this study, the

conceptual metaphor is an instance of a metaphorical expression that represents the Niger

Delta militias as ‘common criminals’:

“Niger Delta militants declare cease fire in Bayelsa…” The Punch, Monday, May 2008;

Hoodlums take over flow station in Delta State…” The Guardian, Thursday, April 2 2008

We can therefore say that the source domains are the militants and hoodlums which are associated with animated objects while the target domains are Bayelsa and Delta which imply an experience that is familiar to the Nigerian Niger Delta region. The connections or correspondences between the source and the target domains are called mappings. We can say that the conceptual metaphors Niger Delta militants declare cease fire in Bayelsa and Hoodlums take over flow station in Delta State are the results of a mapping between the two domains. Conceptualizing an area and a group of people through metaphors is fairly common in media practice. George Lakoff, in his book Moral Politics describes in detail the worldview of conservatives and liberals in the United States in terms of two models that share the same conceptual metaphor. He observes that “metaphoric expressions are fundamentally different but argues that they represent metaphorically the same perceived objects” (315). In terms of metaphor, conventional and imaginative metaphors shape the way we understand the world (Lakoff and Johnson 139). As our conceptual system is largely metaphorical, what we do every day, what we experience, and the way we think are very much matters of metaphor (3). Lakoff and Johnson note that cultures have multiple metaphors for a single source domain. For example, in

Nigerian media reports, militant activities are war, but also civil unrest is war (‘the process of causing mayhem and destruction in the Country’), war involves the use of arms

and ammunitions as portrayed by the various militant groups in the Country. However,

Lakoff and Johnson argue that cultures also have some source domains attached to a single metaphorical expression. These expressions are idiosyncratic, and extending them would be considered fanciful or literary. For example, the expression ‘the foot of a mountain’ (which conceptual metaphor is ‘a mountain is a person’) is rarely extended to say ‘a shoulder of the mountain’. That would be something used by mountaineers and other experts in the field (Ritchie 35). By highlighting certain aspects and hiding others, conceptual metaphors create new meanings that serve to sanction actions, justify inferences, and assist in setting goals. New meanings are partly culturally determined and partly linked to past experience. In addition, they entail very specific aspects of the concept behind them (Lakoff and Johnson 142-43). For example, the conceptual metaphor the militia groups in Nigeria have made the country a theatre of the absurd highlights aspects such as:

The perpetrators of insurgent activities in Nigeria are actors, They work together, They must stick to their parts and follow the script, Their leaders are the directors of such activities, etc.

Conceptualizing in terms of metaphors matters as it may determine issues of war and peace, economic policy, legal decisions or simply everyday situations. To illustrate this point, Lakoff and Johnson say that a “military attack can have very different military consequences depending on the way it is conceptualized: Rhetorically, he inquires: is a military attack a ‘rape,’ ‘a threat to our security,’ or ‘the defence of a population against terrorism” (107). Metaphor theory claims that thinking in terms of metaphors is normal and ubiquitous. It can be both a conscious and an unconscious process. Given that

metaphors are fundamentally conceptual in nature, metaphorical language is secondary.

Conceptual metaphors are grounded in everyday, bodily experiences common to human beings. In addition, the theory establishes that abstract thoughts are largely, though not entirely, metaphorical. Abstract concepts have a literal core that is extended by metaphors, often by many mutually inconsistent metaphors. Abstract concepts are not complete without metaphors. For example, love is not love without metaphors of magic, attraction, madness, union, nurturance, and so on Patson (1987:272-273). The most important aspect of metaphor is inference and Lackoff and Johnson are of the opinion that

“Conceptual metaphor allows inferences in sensory-motor domains to be used to draw inferences about other domains” (244). For example, the conceptual metaphor militants have carried out coordinated attacks in the country allows the militia groups to make the following inferences: “All militia groups are brothers and sisters irrespective of their ideologies”.

In Metaphorical considerations these inferences are called entailments even in semantics.

They may include other metaphors. They arise from our beliefs and experiences about the concepts underlying metaphors (1981:139). Another concept of metaphor is metaphorical coherence. In his book Context and Connection in Metaphor, Ritchie opines that: Lakoff and Johnson suggest that primary metaphors such as the orientational metaphors form coherent groups of metaphors that influence the development of new metaphors. Because happy, more, healthy, and so on are already ‘up’, a new concept such as social status will tend to be expressed in similar terms, even when it lacks a physical correlate

(1980:35).The proponents of Metaphor theory, Lakoff and Johnson argue that there are

four fallacies concerning metaphorical thought that have persisted throughout history.

These fallacies, they say, have hindered the understanding of the nature of metaphorical thought since the times of Aristotle (244-45). The first fallacy is that metaphor is a matter of words, not concepts. Lakoff and Johnson conceive metaphors as fundamentally conceptual in nature. The second fallacy is that metaphors are based on similarity.

Instead, they say, metaphors are generally based on cross-domain correlations that come from our experiences. This gives the impression that the two domains are similar although they are not. The third fallacy is that all concepts are literal and that they cannot be metaphorical. In this respect, Lakoff and Johnson say that: “Even our deepest and most abiding concepts, time, events, causation, morality, and mind itself are understood and reasoned about via multiple metaphors.” They cite the examples of time and space and argue that “one conceptual domain (e.g. time) is reasoned about, as well as talked about, in terms of the conceptual structure of another domain” (e.g. space) (245). The last fallacy is that rational thought is in no way shaped by our brains and bodies. According to Lakoff and Johnson, the system of conceptual metaphors is not arbitrary or simply dependent on experiences. Instead, it is shaped to a large extent “by the common nature of our bodies and the shared ways that we all function in the everyday world” (1980:245).

Nwagbara (2004:365) opines that: metaphor is a fundamental way of learning and structuring conceptual systems, mechanisms for encoding knowledge; a process that can be used to group areas of experience, self-consciousness, convey sensory expressions and to describe learning…a metaphor is not merely a linguistic device designed for stylistic ornamentation or overlay; it conditions thoughts. This means that a metaphoric expression

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would have different connotations that interact and shape the understanding of reality and project entailments that enable human beings to organize experience express them and create necessary realities. Metaphors can be understood as ‘impertinent predictions’ in the sense that an expression is semantically incompatible with the context of meaning in which the expression is uttered. Metaphor establishes a similarity between two different semantic domains. A metaphor as Burke observes, could be taken to mean a device for seeing something in terms of something else.

This is the cognitive-linguistic approach to temporal metaphor which analyses the extensive temporal structure in what has been considered the source domain of space, and showing how temporal metaphors can be better understood by downplaying the space- time dichotomy and analysing metaphor structure in terms of conceptual frames.

Metaphor is most frequently employed as a literary device in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one article is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison. Journey serves as an effective metaphor because it can accurately portray many concepts from all walks of life without becoming vague. This feat is accomplished by utilizing the inherent characteristics of the word "journey" itself, as a journey can be representative of a process, physical travel, or any undertaking involving a goal.

Religious stories are metaphorical such that they cannot be taken literarily. This means that religious language should not be read as history, and it was never intended as literal description. Religion as Metaphor argues that despite what tradition tells us, if we

“believe” religious language, we miss religion’s spiritual meaning. This is to say that religious language was not designed to be historical reporting, but rather to resonate in

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the soul and direct us toward transcendent realities. Its impact was intended to be closer to poetry than theology. The book uses specific examples to make its case: Jesus, the

Virgin Birth, the Kingdom of God, the Apocalypse, Satan, and the Resurrection.

Insurgency is seen as warfare…a metaphoric reference to a chaotic situation. War metaphors describe the state of the insurgency, the characters involved, the events that occur in the war and the actions taken to either win or forestall the escalation of the war.

Some of the metaphors discussed here are derived from the field of war. Food metaphor concretizes the insurgents’ approach to ensuring that starvation forms part of the guerrilla warfare. This they did by communicating their clear message of violence targeted at food stuff. The insurgents use lexical items associated with food as part of their war strategy.

The insurgents are aware of the role food plays in humans’ lives and as such use the opportunities provided by the declaration of curfew by government to attack the agricultural segment of the economy as a way of winning the war. In this part of the analysis, we draw patterns of discourses from the fields of agriculture, economy, production, commerce to demonstrate how food metaphor plays a linguistic role in the media depiction of insurgency in Nigeria. Sport is calculative, competitive and clinical just like war. There is contest in sports which ultimately leads to loosing or winning.

Sports reporters tend to garnish their language with choice of words that clearly spell out who wins or loses, who does well or fails to do well in the course of the competition.

Sport is also administrative. The data analyzed in this segment of the work tend to predominantly have lexical items borrowed from the field of sports to portray insurgent activities in the media.

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3.5.1 Criticism of Metaphor

There are different criticisms made to the cognitive linguistic metaphor theory that seem relevant to this study. Otto Santa Ana in his book Brown Tide Rising (2002), mentions that cognitive linguistics in general, and metaphor theory in particular, have been criticized for the lack of agreement between many semanticists and cognitive scientists regarding the specifics of the cognitive structure (an individual’s thought organization).

He also states that many critics consider that Lakoff and Johnson have not elaborated a clear labelling procedure for conceptual metaphors and that they have excessively expanded the traditional definition of a metaphor (1980:44-45). In “Review of George

Lakoff and Mark Turner’s ‘More than Cool Reason: A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor,”

Jackendoff and Aaron question the LIFE AS FIRE mapping by saying that it does not necessarily characterize the set of metaphor that Lakoff suggests. Santa Ana defends

Lakoff’s position by stating: Could a more general mapping, for example LIFE AS

SOMETHING THAT GIVES OFF HEAT, or a more specific mapping, such as LIFE AS

FLAME, be a more adequate characterization? Santa Ana argues that Lakoff’s idea when mapping metaphorical expressions to a conceptual metaphor is to allow central cases (to which things apply if they are perceived similarly), as well as less central cases.

According to Santa Ana, the most appropriate mapping should encompass both more general and more specific metaphorical expressions, which is what Lakoff and Johnson attempt. In addition, he calls attention to the fact that the main purpose of metaphoric mapping is to serve as a mnemonic identification (45). There are also objections to the idea that a given metaphorical expression is necessarily interpreted according to a single underlying conceptual metaphor. In an article entitled “Metaphors in Language and

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Thought: Falsification and Multiple Meanings,” Vervaeke and Kennedy analyse a group of ‘orientational’ metaphors about money such as ‘to come into money’ ‘run out of money’, and ‘fall into debt’. They argue that these phrases are inflexible, indicating that it would be strange to extent them as ‘to come out of money’, ‘run in money’, and ‘rise out of debt’ (Ritchie 2004:40-41). In this respect, David Ritchie, in his book Context and

Connection in Metaphor, argues that people do say ‘to come fromold money’ or ‘rose out of poverty’. In addition, there are actual constraints on how we can extent literal usages.

He cites Keyzar and Glucksberg and says that ‘we would not say sugar ‘rose out of the bowl’. Ritchie concludes that ‘Vervaeke and Kennedy’s case against the idea of conceptual metaphor is largely unconvincing’, and points out the following: Vervaeke and Kennedy’s general criticism of the idea that families of metaphorical expressions are organized around underlying conceptual metaphors is not supported by their examples, and every other example I have examined can similarly be vitiated by a more careful analysis, (41). The concept of embodiment has also generated some criticism. For Lakoff and Johnson, embodiment implies that any physical experience of the body leaves a mark in the memory as it is processed by the nervous system. These marks are supposed to contribute to the build-up and understanding of elementary concepts, and to the recurrent refinement, modification, and interconnection of more complex and abstract concepts.

Highly complex concepts are built up of combinations of less complex ones in a pyramid of concepts in which the simplest concepts are always understood metaphorically. In this respect, Ritchie asserts that although Lakoff and Johnson provide strong evidence to support their claims, there is also evidence that concepts are often built-up and understood, to some extent, through linguistically mediated connections with other

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concepts. In addition, he mentions that the idea of a pyramid of concepts suggests that metaphors are always understood in a standard way, which does not seem to be the case.

For example, sport metaphors and conflict metaphors are often used interchangeably, and are easily understood by people with no direct experience in those domains. Despite his observations, Ritchie concludes that the evidence for the fundamental idea that abstract and complex concepts are understood in terms of basic bodily experienced concepts seems much stronger than any criticism that he has encountered in his research. In addition, he mentions that although Lakoff and Johnson may have exaggerated the role of embodied conceptual metaphors and downplayed the role of communication (including language) in the development of conceptual metaphors, this may have been a reaction to the dominance of strictly language-based accounts prior to the publication of Metaphors

We Live By. In any case, subsequent research supports the idea that both processes play important roles (Ritchie 51-55). Finally, in the afterword of the 2003 edition mentioned earlier, Lakoff and Johnson discuss some corrections and clarifications made to their work published in 1980. First of all, they acknowledge that the classification of metaphors into three types (orientational, ontological, and structural) was artificial. They say that: All metaphors are structural (in that they map structures to structures); all are ontological (in that they create target domain entities); and many are orientational (in that they map orientational image-schemas), (1980:264). In addition, they acknowledge the importance of primary metaphor and admit that some of their previous analyses were incomplete. For example, in the case of the conceptual metaphor ‘ARGUMENT IS WAR’, they admit that most people learn about struggle before they actually learn about war.

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Therefore, the metaphor seems to originate in childhood with the primary metaphor

ARGUMENT IS STRUGGLE. Lakoff and Johnson say:

All children struggle against the physical manipulations of their parents; and as language is learned, the physical struggle comes to be accompanied by words. The conflation of physical struggle with associated words in the development of all children is the basis for the primary metaphor ‘ARGUMENT IS STRUGGLE’. As we grow old, we learn about more extended and violent struggles like battles and wars, and the metaphor is extended via that knowledge. (1980:265).

The last important clarification concerns the distinction between metaphor and metonymy. Lakoff and Johnson explain that while in a metaphor there is a neural co- activation of two domains, in metonymy there is a neural co-activation of two frame elements. In addition, in a metaphor the metaphoric mapping is multiple (two or more elements are mapped to two or more other elements), while in a metonymy there is only one mapping (generally, the metonymic source maps to the metonymic referent so that one item in the domain can stand for the other). A complex frame may consist of simple frames coming from two different conceptual domains. By analysing the sentence ‘San

Francisco is a half hour from Berkeley’, Lakoff and Johnson illustrate their point as follows: Here the time (a half hour) stands metonymically for the distance. Notice that the time is from the Time domain and the distance is from the Space domain. This is a mapping of an element from one domain to an element of another. It is a metonymy, not a metaphor, because the two domains are part of a single, literal frame and because there is a single mapping, not a multiple mapping. (1980:266). Lakoff and Johnson compare the above sentence with the sentence ‘Chanukah is close to Christmas’. They say: In the metaphor, Time is the target domain and Space is the source domain. In the sentence

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given, the relationship between the times of the two holidays is given metaphorically in terms of space (close to). Here time is the subject matter of the sentence and Space is not; it is only the conceptual source. In the metonymy case, the relationship between time and space (the time for the trip) is the subject matter of the sentence. (1980:266). Lakoff and

Johnson conclude that when trying to differentiate between metaphor and metonymy, one must determine how the expression is used.If the two domains form a single, complex subject matter used with a single mapping, then it is a metonymy. However, if domains can be used separately with a number of mappings, and where one of the domains forms the target domain while the source domain forms the foundation of inference (and other linguistic expressions), then it is a metaphor. As a result of the pictorial representation of the crises, the theory of metaphor as used to examine the data and reveal the hidden messages of insurgency therein. This we achieved through the use of semiotic concepts such as: Icon, Index and Symbol.

3.6 The Theory of Semiotics

The application of socio-semiotic theory derives from Teun van Dijk (1991) and Charles

Sander Peirce (1931 edited). For Van Dijk, (2001: 98). discourse is a communicative event, ‘including conversational interaction, written text, as well as associated gestures, face work, typographical layout, images and any other “semiotic” or multimedia dimension of signification’. To van Dijk (2001: 97-98), ‘cognition involves both personal as well as social cognition, beliefs and goals as well as evaluations and emotions, and any other “mental” or “memory” structures, representations or processes involved in discourse and interaction’. ‘Society’ includes local, microstructures of situated face-to-face

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interactions, and also the more global, societal and political structures variously defined in terms of groups, group-relations (such as dominance and inequality), movements, institutions, organizations, social processes, political systems and more abstract properties of societies and cultures, etc. (van Dijk 2001: 97-98). Semiotics from the point of view of

Charles Sander Peirce (1931:98) is the way a ''mental product" is able to "reflect" or

"mirror" the world. Peirce's analysis of signs and semiosis is a starting point for later works on semiotics. The focal point of Peirce's work and of the texts is the fundamental trichotomy of the ways a sign can be related, via an "interpretant," to its object and what this threefold relationship tells us about the ultimate conditions of semiosis; the process of production and interpretation of signs. Peirce sees semiosis as "unlimited" or "infinite" in principle a "sign, or representamen, is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity," (1931:98). Charles Morris while conforming

Pieirce, points out the internal complexity of the process of semiosis, each "factor" sign, interpretant, object, interpreter, ground being open to individual examination and variation (Morris 1982:62). Peirce divides the "standing for" relation (which is not, however, the only basis, as the text shows, for the classification of signs) which always involves a mind or "quasi-mind" and hence an "intentional set" and processes of

"abstraction” into three classes, and hence he differentiates three fundamental "semantic" relationships between a sign and its object.

3.6.1 The Triadic Models of Semiotics 3.6.1.1 Icon/iconic: a mode in which the signifier is perceived as resembling or imitating the signified (recognizably looking, sounding, feeling, tasting or smelling like it) – being similar in possessing some of its qualities: e.g. a portrait, a cartoon, a scale-

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model, onomatopoeia, metaphors, realistic sounds in ‘programme music’, sound effects in radio drama, a dubbed film soundtrack, imitative gestures.

3.6.1.2 Index/indexical: a mode in which the signifier is not arbitrary but is directly connected in some way (physically or causally) to the signified (regardless of intention) – this link can be observed or inferred: e.g. ‘natural signs’ (smoke, thunder, footprints, echoes, non-synthetic odours and flavours), medical symptoms (pain, a rash, pulse-rate), measuring instruments (weathercock, thermometer, clock, spirit-level), ‘signals’ (a knock on a door, a phone ringing), pointers (a pointing ‘index’ finger, a directional signpost), recordings (a photograph, a film, video or television shot, an audio-recorded voice), personal ‘trademarks’ (handwriting, catchphrases).

3.6.1.3 Symbol/symbolic: a mode in which the signifier does not resemble the signified but which is fundamentally arbitrary or purely conventional – so that this relationship must be agreed upon and learnt.

These three modes arose within (and because of) Peirce’s triadic model of the sign and from a Peircean perspective it is reductive to transform a triadic relation into a dyadic one

(Bruss 1978). The widespread use of these Peircean distinctions in texts which are otherwise primarily within that tradition may suggest either the potential for (indirect) referentiality in dyadic models or merely slippage between ‘sense’ and ‘reference’ in defining the ‘meaning’ of the sign. Iconicity is based on (at least perceived)

‘resemblance’ and indexicality is based on (at least perceived) ‘direct connection’.

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Symbolic signs such as language are (at least) highly conventional; Iconic signs always involve some degree of conventionality; Indexical signs ‘direct the attention to their objects by blind compulsion’ (Peirce 1931–58, 2.306). Indexical and Iconic signs can be seen as more constrained by referential signifiedwhereas in the more conventional symbolic signs the signified can be seen as being defined to a greater extent by the signifier. Within each form signs also vary in their degree of conventionality. For instance, Hodge and Kress suggest that indexicality is based on an act of judgment or inference whereas iconicity is closer to ‘direct perception’, making the highest ‘modality’ that of iconic signs (Hodge and Kress 1988, 26–7).

Peirce divides the "standing for" relation (which is not, however, the only basis, as the text shows, for the classification of signs) which always involves a mind or "quasi-mind" and hence an "intentional set" and processes of "abstraction” into three classes, and hence he differentiates three fundamental "semantic" relationships between a sign and its object.

Peirce labels these semantic relationships as: Indexes: which embodies and actuates gestures, demonstratives, personal pronouns, field markers, and so forth, signified by existential or physical connection with their objects? Icons, under which Peirce includes not just "realistic" images but also such expressions as algebraic equations, graphs, diagrams, maps, and even metaphors, are based on "resemblance'' between sign and object as well as on a putative sharing of "properties." Symbols: here Pierce observes that symbols signify without motivation, through conventions and rules, no immediate or direct bond between symbols and objects; a position exploited by Saussure and his followers under the rubric of the "arbitrary character of the sign,” Peirce's text explores

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the nature of this trichotomy and other trichotomies, and broaches the network of problems of how our "speculative instruments" enable us to grasp the world through formally different ways. For Peirce, semiosis is the key anthropological fact. As he puts it:

There is no element whatever of man's consciousness that has not something corresponding to it in the word; and the reason is obvious. It is that the word or sign that man uses is the man himself. For, as the fact that every thought is a sign, taken in conjunction with the fact that life is a train of thought, proves that man is a sign; so, that every thought is an external sign, proves that man is an external sign. That is to say, the man and the external sign are identical, in the same sense in which the words homo and man are identical. Thus my language is the sum total of myself; for the man is the thought (1931:329).

There is no element whatever of man's consciousness that does not have something corresponding to it in the word; and the reason is obvious: that the word or sign that man uses is the man himself (1956:68). For, as the fact that every thought is a sign, taken in conjunction with the fact that life is a train of thought, proves that man is a sign; so, that every thought is an external sign, proving that man is an external sign. That is to say, the man and the external sign are identical, in the same sense in which the words homo and man are identical. Thus language is the sum total of man; for the man is the thought.

Nwagbara (2004:196) maintains that: Semiotics is:” the systematic study of signs, which deals primarily with the nature form and structure of all possible sign systems and their role in conceptualizing, establishing and crystallizing meaning. …semiotics examines the conditions that necessitate meaning thus seeking to understand how meaning is constructed and structured in language”. This implies that language as a semiotic system is a fusion of signs that need to be studied as a complete framework. Eco (36) sees

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semiotics as “being concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign”. Barthes (196) opines that “semiology aims to take in any system of signs, whatever their substance and limits; images, gestures, musical sounds, objects, and the complex associations of all of these, which form the content of ritual, convention or public entertainment: these constitute, if not languages, at least systems of signification”. Saussure (1921:69) captures the term more appropriately thus: “semiology is a science which studies the role of signs as part of social life. And for Peirce: “semiotics” was the “formal doctrine of signs” which was closely related to Logic, “a sign... is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity.” He states that “every thought is a sign”. Semiotics helps us not to take “reality” for granted as something having a purely objective existence which is independent of human interpretation. Semiotic knowledge teaches us that reality is a system of signs. Studying semiotics can assist us to become more aware of reality as a construction and of the roles played by ourselves and others in constructing it. From our knowledge of semiotic study we are made to understand that we live in a world of signs and that we have no way of understanding anything except through signs and the codes into which they are organized. Through the study of semiotics we become aware that these signs and codes are normally transparent and disguise our task in “reading” them. A functional-semiotic discourse analysis takes into account the fast-growing wave of interdisciplinary approaches to the study of problems and issues in the social sciences. Intellectuals encourage interdisciplinary research because no single theory, in most cases, can adequately cater for all research needs, (see also Daramola 2005). By making more explicit the codes by which signs are interpreted we may perform the valuable semiotic function of “denaturalizing” signs. In defining

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realities signs serve ideological functions. Deconstructing and contesting the realities of signs can reveal whose realities are privileged and whose are suppressed. The study of signs is the study of the construction and maintenance of reality. To decline such a study is to leave to others the control of the world of meanings.

3.6.2 Criticisms of Semiotics

Other than as 'the study of signs' there is relatively little agreement amongst semioticians themselves as to the scope and methodology of semiotics. Although Saussure had looked forward to the day when semiotics would become part of the social sciences, semiotics is still a relatively loosely defined critical practice rather than a unified, fully-fledged analytical method or theory. At worst, what passes for 'semiotic analysis' is little more than a pretentious form of literary criticism applied beyond the bounds of literature and based merely on subjective interpretation and grand assertions. This kind of abuse has earned semiotics an unenviable reputation in some quarters as the last refuge for academic charlatans. Criticisms of structuralist semiotics have led some theorists to abandon semiotics altogether, whilst others have sought to merge it with new perspectives. It is difficult to offer a critique of a shifting target which changes its form as fluidly as it moves. Semiotics is often criticized as 'imperialistic', since some semioticians appear to regard it as concerned with, and applicable to, anything and everything, trespassing on almost every academic discipline. John Sturrock comments that the

'dramatic extension of the semiotic field, to include the whole of culture, is looked on by those suspicious of it as a kind of intellectual terrorism, overfilling our lives with meanings' (Sturrock 1986, 89).

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Semiotic analysis is just one of many techniques which may be used to explore sign practices. Signs in various media are not alike - different types may need to be studied in different ways. As with any other process of mediation, semiotics suits some purposes better than others. Semiotics does not, for instance, lend itself to quantification, a function to which content analysis is far better adapted (which is not to suggest that the two techniques are incompatible, as many semioticians seem to assume). The empirical testing of semiotic claims requires other methods. Semiotic approaches make certain kinds of questions easier to ask than others: they do not in themselves shed light on how people in particular social contexts actually interpret texts, which may require ethnographic and phenomenological approaches (see McQuarrie & Mick 1992).

Semioticians do not always make explicit the limitations of their techniques, and semiotics is sometimes uncritically presented as a general-purpose tool. Saussurean semiotics is based on a linguistic model but not everyone agrees that it is productive to treat photography and film, for instance, as 'languages'. Paul Messaris disputes that we need to learn to 'read' the formal codes of photographic and audio-visual media, arguing that the resemblance of their images to observable reality is not merely a matter of cultural convention: 'to a substantial degree the formal conventions encountered in still or motion pictures should make a good deal of sense even to a first-time viewer' (Messaris

1994, 7). John Corner has criticised the way in which some semioticians have treated almost anything as a code, whilst leaving the details of such codes inexplicit (particularly in the case of ideological codes) (Corner 1980).

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Sometimes semioticians present their analyses as if they were purely objective 'scientific' accounts rather than subjective interpretations. Yet few semioticians seem to feel much need to provide empirical evidence for particular interpretations, and much semiotic analysis is loosely impressionistic and highly unsystematic (or alternatively, generates elaborate taxonomies with little evident practical application). Some semioticians seem to choose examples which illustrate the points they wish to make rather than applying semiotic analysis to an extensive random sample (Leiss et al. 1990, 214). William Leiss and his colleagues argue that a major disadvantage of semiotics is that 'it is heavily dependent upon the skill of the individual analyst'. Less skilful practitioners 'can do little more than state the obvious in a complex and often pretentious manner' (Leiss et al. 1990,

214). Certainly, in some cases, semiotic analysis seems little more than an excuse for interpreters to display the appearance of mastery through the use of jargon which excludes most people from participation. In practice, semiotic analysis invariably consists of individual readings. We are seldom presented with the commentaries of several analysts on the same text, to say nothing of evidence of any kind of consensus amongst different semioticians. Few semioticians make their analytical strategy sufficiently explicit for others to apply it either to the examples used or to others. Structuralist semioticians tend to make no allowance for alternative readings, assuming either that their own interpretations reflect a general consensus or that 'their text interpretations are immanent in the sign structure and need no cross-validation' (McQuarrie & Mick 1992,

194).

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Semioticians who reject the investigation of other people's interpretations privilege what has been called the 'élite interpreter' - though socially-oriented semioticians would insist that the exploration of people's interpretive practices is fundamental to semiotics. Some semiotic analysis has been criticised as nothing more than an abstract and 'arid formalism' which is preoccupied with classification. Susan Hayward declares that structuralist semiotics can lead to 'a crushing of the aesthetic response through the weight of the theoretical framework' (Hayward 1996, 352). Semiotic analysis often shows a tendency to downplay the affective domain - though the study of connotations ought to include the sensitive exploration of highly variable and subjective emotional nuances. In structuralist semiotics the focus is on langue rather than parole (Saussure's terms), on formal systems rather than on processes of use and production. Structuralist studies have tended to be purely textual analyses, and it has been suggested that even when semioticians move beyond textual analysis, 'they subordinate other moments to textual analysis' (Johnson

1996, 98). Semiotics can appear to suggest that meaning is purely explicable in terms of determining textual structures. Such a stance is subject to the same criticisms as linguistic determinism. In giving priority to the determining power of the system it can be seen as fundamentally conservative. Purely structuralist semiotics does not address processes of production, audience interpretation or even authorial intentions. It ignores particular practices, institutional frameworks and the cultural, social, economic and political context. Even Roland Barthes, who argues that texts are codified to encourage a reading which favours the interests of the dominant class, confines his attention to the internal textual organization and does not engage with the social context of interpretation

(Gardiner 1992, 149-50). It cannot be assumed that preferred readings will go

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unchallenged (Hall 1980). The sociologist Don Slater has criticised the functionalism of structuralist semiotics, arguing that material practices such as the 'reading of texts' must be related to the social relations which give rise to the 'politics of cultural practice'.

Functionalism, he comments, 'admits of thoroughly internal solutions to problems of determination' (Slater 1983, 259). David Buxton also argues that structuralist approaches

'deny... social determination' and he insists that 'the text must be related to something other than its own structure: in other words, we must explain how it comes to be structured' (Buxton 1990, 13). We must consider not only how signs signify (structurally) but also why (socially); structures are not causes. The relationships between signifiers and their signified may be ontologically arbitrary but they are not socially arbitrary. We should beware of allowing the notion of the sign as arbitrary to foster the myth of the neutrality of the medium. Dominic Strinati notes:

How can we know that a bunch of roses signifies passion unless we also know the intention of the sender and the reaction of the receiver, and the kind of relationship they are involved in? If they are lovers and accept the conventions of giving and receiving flowers as an aspect of romantic, sexual love, then we might accept...[this] interpretation. But if we do this, we do so,on the basis not of the sign but of the social relationships in which we can locate the sign... The roses may also be sent as a joke, an insult, a sign of gratitude, and so on. They may indicate passion on the part of the sender but repulsion on the part of the receiver; they may signify family relations between grandparents and grandchildren rather than relations between lovers, and so on. They might even connote sexual harassment, (Strinati 1995, 125).

Feminist theorists have suggested that despite its usefulness to feminists in some respects, structuralist semiotics 'has often obscured the significance of power relations in the constitution of difference, such as patriarchal forms of domination and subordination'

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(Franklin et al. 1996, 263). Synchronic analysis studies a phenomenon as if it were frozen at one moment in time; diachronic analysis focuses on change over time. Insofar as semiotics tends to focus on synchronic rather than diachronic analysis (as it does in

Saussurean semiotics), it underplays the dynamic nature of media conventions (for instance, television conventions change fairly rapidly compared to conventions for written English). It can also underplay dynamic changes in the cultural myths which signification both alludes to and helps to shape. Purely structuralist semiotics ignores process and historicity - unlike historical theories like Marxism. As Hodge and Tripp note, there can hardly be 'an exhaustive semiotic analysis... because a "complete" analysis... would still be located in particular social and historical circumstances' (Hodge

& Tripp 1986:27). This is reinforced by the poststructuralist stance that we cannot step outside our signifying systems. Semioticians seek to distance themselves from dominant codes by strategies aimed at denaturalization. The notion of 'making the familiar strange and the strange familiar' is now a recurrent feature of artistic and photographic manifestos and of creative 'brainstorming' sessions in many fields. The phrase itself has been attributed to the German poet Novalis (1772-1801, aka Friedrich von Hardenberg), who declared that the essence of romanticism was 'to make the familiar strange, and the strange familiar'. The concept is found amongst other Romantic theorists such as

Wordsworth and Coleridge. The notion is also closely associated with Surrealism and with Brechtian 'alienation'.

However, its adoption by semioticians probably owes most to Russian Formalist criticism

(Lemon & Reis 1965). Victor Shklovsky argued in 1916 that the key function of art was

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estrangement, defamiliarization or 'making strange' (ostranenie) - i.e. renewing our perception of everyday things and events which are so familiar that our perception of them has become routinized (Hawkes 1977, 62-67). Russian Formalism was a key influence on the development of semiotics in Eastern Europe, and the legacy of 'making the familiar strange' is an important one for semiotics. However, as Simon Watney notes, the strategy of defamiliarization is itself, of course, ideological and has been associated with the notion that the tactic of surprise may serve to banish 'distortions' so that we may

'objectively' perceive 'reality' (Watney 1982:173-4). Clearly the strategy of 'making the familiar strange' needs to be coupled with awareness that whilst we may be able to bypass one set of conventions we may never escape the framing of experience by convention.

John Sturrock notes that some commentators, such as Mikhail Bakhtin - a literary theorist

- have used semiotics for the 'revelatory' political purpose of 'demystifying' society, and that such approaches can lead to 'loaded' 'readings' of society simply as an ideological conspiracy by one social class against the rest (Sturrock 1986:91). Sturrock favoured 'a more or less neutral' approach, but few theorists would be likely to accept the possibility of such neutrality. Marxist theorists in particular emphasize 'the politics of signification' - signification cannot be neutral ('value-free'). John Tagg comments that he is 'not concerned with exposing the manipulation of a pristine "truth", or with unmasking some conspiracy, but rather with the analysis of the specific "political economy" within which the "mode of production" of "truth" is operative' (Tagg 1988: 174-5). Structuralist theorists tend to assume that we can use semiotic analysis to look beyond signs to an

'underlying' pre-given reality, but post-structuralist theorists have argued that this is impossible - we cannot stand outside our sign systems. Guy Cook argues that there is a

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tendency for some semioticians to represent communication as a simple process of

'decoding':

The popular phrase Decoding Advertisements was first used by Judith Williamson as the title of a book published in 1978, and it has been echoed widely in courses and publications ever since (Umiker-Sebeok 1987: 249-335). The essence of Williamson's approach is to unveil through analysis what she calls the 'real' meaning of the words and images of an ad, and the 'real world' to which the 'unreal' images of the ad refers (Williamson 1978: 47). In this there is a clear assumption that 'reality' is not only quite distinct from 'fiction' but also morally superior... Though the decoding approach on occasion yields interesting results (in practice often rather obvious ones), a drawback of the approach is its hasty satisfaction that such equivalences constitute a complete analysis. This leads it to jettison all consideration of what is particular to the surface of discourse, or of a particular signifier, and thus miss much of complexity, skill and humour. (Cook 1992: 63-4)

Cook adds that 'a weakness of the semiotic approach is its exclusive devotion to similarities, and then an air of finality once these similarities are observed, which blinds it to what is unique' (ibid., 70). Rosalind Coward and John Ellis also comment that

'structural analysis proved to be inadequate to account for the differences between texts'

(Coward & Ellis 1977:5). The focus on 'underlying structures' which characterizes the structural formalism of theorists such as Propp, Greimas and Lévi-Strauss neglects

'surface forms' which may be important in themselves (Cook 1992:71). This is particularly vexatious for literary critics, since it appears to ignore issues of stylistic difference. Varda Langholz Leymore argued that:

Semiological studies derive a great inspiration from linguistics, yet in most cases they fall short of complying with probably its most revolutionary aspect, the infinite creativity of the base rules. In most semiological studies the identification of structure is tantamount to creating formal

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schemata into which all individual members of the system may, following some rules, be reduced. However, the converse is not true. The systems are incapable of generating one single example which belongs to their universe of discourse, in the sense that Chomsky is able to generate sentences. In other words, the rules enabling one to 'transform back' from the deep structure to the surface structure, are not specified. In this sense most semiological studies are not generative but static. (Langholz Leymore 1975:15)

Some contemporary theorists have rejected a purely structuralist semiotics. But such a rejection need not involve a wholesale rejection of semiotics. Influential as it has been, structuralist analysis is but one approach to semiotics. Many of the criticisms of semiotics are directed at a form of semiotics to which few contemporary semioticians adhere.

Whilst some semioticians have retained a structuralist concern with formal systems

(mainly focusing on detailed studies of narrative, film and television editing and so on), many have become more concerned with 'social semiotics' (Hodge & Kress 1988). A key concern of social semioticians is with what Stephen Heath calls the 'specific signifying practices' (see Lapsley & Westlake 1988:55). Such 'reformed' semioticians practise

'poststructuralist' semiotics, focusing on what one has called 'situated social semiosis'

(Jensen 1995:57). This at least is the rhetoric of social semioticians, but the extent to which social semiotics has so far met the concerns of sociologists is debatable. However, it is early days: 'social semiotics' is still under construction. Contemporary theorists who have associated themselves with this development include Gunther Kress, Robert Hodge,

Theo van Leeuwen, Klaus Bruhn Jensen, Paul J Thibault and Jay Lemke (Hodge & Kress

1988; Jensen 1995; Lemke 1995; Kress & van Leeuwen 1996; Thibault 1997).

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Victor Burgin notes that, of several discourses, 'Marxism and psychoanalysis [the latter particularly derived from the work of Jacques Lacan have most informed

[poststructuralist] semiotics in its moves to grasp the determinations of history and the subject in the production of meaning' (Burgin 1982b:144-5). Strinati argues that semiotics has been used 'to render the Marxist theory of ideology less deterministic and instrumental. However, this still tends to underestimate the ways in which what is produced is itself subject to conflicts and negotiations, and how the meanings produced may not be uniform, consistent, unambiguous or reducible to a coherent dominant ideology' (Strinati 1995:127; see also Tagg 1988:23ff:153-83). Another inflection of semiotics is Faucauldian - emphasising 'the power effects of discursive practices' (Tagg

1988:22). It is only fair to note that much of the criticism of semiotics has taken the form of self-criticism by those within the field. The theoretical literature of semiotics reflects a constant attempt by many semioticians to grapple with the implications of new theories for their framing of the semiotic enterprise. Furthermore, contemporary apologists have noted that there is nothing new about the emphasis on the social dimension of semiotics.

The roots of social semiotics can be traced to the early theorists. Neither Saussure nor

Peirce studied the social use of signs. However, Saussure did envisage semiotics as 'a science which studies the role of signs as part of social life'. As for Peirce, the notion of semiosis as a dialogic process is central to his thinking. Signs do not exist without interpreters, and semiotic codes are of course social conventions. However, it has to be acknowledged that an emphasis on the social dimension of semiotics in the form of the study of specific meaning-making practices is relatively recent outside of specialized academic journals and it is not yet much in evidence at the heart of the activities of many

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semiotic researchers. Semiotics is not, never has been, and seems unlikely ever to be, an academic discipline in its own right. It is now widely regarded primarily as one mode of analysis amongst others rather than as a 'science' of cultural forms.

3.7 METHODOLOGY

3.7.1 Introduction

Here the study focussed on the data collection procedures and techniques involved by explaining what methods were adopted and how they were applied. The study explored an aspect of language use; which is media discourse by focusing on the use of language in reporting insurgency in Nigeria. It used the theoretical framework of Critical Discourse

Analysis which according to Bloor and Bloor (1992:69), began as a `non-critical’ discipline aiming to describe and analyse discourse, and develop theories of communication (2007: 12). However, a critical approach seeks to go beyond understanding and explanation to developing critiques which can contribute positively to social change. Accordingly, Critical Discourse Analysis concerns itself with a critical social analysis by explicating the `objectivity’ claimed by positivist views of science.

Critical Discourse Analysis has this in common with many other kinds of qualitative research, which `…is fundamentally interpretive, meaning that the research outcome is ultimately the product of the researcher’s interpretation of the data’ (Dornyei: 2004:38).

3.7.2 The Discourse Approach

The purely linguistic approach to textual analysis adopted in this study is based on

Critical Discourse Analysis. It enabled the researcher to tell what patterned stereotypes individuals are depicted or the various linguistic labels that can be found in a given text

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(Chiluwa 2011:98). Linguistic approach is best used on target populations which in this case are the militia groups in Nigeria as they are portrayed in the news reports sampled for analysis. Tore Kristiansen observed that “the best way of detecting ‘real’ attitudes is to register behavioural reactions to language in real-life situations” (1992:292). Critical

Discourse Analysis attempts to elicit behavioural reactions from participants and these reactions are then used as determiners for language attitudes and stereotypes. There are, however, several concerns with using surveys to determine language attitudes. Many critics doubt that a survey, no matter how significant, can never truly grasp the true bias of an individual (see Kristiansen 1991:291). Gere and Smith argue in their book

Attitudes, Language, and Change that “[o]ur professed attitudes may appear enlightened, but they often differ from the subconscious attitudes which inevitably govern our judgments and behaviour”. Thus, with a survey that purposefully elicits one of these professed language attitudes, how is a linguist able to quantifiably determine that subconscious part of a person’s language attitude and linguistic stereotype? A second common method for determining a person’s linguistic label draws its conclusions from social and historical factors. This approach uses a broad sociological analysis to draw conclusions of gender studies, ethnicities, and nationalities. Linguistic approach tends to explain the relationships and descriptions of every language in a society by considering the different codes used as a medium of communication in the society.

3.7.3 Population

Asika (1991:39) opined that a population “is made up of all conceivable elements, subjects or observations relating to a particular phenomenon of interest to the researcher.”

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This means the characteristics which members of the group share in common and which identify each unit as being a member of a particular group. A population therefore could mean the total number of people in the same community or within a study area. It is also all members of a well-defined group; including the specific population in the study. The population chosen for a particular study should be accessible (Olajide, 2007: 92) i.e. it should be within the reach of the researcher. This assessable population should also reflect the entire population. The populations under investigation in this study are the

Niger Delta militias and the Boko Haram sect. While the Niger Delta militia groups had bombed oil installations in the past and continue to threaten the government on the need for development in the area, the Boko Haram has persistently bomb, maim, kill and destroy individual and government properties at will. Members of this population are almost faceless but their activities are reported daily in the media in form of news reports as well as press releases. It is those news items that are analysed in this study to demonstrate how the actors are truly depicted in the media.

3.7.4 Samples and Sampling Technique

A sample according to (Asika: 1991: 39) is precisely a part of the population. Sampling therefore refers to the procedure for drawing samples from a population. There are numerous ways of sampling data for analysis. Asika (sic) posits that there are basically two types of sampling: probability and non-probability methods. In this study, our choice of sampling is purposive which enables us pick the data based on our judgment on their relevance to the study. This is based on our conviction that the data so chosen will meet the need of the study as Oetzel & Toomey (2004:47) observe: to study conflict we must

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assume that it is possible to sample not only people, but situations that vary in conflict

(magnitude or type) as well and that the sample of conflict is reasonable in terms of its range on a variety of variables.

3.7.4.1 Sampling Technique

In this study, we adopted an eclectic method of sampling (by using both purposive and qualitative). Print media reports were generated through the process of purposive sampling technique. Basically, research is almost invariably conducted by means of a sample on the basis of which generalisations applicable to the population from which the sample was obtained are reached. This is because when the population is too large to be easily accessible or to reduce the cost of covering a large population, the need for sampling becomes pertinent. In our sampling methodology we make use of the universe sampling technique and narrow down to purposive sampling.

3.7.4.2 The Universe Sampling Frame

The universe sampling frame refers to the sum total of all sampling units, or as Bailey

(1982:85) observes ‘is the sum total of all the units of analyses. Seltiz and Jehoda

(1965:509) see the process as ‘the aggregate of all cases that conform to some designated set of specifications. Based on the above postulations, the population in this study are the insurgent groups in Nigeria with emphasis on the Boko Haram sect and the Niger Delta militias within the period 2007 to 2014. Our universe population sampling in this study is defined in terms of:

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I. Content: The militia groups (Boko Haram and the Niger Delta militants); II. Extent: The extent here refers to Nigeria as a country; and III. Time: The time frame is 2007 to 2014.

From the above illustration, we can say that our population is the militia groups in

Nigeria during the period 2007 to 2014.The total population is reflected in this study through data gathering procedure.

3.7.4.3 Sources of Data

This study made use of the purposive method of data collection. Data gathering was based on the knowledge of the population while the purpose of the study and the sampling model adopted here ensured that the population fit the specific purpose.

Through this method data were elicited from three newspapers published in Nigeria with topical issues on insurgency. These newspapers are: The Vanguard Newspaper based in

Lagos but owned by a South-South person, Daily Trust Newspaper based in Kaduna State and owned by a Northerner and This Day Newspaper based in Abuja but owned by a south-south person of Igbo origin: this media outfit is primarily the control factor because it was bombed by the Boko Haram for alleged anti-reporting.The data were gathered from, the research section of the University of Lagos library (Gandhi Library), the websites of the media houses under study well as articles from the library. Data gathering covered the period 2007 to 2014. In all, 389 extracts were elicited and read. Out of these and through purposive sampling methodology, 108 were selected for the analysis. The choice of these newspapers is also purposive as Borg and Gall (1979:20) refer to this process as “Judgement or Purposive” sampling technique which ensures that

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a broad opinion of all the respondents, actively involved in the aspect of study, are obtained and analysed.

Data were drawn from:

I. Print reports published on the militias’ activities II. Press releases by the militia groups as published in the three newspapers III. Interviews granted by the militia groups as published in the three newspapers. The study adopted the qualitative sociolinguistic model which involves judgement on the use of language and description of the language of the militias’ activities as reported in the media. This approach involves a micro view of the world by taking the notion of discourse in its sense as a socio and ideological practice. The approach takes a critical view to interpreting texts by drawing upon a solid sociolinguistic basis (van Dijk, 2001a).

It examines the textual features such as lexical choices, ideological projections, power relations as well as the internal coherence and cohesion of discourse. It places the micro linguistic analytical model within a critical perspective and within the contextual frame of discourse. This means that we considered the dialectical relationship between the reading of a particular text and the context or social structure that frames the text (Fairclough and

Wodak, 1971). This study is interested in institutional discourse and specifically the language of the media; following in the tradition of van Dijk’s treatment of racism and political discourse which consists of the useful insights and illustration of key elements in the texts published on insurgency in Nigeria.

3.7.4.4 Method of Data Analysis

This study is basically qualitative, engaging in in-depth descriptive and interpretive approaches and perspectives of data analysis. It is concerned with multiple meanings in

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news reportage on insurgent activities in Nigerian print media. It acknowledges that news reports are researcher–subject interactions and therefore are experiential, empirical and situational. The study examines the linguistic interaction in insurgency texts by adopting a macro-analytical view of media reports on insurgent activities in Nigeria taking into cognizance the notion of discourse, in its widest sense, as social and ideological practice.

Specifically the study probes how language works in order to uncover overt or covert inequalities in social relationships by looking closely at how features of grammar work ideologically within individual texts to undermine oppressed groups. The socio-semiotic aspect of the study explicates the ways of analyzing multimodal texts and practices of reading and interpreting by seeking frames of reference and value commitments.Some researchers have used quasi-experimental designs to examine the potential effects of violence as reported in the media. Berkowitz and Macauley (1971) examined the potential role of several highly publicized homicides on violent crime. These researchers compared the changes in violent crime rates (i.e. homicides, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults).

Berkowitz and Macauley aver: that highly publicized crimes lead to a short-term decrease and then a longer-term increase in violent crime. This method permits a researcher to show that the increases and decreases in violent crime following highly publicized crimes could not be explained as an artefact of the naturally occurring fluctuations in violent crime. Dealing entirely with archival data, Phillips sought to show a causal connection between violence-related events reported in the news, and increments in aggressive acts among the public in the immediate aftermath. This study was designed to show that incidence of suicides increases immediately after a suicide has been reported in the newspapers. Subsequent studies have addressed a presumed causal link between incidence

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of deaths due to car accidents and both reported suicides (Phillips, 1979). Another analysis indicated that the increase occurred only if it was covered on the news, and if the expected number of homicides was relatively high. Through the application of Critical

Discourse Analysis (CDA) we described, interpreted and analysed the data for this study taking into consideration the objectives of the study.

3.7.4.6Justification for the choice of qualitative methodology

The adoption of qualitative methodology in this study is anchored on Loftlan (1971:4) postulation that qualitative data consist of a great deal of pure description of people, activities, and interactions; direct quotations from the people and both what they speak and what they write down. This demonstrates the commitment to get close, to be factual, descriptive and quotive. This approach constitutes a significant commitment to represent the participants in their own terms without becoming an apologist for them but rather faithfully depicting what goes on in their lives and what life is like for them such that one’s audience is at least partially able to project themselves into the point of view of the depicted people.

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CATEGORIES OF DATA USED IN THE ANALYSIS

Bombing Vandalism Amnesty Pollution Education Politics 1.Reports on the 1. Reports on F.G 1. Reports on 1. reports on 1. Reports on 1. Reports on confrontation losing money to militants JTF uncovering NOUN training the threat on between soldiers vandals reaction to oil spill in ex-militants president and Boko Haram accepting Niger Delta Jonathan’s life members amnesty 2.Reports on 2. Reports on 2. Reports on 2. Reports on 2. Reports on 2. Reports on Army burying NAVY and F.G being the amount of Chibok girls the declaration dead soldiers Police arresting urged to carry money needed kidnap from of Atiku as vandals along all to clean up their hostels persona non militants. Niger Delta grata 3. Reports on the 3. Reports on 3.Reports 3. reports on 3. Reports on 3. Reports on bombing of Kano MEND claiming urging F.G to the resettling of Gbaramatu insecurity as a State responsibility for extend date for Odi community becoming a ploy to bombing oil amnesty militants’ undermine installations expiration university Jonathan 4. Reports on the 4. Reports on 4. Reports on 4. Reports on bombing of Delta ex-militants Yobe state Ihejirika govt. house protesting college alleging exclusion from bombing politicization of amnesty the army 5. Reports on the 5. Reports on 5. Reports on 5. Reports on JTF targeting spending on the CAN rejecting Tompolo owing amnesty establishment the regulation of to his refusal to of Almajiri preaching by accept amnesty schools traditional rulers. 6. Reports on 6. F.G urged to Boko Haram grant amnesty anniversary to Boko Haram 7. Reports on the 7. reports on arrest of Boko Boko Haram Haram founder, rejecting Mohammed amnesty Yusuf and the reports on the dead of Shekau

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3.8 Conclusion We have presented a description of the theoretical approaches to the analysis of the chosen data. This helps to illustrate how CDA will be used in conjunction with Metaphor and Semiotics in the description of language in a media related research. We have shown how Media texts constitute a discourse and how this media discourse forms part of a linguistic study. Media discourse in this study is taken purely from a linguistic perspective and its textual constructs.

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CHAPTER FOUR:

CRITICAL-METAPHORIC ANALYSIS OF INSURGENT ACTIVITIES AND

THE MAJOR ACTORS IN NIGERIA

4.1 Introduction

In this chapter, samples of data are presented, grouped into number texts and are given a detailed analysis through the application of linguistic tools. Specifically, the analysis focusedon identifying the linguistic and discourse patterns in the data by using conceptualization and representation as Critical Discourse Analytical and Metaphorical concepts to critically examine the issues in relation to insurgency. Ideological projections were also taken into consideration from both the media practitioners’ perspectives and the militants’ points of view. For easy identification, the data were arranged in terms of their thematic realization and grouped into two broad categories: according to the issues raised and according to the surface as well as underlying meaning realizable in the message.

The analysis was presented in relation to the Boko Haram and Niger Delta insurgency in

Nigeria. In spite of their differences in terms of ideology and modus operandi, the analysis was done so as to proffer solution to the statement of research problem as presented in chapter one see (1.1) as well as compare the elements of self-representation of both militia groups on the basis of a proper analysis.

4.2 Data Presentation

Insurgencies in Nigeria are as varied as the various articles published on the phenomenon and for that purpose, data for analysis in this study were divided into eight (8) sections with the topical issues treated under such issues. Such data categorization is presented

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below. The data were segmented into ExtractsA1 to Extracts G 108 with numbers denoting the actual amount of data for a particular topic. For example EXTRACT A which focuses on Amnesty/Resource Control ranges from A1-A18, EXTRACT B which focuses on Militancy/Vandalism/Bunkering ranges from B19-B30, EXTRACT C with its focus on Environmental Despoliation/ Economy ranges from C31-C40, EXTRACT D which focuses on Ethnic Violence/Clashes/Armed Struggle ranges from D41-D65,

EXTRACT E which focuses on Politics/Religious extremism and terrorism ranges from

E61-E79, EXTRACT F with its focus on kidnapping, speculation and blame game ranges from F80-F98, EXTRACT G with the focus on Education and terrorism ranges from

G91-G108.

Below is a presentation of the data:

S/N. TOPICS EXTRACTS I. Amnesty/Resource Control EXTRACT A1-A18 II. Militancy/Vandalism/Bunkering EXTRACT B19-B30 III. Environmental Despoliation/ Economy EXTRACT C31-C40

IV. Ethnic Violence/Clashes/Armed Struggle EXTRACT D41-D60

V. Politics/Religion Extremism & Terrorism EXTRACT E61-E79

VI Cultists, Kidnappers & Negotiators EXTRACT F80-F98 VII. Educational Terrorists EXTRACT G99- G108

TABLE 1 Showing types of data, No of Occurrences and Percentage Distribution.

Types of Data No of Occurrences %Distribution Amnesty/Resource Control 18 16.66% Militancy/Vandalism/Bunkering 11 10.18 % Environmental Despoliation/ Economy 9 8.33 % Ethnic Violence/Clashes/Armed Struggle 19 17.59 % Politics/Religious extremism & Terrorism 18 16.66 % Cultists, Kidnappers Speculation 18 16.66 % Educational Terrorists 9 8.33 %

GRAND TOTAL 108 100%

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From the above table, we observe that ethnic violence, clashes and armed struggle top the list with a total of 19 extracts and a percentage distribution of 17.59%. Closely followed are politics, religious extremism & terrorism with a total of 18 extracts and a percentage distribution of, 16.66% and Kidnapping, Speculations & Blame game with a total extract of 18 texts and a percentage distribution of 16.66%. The issues of Amnesty and Resource

Control came close with a total of 18 extracts and a percentage distribution of 16.66% closely followed in that order is the issue of Militancy, Vandalism & oil Bunkering with a total occurrence of 11 extracts and a percentage distribution of 10.18%. Environmental despoliation has a total of 9 extracts and a percentage distribution of 8.33%. And lastly

Education and terrorism has a total of 9 extracts and a percentage distribution of 8.33 %.

5.3. Data Analysis 4.3.2 Headlines Headlines as van Dijk (1988:191) observed are particularly important because, both in production and in the reception of news reports, they subjectively define the most prominent or most relevant information of the news item. This means headline express- sometimes in a biased way-the top of the underlying semantic macrostructure, and at the same time define the situation reposed in the press. Since headlines are often the only information read or memorized, they play an important role in further information processing and possible effects of news. Headlines therefore correspond more or less with the themes they summarize.

Commenting on the use of headlines, Taiwo (2007:43) averred that Newspaper headlines act as forerunners to news reports by revealing the social, cultural and national

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representations circulating in the society at any given time. This means that newspaper headlines reach an audience considerably wider than those who read the news story. This is observable in the situation whereby vendors display their newspapers, several people including passers-by and casual readers take a glimpse at the headlines which may later become the subject of discussion in their offices, at home or any other domain. This is because front-line headlines are more carefully chosen to evoke some emotions in the readers. This unique position of the headline prompts Taiwo (2004:324) to assert that newspaper editors deliberately go for eye-catching expressions because headlines are strategically used by the editor who chooses emotive vocabulary and rhetorical graphological devices to make an impact on the readership. From the foregoing we observe that headlines are unique types of texts that encapsulate the story in a minimum number of words and that often display some significant linguistic and graphological features (see Reah 1998:13, Chiluwa 2012: 43) . Based on our observation so far, the following samples of headlines labelled A1-A10 from our data demonstrate how real messages and ideological believes are imbedded in newspaper headlines in relation to insurgency in Nigeria.

A1. Amnesty to Ghosts A2. Police HQ Bomb Blast: Jonathan queries IGP Ringim A3. Boko Haram financier arrested in Maiduguri A4. JTF Uncovers Oil Spill from Shell Pipeline A5. 156TRN Needed to Clean Up Niger Delta A6. 50 Yobe College Students Shot Dead A7. 186 More Ex-Militants for foreign training A8. Boko Haram’s Shekau Likely Dead JTF Says A9. Boko Haram resurrects, declares total Jihad A10. Bishop Backs Capital Punishment

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Even though the focus of this study is not on the analysis of headlines, it is necessary to describe and interpret the relevance of headlines in news reports since they act as precursors to the main news item. There is hardly any news item without a headline because headlines act as the doorway to the main story. For example the headline A1 on:

AMNESTY TO GHOSTS depicts the Boko Haram insurgents as faceless individuals who should not be granted amnesty by the federal government. There are those who believe that for the Boko Haram militants to be granted amnesty, they should come out of hiding and dialogue with the federal government while the insurgents are of the view that when they come out of hiding, they will be arrested and prosecuted hence the need for them to remain in hiding. The newspaper headline therefore refers to the Boko Haram insurgents in that story as “ghosts” a metaphor for faceless individuals. The headline A2 is on the bombing of the police headquarters in Abuja and it reads: Police HQ Bomb

Blast: Jonathan Queries IGP Ringim. For anybody to understand the linguistic import of this headline the person must be conversant with the story. The then president was said to have issued a query to the then Inspector General of Police mister Ringim to offer explanation on how such an attack was carried out without the police hierarchy knowing about it or getting a security report on it. The next two headlines A3 & A4 focus on

Ethnic Violence, Clashes & Armed Struggle. They have the same thematic preoccupation i.e. Boko Haram insurgency. While the first extract tries to offer explanation on how BH financier who was a serving commissioner in Borno state North eastern Nigeria was arrested the second extract apportions blame on shell for oil spillage in the Niger Delta, and A5 states the amount of money needed to clean the land: an amount estimated at about 156 trillion naira. In the headlines on education, there is a bit of an irony in them.

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While A6 is on the mayhem unleashed on school children in the northern part of the country, A7 focuses on the training given to the Niger Delta ex-militants. A total number of 50 college students were shot dead as reported in that headline: 50 Yobe College

Students Shot Dead, while a total number of 186 ex militants were sent abroad on training as reported in that headline: 186 More Ex-Militants For Foreign Training reads

A8 thus juxtaposing the positive and the negative which could possibly cause an outrage.

Headline A8 & A9 on Boko Haram’s Shekau Likely Dead and Boko Haram resurrects, declares total Jihad are merely speculative. Headline A8 was at some point in the

Nigerian media reportage a recurrent decimal where there were speculations on whether the Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was killed by the security agents or not. But in this particular one the security department said the insurgent leader was dead but got itself confused by using the lexical item “likely” which tends to portray the story as merely speculative. Headline A9 on the same “dead” Shekau did not only “resurrect” but

“declared total jihad”- a religious war that is aimed at islamising the entire nation. This is speculative because Nigeria is not a mono-religious society so the tendency to declare a

“total jihad” can only be realistic on the headlines and pages of newspapers. Headline

A10 portrays a Christian bishop as saying he “throws his weight behind capital punishment for offenders who are found guilty of murder trying to make him look like the proponent of the law whereas the extant laws are already there to handle such issues.

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4.3.2.Lexical Representation of insurgency and the Major Actors

The lexical representation of insurgency in this study is significant because naming and lexical choices are value-laden and ideologically charged. (Kress, 1983; van Dijk 1995;

Clark 1998) studied noun-pairing: freedom fighters vs. terrorist as the beginning of such kinds of research. The most classic example of lexicalization is that the naming choice is based on the ideology of those who name (Thetela, 2001: 354). Allan (1999: 178–9) cites a list of such pairings that work on the level of nouns, verbs and adjectives. Fairclough argues that “a text’s choice of wording depends on, and helps create, social relationships between participants” (1999: 116). According to Huckin (1995: 101), special attention should be given to studying words and phrases because “labels often carry unavoidable connotations” Huckin uses the word abortion as an example; and those who support it he referred to them as prolife by sympathizers and those who opposed it he labelled anti- choice.

Fowler opines that lexical choices have always been seen as very crucial in the construction of meaning. According to her they “mark off socially and ideologically distinct areas of experience” (1991: 84). The idea of “marking off” indicates a categorization process where labellers divide the world into us and them; we are good, they are bad. The analysis of lexical choices sets out how reference to participants in an event can cognitively and socially categorize in-group and out-group identities as “the different possibilities [of naming] signify different assessments by the speaker/writer of his or her relationship with the person referred to or spoken to, and of the formality or intimacy of the situation” (Fowler et. al., 1979: 200).Researching on linguistic labelling is, in fact, a study of representation because objects are given names to identify them and

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the process of identification is done on ideological basis. So when we identify/label social objects, we represent them from our own perspective. Describing a social actor as legal or illegal partly helps in the presentation of the social actors as such. But the recurrence of the label legal or illegal, for example, will discursively lead to setting up mental concepts about the labelled actor which over time becomes an inalienable attribute which ultimately becomes part of the culture and common sense knowledge. In this opening segment of our research, linguistic labels which refer to the Niger Delta militia groups and the Boko Haram sect are examined to decipher whether they contribute to excluding the group and if so, how. Operating within these parameters, Norman Fairclough identifies two aspects of representation: “The first has to do with the structuring of propositions, [and] the second with the combination and sequencing of propositions”

(1995b: 104). This therefore means that the choice of words used in nomination and characterization of social actors are of particular significance in analysing the positive self-presentation and negative other-presentation integral to the ‘ideological square’.

Critical Discourse Analytical model is however useful in the context of analysing labels because of the evaluative role of lexicalization in the context of news reporting. Taking a critical look of our data from the angle of CDA, we highlight how language is used to

“evaluate, to adopt stances, to construct textual personae and to manage interpersonal positioning and relationships” (White, 2002).

The present study draws on those meanings by which texts/speakers attach an inter- subjective value or assessment to participants and processes by reference either to emotional responses or to systems of culturally-determined value systems” (1999:5). This

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approach is concerned with lexical items that carry or can be interpreted to carry positive or negative assessment of people, places, happenings, things, states of affairs, etc. It also includes items that trigger positive or negative assessment of people, places, things, happenings and states of affairs in the reader’s cognition (or the listener’s, in case of verbal utterances). Our analysis of lexicalization draws mainly from the Judgment subsystem as it is concerned with the textual realizations that most likely occur in news reporting. Martin defines Judgment as “the institutionalization of feeling, in the context of proposals (norms about how people should and shouldn’t behave)” (2000:155). Thus, we have two types of Judgment: positive Judgment and negative Judgment. The social actors and their behaviour thus may be judged as acceptable or unacceptable, moral or immoral, legal or illegal, etc. (Martin, 2000; White, 1999).However, Jovanovic-Krstic stresses that “Judgment is highly determined by cultural and ideological values, and as such what is viewed as appropriate in one culture may not be viewed in the same light in another” (2000: 75). The study therefore draws on what is acceptable or acceptable in the

Nigerian context while taking extracts from the data as case studies. In the analysis of the lexical items in the data we consider the way participants are referred to and their responses (Reisigl and Wodak, 2001; van Dijk, 1993).

At the level of lexical analysis, debates on insurgency need to express underlying concepts and beliefs in specific lexical items. Similar meanings may thus be variably expressed in different words, depending on the position, role, goals, point of view or opinion of the reporter, speaker, that is, as a function of context features. Such instances of linguistic labels are predominant in the data below:

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The Nigeria Police have arrested 10 oil pipeline vandals and recovered 800 units of 50 litres jerry cans filled with stolen oil in Ogun state. EXTRACT B6

Navy hands over six suspected oil thieves to EFCC for further investigation and possible prosecution.EXTRACT B20

Nigeria is losing over 35% of her power generation capacity to the activities of vandals, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo has said. The Minister made this revelation while speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day Stakeholders Forum on the protection of critical national assets and infrastructure at the International Conference Centre, Abuja EXTRACT B21.

Oilthieves face 21 years in jail. EXTRACT B20

Niger Delta ex-militants, also known as ex-agitators, under the Phase Three Amnesty have threatened to halt oil production in the region. EXTRACT B25

“Six pirates were killed in the encounter while one escaped into the river with gunshot wounds”. Few days, however, human rights activists and families of the purported suspects raised dust over the killings, alleging extra-judicial murder. They claimed there was no exchange of gunfire between the youths (suspects) and soldiers who arrested them before they were murdered. EXTRACT D49.

“On 21st August, 2011 about 1300 hours a joint operations by all security services led to the arrest of two (2) notorious leaders of the Boko Haram extremist sect, namely, Babagana Ismail KWALJIMA (a.k.a Abu SUMMAYA) [and] Babagana MALI (a.k.a Bulama)”. “Meanwhile the suspects have made valuable statements and are being held at a military facility,” … investigation had revealed that one Mamman Nur, “a notorious Boko Haram element with Al- Qaeda links who returned recently from Somalia, working in concert with the two (2) suspects masterminded the attack on the United Nations (UN) building in Abuja”. EXTRACT F98.

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The use of such words as: “vandals” “pipeline thieves” “stakeholders” “ex-militants” “ex- agitators” “pirates” “notorious leaders” “notorious Boko Haram elements”

“KWALJIMA” “Abu SUMMAYA” “MALI (a.k.a Bulama)” “Mamman Nur” are elements of lexicalization that tend to give the notion of the “other” and “us”.

4.3.3 Representation and Thematization of Amnesty and Resource Control

In May 2007, the then President, Umaru Yar’Adua inaugurated the Amnesty committee with a promise to address the Niger Delta conflict, and so included the issue in his seven- point agenda. Working in tandem with the elders from the region to fulfil his promise, the then President inaugurated the Technical Committee on the Niger Delta, (Obi & Rustad,

2011). The 45-member Committee was inaugurated on 8th September, 2008 to collate and review all past reports on Niger Delta, appraise their recommendations and make other proposals that could assist the Federal Government to achieve sustainable development, peace, human and environmental security in the region. The Committee under the Chairmanship of Ledum Mitee, MOSOP President had submitted its report

(Report of the Technical Committee on the Niger Delta, 2008) to the Federal Government on the 1st of December 2008 (Mitee, 2009). Part of recommendations included: The appointing a mediator to facilitate discussions between government and militants; granting of amnesty to some militant leaders; launching a disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation campaign, and increase in the percentage of oil revenue to the Niger

Delta to 25 percent from the initial 13 percent; establishing regulations that could compel oil companies to have insurance bonds; making the enforcement of critical environmental laws a national priority; exposing fraudulent environmental clean-ups of oil spills and prosecuting operators, ending gas flaring by 31st December 2008 as previously ordered

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by the Federal Government (Report of the Technical Committee on the Niger Delta,

2008). Following the federal government’s determination to address the Niger Delta issues, the government partly yielded to the report of the Technical Committee by setting up a Presidential Panel on Amnesty and Disarmament of Militants in the Niger Delta on the 5th of May, 2009 to implement the recommendation concerning the granting of amnesty to Niger Delta militants (Olubayo & Olubisi, 2012:7).

In its recommendations, the Panel set out the terms, procedures and processes of the grant of an amnesty to the Niger Delta militants. Accepting the recommendations, President

Umaru Yar’Adua pursuant to section 175 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria granted

‘amnesty and unconditional pardon to all persons who have directly or indirectly participated in the commission of offences associated with militant activities in the Niger

Delta’ (Vanguard, 2009). Under Section 175, the President may, after consultation with the Council of State (a) grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by an Act of the National Assembly a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions; (b) grant to any person a respite, either for an indefinite or for a specified period, of the execution of any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence;

(c) substitute a less severe form of punishment for any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence; or (d) remit the whole, or any part of any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence, or of any penalty, or forfeiture otherwise due to the State on account of such an offence. The amnesty which was unveiled on 25th

June, 2009 was scheduled to run between 6th August to 4th October, 2009, that is, a 60 day period; and was ‘predicated on the willingness and readiness of the militants to give

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up all illegal arms in their possession, completely renounce militancy in all its ramifications unconditionally, and depose to an undertaking to this effect’ (Federal

Government of Nigeria, Niger Delta Amnesty Programme). The amnesty programme in the Niger Delta came with the process of Disarmament, Demobilization and

Reintegration (DDR) which is said to be one of the most important ways of resolving conflicts and managing post-conflict situation in the world to ensure peace. The amnesty itself involves three phases: the disarmament and demobilisation of militants; the rehabilitation and integration of ex-militants and the final stage is the post-amnesty package of huge infrastructural development. The disarmed militants were to be taken to designated collection points and camps in six Niger Delta states, with a promise of a payment of N65, 000 [approximately $407 USD] monthly, the payment of rent and offering of vocational training (Oluwaniyi, 2011). During the first phase of the programme, several militants turned in several arms and ammunitions (Kuku, 2011).

Indeed, it was recorded that about 26, 358 ex-militants accepted the amnesty offer (first phase- 20,192 militants representing those that accepted the offer on or before 4 October

2009, while the second phase of the amnesty programme that occurred in November 2010 comprises 6,166 militants representing those that accepted the offer post 4 October 2009).

This appeared to have reduced the incidence of conflict and the accumulation and influx of arms by militants in the region. Some rehabilitation centres were provided for the second stage which was tailored to meet training needs of the ex-militants. The trainings were to be done in batches as the centres could only accommodate few numbers of registered ex-militants. It was expected that each batch would spend four weeks in the

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rehabilitation programme, which involves reorientation, counselling and moral/spiritual regeneration of the ex-militants (Akinwale, 2010).

4.3.4 The Niger Delta Case Studies

Our focus on the data tagged: Amnesty/Resource Control is to explicate the media’s use of language to represent insurgent activities and the major actors. In extract A1 below, one of the frontline militant leaders in the Niger Delta region Tompolo regretted his decision to even embrace the amnesty:

Accepting amnesty my most difficult decision – Tompolo:The challenges we are facing are much, I know that in a contract like this, you will definitely face challenges, but I am prepared for them and know that after some time, we will overcome them. For people to develop the Niger-Delta, it will take some time, and that is the more reason we are even appealing to our governors because there are things the states are supposed to handle. Like you don’t expect somebody from the presidency or Abuja to come and do roads in Warri. They have their own functions and the states have theirs too. EXTRACT A1.

The headline is clear and straight to the point; expressing the difficulties involved in deciding to change or switch from a particular life style to another while not being aware of the challenges ahead. Mr Tompolo makes it clear that the leaders of the region were not doing enough to ensure that the development of the region is sustained and commensurate with the resources that are found therein. Such inadequacies on the part of the leaders are embedded in the word “challenges”. He however did not demystify the ambiguity in such a word because a challenge could be either that the infrastructural development in the region is non-existent, slow or that the ex-militants were not adequately funded to continue in the luxurious lifestyles they were used to. While “appealing” to the leaders in

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the Niger Delta region to expedite actions towards development, he also accused them of over relying on the “centre” which is calls “presidency” or “Abuja”. The terms

“Presidency” and “Abuja” as used above are metaphors for the seat of power in Nigeria which is the power of the president of the federal republic and the meeting point for decision making in the country. He questions the decision to entrust the responsibility of developing the region to the presidency while the governors were adequately funded.

There is however a deviation from placing the entire blame on the governors to incorporating the federal government this time on appeal.

We are appealing to all of them to try on their own to do what they are supposed to do. Even President Goodluck Jonathan cannot develop the whole of the Niger-Delta if he happens to rule for eight years because for you to construct a bridge from here (Warri) to Forcados, it may take up to six or eight years, so if you want to do it, before you will put the paper works together, it will take another one to two years. It is a gradual process that is why we are still mounting pressure on the Federal Government to see that they start something now. EXTRACT A2.

The use of the word “them” above points to all the governors of Niger Delta extraction including the six states of Cross River, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa. The implication is that the development of the region is an approach that should be embraced by all stakeholders if the amnesty was to be effective. The militant leader beams his lenses on the future and concludes that even eight year tenure of a sitting president cannot make any meaningful impact on the development of the region. According to him: Even

President Goodluck Jonathan cannot develop the whole of the Niger-Delta if he happens to rule for eight years because for you to construct a bridge from here (Warri) to

Forcados, it may take up to six or eight years, so if you want to do it, before you will put

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the paper works together, it will take another one to two years. This paints a clear picture of the nature of the region’s soil which had been besmirched as a result of the oil exploration over the years. And the emphasis on particular areas shows that the militant leader is conversant with the environment.

FG urged to carry along ex-militants:The Federal Government has been urged to absorb all repentant militantsand their boys for the amnesty programme to be a success in the Niger Delta region. A former Commander of Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, Sobomo Jack, who spoke to Vanguard, yesterday, said he was worried by some of the developments in the on-going amnesty programme. He urged the Federal Government to ensure that all former militant leaders and repentant militants, who have demonstrated genuine repentance, are absorbed in the amnesty programme, adding that a situation where the amnesty committee seems to be neglecting some groups in the region was not healthy for the exercise. EXTRACT A3

The headline above epitomizes a journey metaphor because to “carry along” entails a movement which could be vehicular but within this context the term “carry along” entails being incorporated into the amnesty programme to ensure peace in the Niger Delta region.

The persona in the above extract is aggrieved that certain areas in the implementation process were not right but the use of certain lexical items calls to mind the issue of

“leadership” and “following” within the hierarchy of the militant groups. He however used the word “their boys” to refer to the foot soldiers within the militancy fold. Such insinuations are captured in the following texts from the above extract: “all repentant militants and their boys” “he was worried by some of the developments in the on-going amnesty programme” “all former militant leaders and repentant militants, who have demonstrated genuine repentance” “a situation where the amnesty committee seems to be

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neglecting some groups in the region was not healthy for the exercise.”. “To repent” is to turn a new leaf and embrace a change within the Christendom to ensure that one seeks the face of God. For militants to say they have repented means that they acknowledge the fact that they were doing something bad or contrary to the laws of the land. While the plea for incorporating the “repentant” militants is spearheaded, there are dissenting views from other quarters:

Group urges FG not to extend deadline for unrepentant militants: Concerned Niger Delta Group (CNDG) has cautioned the Federal Government against extending the October 4, 2009, deadline given militants in the region to disarm, and’s warning that the government should not treat the un-repentant militants with kid glove any longer. EXTRACT A4

The CNDG in a statement signed by its president, Comrade Tare Oweikeyi and two others said it was regrettable that the government has started pandering to capricious whims of the militants once again. It noted: “It was this kids glove treatment in handling these boys that snowballed into full blown belligerency and armed confrontations with trained military men to the chagrin of all right-thinking persons in the region” EXTRACT A5

Extracts A4&A5 serve as caution to the federal government on the need to ensure strict adherence to the rules that govern the amnesty programme so as not to give undue advantage to certain elements. The extracts also state the repercussions of being “lenient” with the process. The use of the expression: government should not treat the un-repentant militants with kid’s glove encourages a violent approach to the disarmament process an act that could lead to the escalation of the insurgent activities in the region as well as jeopardise the entire amnesty programme. By saying “It was this kids glove treatment in handling these boys that snowballed into full blown belligerency and armed

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confrontations with trained military men to the chagrin of all right-thinking persons in the region” is ironic because the amnesty programme does not involve the use of iron fist but a “carrot and stick” approach which looks good at the initial stage and is seen to be sustained to avoid a reversal to the status quo ante. Extract A4 however is a deviation from the principles of leniency and persuasion which are expected to encourage a peaceful resolution of the insurgency and not a resort to violence.

Amnesty: Niger Delta Militants Besiege National Assembly: Hundreds of ex-militants from the Niger Delta region Thursday stormed the National Assembly to protest their alleged exclusion from the amnesty programme. The protesters, who came under the aegis of the Niger Delta Freedom Fighters (NDFF), barricaded the main gate of the parliament, chanting war songs and demanding to meet the leadership of the National Assembly. EXTRACT A6

The ex-militants led by one Mr Para Ekiyes said they were at the parliament to seek the intervention of the lawmakers on their alleged exclusion from the third phase of the programme which they claimed had commenced in some states of the Niger Delta. The aggrieved ex- militants threatened to return to the creeks to resume hostilities against oil multinationals if the federal government failed to enlist them in the various programmes being run by the Amnesty Office. EXTRACT A7

The headline on extract A6 sounds threatening by using the word “besieged”

“beleaguered” “fraught” “apprehensive” etc. to “besiege” is to “lay ambush” or wait for an individual to unleash terror and in that headline, the ex-militants were said to have arrived the nation’s capital to unleash terror by “besieging” the national assembly. This is further corroborated with the use of the word “stormed” which sounds as a threat to the peace and stability in governance. This also points to the fact that all was not well at that moment. The reporter’s personal emotions were brought into the reportage through the

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use of the word “alleged” which connotes an unsubstantiated point in the struggle for incorporation into the amnesty programme by the ex-militants. To “allege” to have been excluded from the amnesty entails lying on the part of the ex-militants. If they were lying, the government documents would have proved them wrong. As revealed in extract A7 the militants were said to have gone to seek the “intervention” of the government through the national assembly and not to harass the seat of power. These expressions tend to prove the point on the need for a peaceful resolution of the insurgent activities: “the intervention of the lawmakers on their alleged exclusion” “which they claimed had commenced”

“militants threatened to return to the creeks to resume hostilities against oil multinationals”. Were those who “stormed” the national assembly “excluded” from the programme? If not why would they “storm” the national assembly? The repercussion of their non-inclusion in the programme is captured in the expression: “Militants threatened to return to the creeks to resume hostilities against oil multinationals” thus threatening the fragile peace which the federal was about building at the time.

Niger Delta: FG to Spend N35.8 Billion on Ex-Militants: A total of N35.830 billion has been earmarked for the "reintegration" of Niger-Delta ex-militants enrolled in the Presidential Amnesty Programme. This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Amnesty Programme, Mr Kingsley Kuku to the House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta, chaired by Warman Ogoriba (PDP, Bayelsa). EXTRACT A8

Explaining the allocation, Kuku said of N38.909 billion had been appropriated for demobilised ex-agitators, while the sum of N546 million was provided for the reinsertion/transition safety allowance for 3, 642 transformed ex-agitators and their leaders enlisted in the third phase of the Amnesty programme, in compliance with the United Nations Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) Charter Code. EXTRACT A9

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Extracts A8 and A9 above show the readiness of the federal government to take off the amnesty programme by earmarking a specific amount of money to execute the project:

Niger Delta: FG to Spend N35.8 Billion on ex-Militants reintegration. The use of the lexical item “reintegration” portrays the ex-militants as people who were disconnected from a normal lifestyle for a very long time thus necessitating a large chunk of money such as N35.8 billion naira to ensure their “reintegration”. The requirement of such an amount demonstrates the level of negligence that the Niger Delta region had been subjected to thereby leading to a loss of human and material resources. Apart from the word “reintegration” the extract also made use of other lexical items such as

“Reinsertion/transition” “transformed ex-agitators” to denote the willingness to work in accordance with the acceptable codes based on the international practices of

Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration. The term reinsertion is not a word that can be found in the dictionary but to insert according to the BBC dictionary is to: “put an object into something” but for the reporter to extend the use of inserting to humans’ incorporation is a case of style. Transformed ex-agitators is another expression that call our attention to the issue of linguistic labelling which predominates the media reportage in covering insurgency in Nigerian.

4.3.4 The Boko Haram Case Studies

Unlike the Niger Delta debacle, most people are of the opinion that the killings and destruction of the Boko Haram insurgency in the north are similar to the Niger Delta militants in the south-south “Boko Haram has common similarity with the Niger Delta militants which has also destroyed the economy of this country on a large scale and many

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innocent lives were lost as the Emir of Zuru and chairman of Zuru Emirate Council

Muhammadu Sani Sami observes:

“The late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua decided to grant them amnesty in spite of opposition from various quarters, the moment the amnesty became a reality, the Niger Delta militants emerged and showed interest to give up their fight for an amicable settlement,” (Weekly Trust Saturday 6th April, 2013).

He therefore urged the Federal Government to look into the issue with a view to tempering justice with mercy and not to mind the few who, according to him are making money out of the crisis.However, other sympathisers tend to agree that the two militia groups have destructive tendencies and therefore should be treated equally:

Interestingly, many of those that have condemned the Odi massacre, including President Goodluck Jonathan – remember the embarrassing altercation last year between him and former president, General Olusegun Obasanjo, over the massacre?– and supported the granting of amnesty for the Delta region’s militants are the same people that have since been advocating the use of the same force, indeed an even more brutal one than that used in Odi, as the only solution to Boko Haram (Daily Trust, October 9th, 2013).

The Punch newspaper of March 14th 2012 was said to have described the Boko Haram as

“outrageous” and “gravely precarious” and was said to have praised amnesty for the

Niger Delta militants as a “panacea for peace in the hitherto restive oil-rich Niger Delta.”

In its editorial of February8, 2011 said “Soldiers and other security agents, even if they are professionally neutral, cannot bring lasting peace to Plateau State. The people of the state must begin an honest search for peace.” The difference between the two insurgent groups however is the claim that Boko Haram is faceless and its goals and demands are

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irrational. In an editorial from the Daily Trust, one of the media outfits from which data are generated for analysis in this study, the quote below sets out to ask certain fundamental questions about the future of the Boko Haram without dialogue which could lead to the granting of amnesty to the sect group:

At least twice the Boko Haram was persuaded to dialogue with government and lay down its arms. Each time someone, obviously an insider, leaked the move to a select media before negotiations had even begun in an apparent attempt to scuttle the talks. Worse, the authorities arrested those the sect sent to begin the talks. Whatever anyone may think is the difference between Boko Haram and MEND as a beneficiary of amnesty, the fact is that the militants did not come out from the creeks where they operated from until it was clear that late president, Umaru Yar’adua, was sincere in his commitment to bring an end to the problems of Niger Delta. (Daily Trust, October 9th, 2012).

From the foregoing, this segment focuses on the analysis of media reportage on the quest for amnesty for the Boko Haram sect which has been described as faceless and unapproachable by both the highly and lowly placed in the society.

AMNESTY TO GHOSTS: I hope the Americans are watching Naija’s tackling of the Boko Haram insurgency with keen interest. Aso Rock has a lot to teach them on how to end an insurgency without going bankrupt. Let’s hope that spoilt Americans (like their Egyptian counterparts) won’t run out of patience before the dramatists have broken their legs. EXTRACT A10

By Aso Rock Terrorism Manual, the first blow to an insurgency is to deny its existence. If that fails to nail it, describe it a gang-up by sectional political losers to frustrate your government. When that tale becomes stale, you move to the next step, which is to claim that the insurgents are actually members of your cabinet. EXTRACT A11.

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Extracts A1 and A2 above take the form of a commentary by first asking rhetorically whether the Nigerian government is watching the unabated destructive tendencies of the rampaging Boko Haram sect as it perpetrates hostilities on the helpless populace? Our attention is however focused on certain lexical items which tend to demonise the Nigerian state as an unserious, nonchalant, and incompetent seat of power. The text compares Boko

Haram insurgents to dramatis personae and intertextually relates the same to “Nollywood actors” with the intention to make the whole exercise look like a movie. The Boko Haram is also compared with the militants in Egypt whose aim in insurgency is on the need for a change in governance and not the institutionalization of a religious system of government.

As if mocking the sitting government or trying to expose the lacklustre attitude of the same government, the reporter makes utterances that lampoon the leadership: “deny its existence” “describe it a gang-up by sectional political losers to frustrate your government” “When that tale becomes stale….claim that the insurgents are actually members of your cabinet”. All these utterances portray the government as that which is laying blames on some clandestine forces to remain unblemished. Extract A12 below gives a graphic repercussion of the continued negligence:

How did 42 school children get slaughtered while writing their university entrance examinations? Such matters are beyond the comprehension of President Jones who packed a few presidential jets and flew to Beijing for prayers. Naija ghosts do not bow to Chinese witchcraft or exorcism. Mr President, people are still dying and there is no predicting where next your ghosts would strike. EXTRACT A12

The text accuses the then president of being lackadaisical about the issue of Boko Haram terrorism which is ravaging the nation. The word “slaughtered” paints a picture of gloom and inhumanity on the part of the insurgents. The use of the word “Naija ghosts” refers to

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the members of the sects who had been described as “faceless” thus prompting the use of that particular word in describing them. The then president was also said to have gone to

China for prayers as if to exorcise the spirit of militancy and the reporter was quick to say that the spirit of militancy is resistant to foreign prayers and that the delay in tackling the issue could portend danger to the uncertainty of the next “ghosts” target. The reporter concludes by saying:

In fact, two weeks ago, ghost insurgents found their way to the sleepy town of Konduga where they slaughtered 44 human beings. Your amnesty committee is still on the road, somehow immune from attack. What Naija citizens trying to survive a messed up nation and a mismanaged economy want is to continue to live like zombies, to pray in their mosques and churches without fear and to live till the next day. They can’t stop the grand looting, or prevent the amnesty committee members from cashing their fat allowances. Is there a roadmap to subsistence? EXTRACT A13

The above extract is an expose’ on the persistent refusal to grant amnesty to the faceless” group which most that are sympathetic to are advocating. By describing them as “ghost insurgents” the reporter is making a mockery on the position of the federal government because can hardly “found their way” as expressed in that first line of the extract where they “slaughtered 44 human beings” as if they are animals meant for sacrifices. The reporter further made mention of the amnesty programme as a panacea for the “arrest” of the ugly situation but in a mocking form and believes that the “a messed up nation and a mismanaged economy” is still better for the citizens than a battered and unsecured place unfit for human habitation. There is also an accusation on the part of government officials who are supposed to implement the amnesty programme as people who would rather take refuge in “cashing their fat allowances” thus placing a question mark on the sincerity or

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otherwise of the federal government.This is also a form of mockery on the amnesty programme being implemented in the Niger Delta region where the officials are seen to enrich themselves in the name of alleviating the sufferings of the Niger Delta ex-militants even to the knowledge of the federal which is said to have turned a deaf ear to the peoples’ yearnings and aspirations. Despite the above position on the issue of amnesty for the Boko Haram the system seems to be polarised along religious lines where the federal government is accused of engineering the amnesty committee to only visit Christians as opposed to both Christians and Muslims as quoted in the extract below:

Insurgency: Group Accuses F.G of Selective Attention: A Muslims’ organization Munazzamatu Fityanil Islam has expressed concern over the inability of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Amnesty to visit the affected Muslims and mosques during its official tour to the affected people and places by insurgency. EXTRACT A14

A statement signed by the organization’s National Secretary, Sheikh Tijjani Bala Kalarawi in Kano yesterday said Munazzama noted through various media reports that the committee had only visited victims of the Sabon-Gari bomb blast and the affected Churches in Kano, Madalla, Abuja and Kaduna state. It said: “but the committee did not visit Muslim victims in Kano, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi and Gombe states among other places affected by the insurgency. And there was also no media report indicating the committee’s visit to any mosque destroyed in those areas.” The statement further noted that even in Kano state, where the committee visited about 10 victims of Sabon Gari bomb blast, it neither paid similar visit to the families of over 200 Muslims that were killed during the first bombing, nor to the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, who was also attacked by unknown gunmen. EXTRACT A15

Nigeria being a multi-religious state can hardly survive the allegation of religious extremism as and religious “patronism” as observed above. The grievous allegation is found in these expressions: “expressed concern over the inability of the Presidential

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Committee on Dialogue and Amnesty to visit the affected Muslims and mosques” “noted through various media reports that the committee had only visited victims of the Sabon-

Gari bomb blast and the affected Churches” “but the committee did not visit Muslim victims” “And there was also no media report indicating the committee’s visit to any mosque destroyed in those areas.” The statement further noted that even in Kano state, where the committee visited about 10 victims of Sabon Gari bomb blast, it neither paid similar visit to the families of over 200 Muslims that were killed during the first bombing”. All these are chilling allegations that cannot be over looked because they could trigger further religious skirmishes and shatter the peace that hardly exists in the nation.

And to say those insinuations were made through the media as alleged above, it then portend danger because sectionalism in media reportage could breed hatred and acrimony among the citizens of any nation if not properly checked. For the media to report that the committee visited ten Christian victims but failed to visit two hundred Muslim victims in our view is a ploy to foment trouble along religious lines. A report on June 26,

2011 explains why the Boko Haram sect is adamant to embrace the amnesty programme even when the federal government is foot dragging in that area:

Rejecting amnesty, making demands, What we want, by Boko Haram: The group, two months ago, in a three-page statement purportedly written in Hausa and distributed to newsmen in Maiduguri, vowed no end to the persistent attacks, explaining that the ward and village heads, politicians, police and the army, had fell victims of its serial killings, and that they have their list of targets which they will execute chronologically, “because they erred by associating themselves with the government in its effort to arrest Muslim brothers and sabotage Islam.” EXTRACT A16

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The headline spells out in clear terms what the sect wants. Their stance is simple and clear: a clear attack on those who attack their style of governance: “because they erred by associating themselves with the government in its effort to arrest Muslim brothers and sabotage Islam.” This shows that the Islamic sect is not willing to associate itself with the secular Nigerian state but prefers to live in a sharia state and anybody who associates with the laws of Nigeria is an enemy of the Boko Haram. The question then is: are those who advocate amnesty for the sect members aware of this position? And if they are will they be able to change their ideological stance?

Governor Kashim Shettima had after winning the April election promised to grant amnesty to the sect members and solicit for the full cooperation and understating of the three opposition parties, traditional and religious leaders. Rightly, he had noted that without peace and security of life and property, no meaningful development could take place in the state. EXTRACT A17

The then Bornu state governor was said to have promised amnesty to those involved in insurgency in the north-eastern part of the country especially those from his state. But their refusal to honour same is a case for the advocates of amnesty for the sect to trash out in a court of public opinion. But the decision of the then governor to add the opposition party members, traditional and religious rulers to the list of those to be pacified is a clear indication that the much touted amnesty for the Boko Haram sect is a political move to pacify the politically aggrieved as well as those who feel disenchanted with the political situation in the country.

The sect members surprisingly refused the offer. Recently, they transformed into Jama’atu-Ahliss- SunnahLidda’awatiWal Jihad, and resolved to target security operatives and some civilians for the on-going serial killings in Borno State following their “active support

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and protection” for the Nigerian system of government which they said contradicted Islamic principles. EXTRACT A18

Extract A18 is a contradiction to the proposed amnesty by the then governor of Bornu state by the sect members who insist that their ideological stance runs contrary to the modus operandi of the Nigerian state. The sect is interested in running an Islamic sharia- like government which would be guided by the stipulations in the Quran and not by any constitution that they believe is deceitful and capable of rubbishing humanity of certain inalienable rights and obligations. The resolve to “target security operatives and some civilians for the on-going serial killings” is an indication to challenge the legitimacy of governance and any extant laws that regulate the activities of the state as opposed to the believe of the Boko Haram.

4.3.7 Representation and Thematization of Militancy, Vandalism and Bunkering:

The Niger Delta

The terms militancy, vandalism and bunkering are used within this context as restrictive to the Niger Delta region which has been reddened with conflict as an offshoot of the

Nigerian state crisis---a product of structural deficiencies inherent in the country and systemic anomalies within its society. The three terms overlap in their meaning relations thus leading to their being grouped together within the same schematic arrangement. The following extracts help to bring out the hidden meaning in the texts in relation to their usages regarding the concepts under focus:

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FG LOST 4TRN TO MILITANTS: During the heat of the Niger Delta militancy, the Federal Government lost as much as N4 trillion, former minister of Niger Delta Sam Odey has said: He said this was due to the dwindled daily oil production which went down to 700 bpd compared with 2.5m bpd being produced now. The former minister spoke during the National Orientation Agency (NOA) stakeholders’ meeting on President Goodluck Jonathan’s mid-term performance from May 2011 to May 2013. He expressed happiness that the controversial East/West road started in his time has now reached 64 per cent completion. EXTRACT B19.

NAVY HANDS OVER SIX SUSPECTED OIL THIEVES TO EFCC: Six suspected oil thieves and a vessel, MV SOA from the Nigerian Navy, Naval Base, Warri, Delta State for further investigation and possible prosecution: “According to Lieutenant Commander Francis Okoloagu, the navy ship NNS COBRA, while on patrol July 28, 2013 arrested the suspects on board MT ALLI-RIZA BEY and MV SOA vessels transferring petroleum product suspected to be Automotive Gas Oil to smaller boats offshore Escravos.” Wilson Uwujaren spokesman of the EFCC said in a statement. EXTRACT B20

NIGERIA LOOSING 35 PERCENT POWER GENERATION CAPACITY TO VANDALISM: Nigeria is losing over 35% of her power generation capacity to the activities of vandals, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo has said. The Minister made this revelation while speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day Stakeholders Forum on the protection of critical national assets and infrastructure at the International Conference Centre, Abuja on Monday. EXTRACT B21.

The three news extracts above share some striking similarities but are cut in the web of linguistic labelling by using three different labels to describe the perpetrators of violence in the Niger Delta region. In the first extract there is the consistent use of the noun

“militancy” and the adjective “militants”. While the headline reads “FG LOST 4TRN TO

MILITANTS” the news over line goes ahead to sustain the linguistic usage by quoting the

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then minister of the Niger Delta as saying “During the heat of the Niger Delta militancy, the Federal Government lost as much as N4 trillion”. The then minister was said to have blamed the “dwindling” oil “production” rate to the activities of the “militants” and called for a change of attitude. In the second news extract, there is another use of linguistic particle which tends to portray the Niger Delta boys as common criminals as the newspaper states on its headline: “Navy Hands over Six Suspected Oil Thieves to Efcc”.

The reportage here is on outright criminality-a case punishable under the nation’s criminal laws and penal codes hence the need to hand them over to the country’s anti-corruption agency for appropriate prosecution. The news over line goes on to state that: “Six suspected oil thieves and a vessel, MV SOA from the Nigerian Navy, Naval Base, Warri,

Delta State for further investigation and possible prosecution”. The role of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissions in Nigeria is solely to see to resolving issues that bother on corrupt practices and not to prosecute criminalities or militant but because of the involvement of the Naval Vessel in the crime, the EFCC came into the picture to give criminal prosecution to the crime of militancy. It is an irony that government vessels are caught “transferring petroleum product suspected to be Automotive Gas Oil to smaller boats offshore Escravos” because these are supposed to be the protectors of the nation’s territorial waters but turned “bandits”.

The link between the three extracts continues as the then minister spells out in clear terms the counter-productive effects of oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism. The position of the then minister of power is premised on the fact that the drop in the production capacity of the power ministry leading to inadequate supply of light is as a result of the activities of

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vandals. The context of the location where the utterances were made is very important:

“The Minister made this revelation while speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day

Stakeholders Forum on the protection of critical national assets and infrastructure”. The implication of this is that the nation’s “critical infrastructure” is at stake and need serious overhaul if the nation is to increase the output of oil production as well as protect the facilities within the Niger Delta region. Extracts B22 below is a reaction to the preceding news item on the repercussions of vandalism and bunkering as a legal dimension has been introduced to justify the criminality attached to the conducts of the militants.

OIL THIEVES FACE 21 YEARS IN JAIL: The Federal Government has raised the alarm that Nigeria loses N7billion to oil theft on a daily basis. The National Economic Council (NEC), which disclosed this at its yesterday’s meeting chaired by Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, consequently resolved that anyone found guilty of crude oil theft be sentenced to 21-year imprisonment without option of fine. EXTRACT B22

In a federal executive council (FEC) presided over by the then president, Goodluck

Jonathan the decision taken was a direct legal assault on any conduct considered inimical to the progress of the nation through “vandalism” of oil pipelines. Our interest in the story is the metaphoric use of the word “thieves” to label those who vandalise oil pipelines. The media switches from “bunkerers” to “militants” “criminals” “thieves” to “bandits” etc. and this kind of labelling is judgemental as Chouliaraki and Fairclough assert:

Some representations reflect reality more loyally than others according to some external measure. Such an interpretation is out of line with their definition of truth as a product of a democratic discussion but fits well with their distinction between more or less ideological discourses. According to this interpretation, Chouliaraki and Fairclough circumscribe relativism, viewing all representations as socially constructed (a relativist

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position), but seeing some as more loyal to reality than others (a non-relativist position). From a social constructionist perspective, the question arises here as to who should pass judgement as to which representations are better than others. If the choice of one representation over others is not the product of struggle in a discursive field, there must be someone – such as the researcher – who decides by virtue of their privileged insight (2002:198)

There is no consistency in linguistic labels when it comes to the issue of militancy reportage in Nigeria and such labels are judgemental. The use of the word “thieves” is closely followed by the word “theft” in the sentence: anyone found guilty of crude oil theft be sentenced to 21-year imprisonment without option of fine with the pronouncement making “bunkering” a capital offence which does not carry any form of appeal or option of a fine. As if daring the presidential fiat on the issues of vandalism, security operatives were said to have arrested pipelines “vandals” as stated in Extracts

B23 & B24:

POLICE ARREST 10 PIPELINE VANDALS: The Nigeria Police have arrested 10 oil pipeline vandals and recovered 800 units of 50 litres jerry cans filled with stolen oil in Ogun state. Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar said this yesterday saying the force was closing in on criminals who have been vandalising pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) across the country. EXTRACT B23

POLICE CAN’T PROSECUTE PIPELINE VANDALS- COURT: The authority of the police to prosecute crimes has again suffered a major blow as a Federal High Court sitting at Lokoja; Kogi State held that the police’s power to prosecute pipelines vandals has been transferred to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). “This means that even if it is the Nigeria Police that apprehended any person suspected to have committed such offence, it is the duty of the police to hand over such suspect to the NSCDC for prosecution.” The case that resulted in the judgment was a one-count charged filed by the police

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against one Abuh Daniel who was said to have loaded one big storex tank with crude oil without licence. EXTRACT B24

The headline on extract B23 runs contrary to the content of the news in terms of the critical appraisal of the lexical items found therein; to “ARREST 10 PIPELINE

VANDALS” does not collocate with “stolen oil” because vandals destroy but on a closer look at the content we see the same report saying “the force was closing in on criminals who have been vandalising pipelines”. But extract B24 tends to nullify the federal government’s stance on prosecuting the so called “criminals” “bunkerers” “thieves”

“vandals” etc. as we are told that: “POLICE CAN’T PROSECUTE PIPELINE

VANDALS-COURT” with this kind of pronouncement from the court, it calls to question who these “criminals” are, if they are not highly placed individuals in the society. On a closer look at the above headline, it looks contradictory and confusing. The content of the news is quite different from the main news. The headline is “sensational” misleading” and intended to call attraction to potential buyers who would want to know why “the police cannot prosecute vandals as said by the courts” only for such a buyer to discover that the prosecutorial powers as reported are not in the Nigerian police but on the National Civil

Defence Corps as stated “that the police’s power to prosecute pipelines vandals has been transferred to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). This means that even if it is the Nigeria Police that apprehended any person suspected to have committed such offence, it is the duty of the police to hand over such suspect to the NSCDC for prosecution. This position clearly substantiates van Dijk’s believe that:

Headlines are particularly important because, both in production and in the reception of news reports, they subjectively define the most prominent or most relevant

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information of the news item. They express—sometimes in a biased way—the top of the underlying semantic macrostructure, and at the same time define the situation in the press. Since headlines and leads are often the only information read or memorized, they play an important role in further information processing and possible effects of news (1988:189).

This therefore follows that headlines are sometimes purposely structured to mislead the reading of the news by attracting potential buyers to the newspaper only for the buyer to discover that the content of that particular news item is quite different from the headlines flashed on the front page of the newspaper. The extract B25 below is a typical example of over generalization in terms of language usage. The headline poses a threat by stating the obvious:

Niger Delta ex-militants threaten to halt oil production: NIGER Delta ex-militants, also known as ex-agitators, under the Phase Three Amnesty have threatened to halt oil production in the region. EXTRACT B25.

As a way of justifying their reportage, the extract above portrays the paper as saying that the Niger Delta militants “have the capacity” to “halt” oil production in the entire country.

But the switch from “ex-militants” to “ex-agitators” is worrisome because the essence is to give sympathy to the perpetrators of violence in the region. If the journalist says they are “ex-militants” and they are also known as “ex-agitators” then what is the position of the media house because those two labels are direct opposites of what they actually are supposed to be in terms of linguistic usages. The process of “halting” production in the entire country does not involve a particular militant group but where others had embraced the amnesty programme, it then becomes difficult for any group to achieve such a goal.

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Ex-militant Raises the Alarm over Arms Build-up in Niger Delta: Niger delta militants: Seeks UN, US intervention: An ex-militant in the Niger Delta region, Mr Kennedy West, has warned of a heavy arms build-up in the region, stressing that the area might witness another orgy of violence if immediate steps were not taken. He called on the federal government to urgently embark on another round of disarmament programme in the region to avoid a return to the pre-amnesty era. EXTRACT B26

“We want to tell you that the arms in the Niger Delta region are more than what people think. The arms in this region now are two times bigger than what the militants from various camps submitted in 2009, under the amnesty programme. The arms here are two times heavier than what we had here in 2009. EXTRACT B27

Extracts B26 and B27 tend to proof extract B5 right that the militants have the capacity to launch an attack that could “halt” oil production in the country if their activities are not checkmated by the appropriate authorities. A “repentant militant” himself raises the alarm as reported in that headline that it will only take the intervention of the United Nations and the United States to rescue the situation as the arms build-up in the region is

“overwhelming”. According to the ex-militant” the area might witness another orgy of violence if immediate steps were not taken” this is also a wakeup call for those who have gone to sleep believing that because the amnesty programme has been implemented in the

Niger Delta region and that because “the boys” “have been settled” the area is now calm for business as usual, and as the reporter did say in that report that the arms in the region were “two times” bigger than the ones that were recovered during the disarmament programme, it therefore implies that “the reporter’s personal emotion is brought into the reportage to further heighten the tension in the region by calling the attention of all stakeholders into that region and making it a centre of attraction. The level of militancy in

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the region as exhibited by the militants and as reported in the media can be seen as a situation that can go beyond the Niger Delta region. This is exactly the position of the next extracts as we observe that the Atlas Cove jetty in Lagos was under heavy attack by the militants who travelled all the way from their region to the South Western part of the country to unleash terror.

IN a brazen attack that lasted over three hours, conducted outside the boundaries of the Niger Delta, suspected militants yesterday, blew up the receptor pipelines inside the Atlas Cove jetty, effectively crippling the capacity of the facility to receive petroleum products. Admiral Ishaya Ibrahim, the Chief of Naval Staff disclosed that the attack left three naval personnel, including an officer dead, while an eyewitness added that four labourers also lost their lives. EXTRACT B28

They (attackers) really took their time. It was as if they had inside information of the operations of the jetty. They also stormed the armoury and carted away available arms and ammunition. After scaring off the security personnel, they proceeded to place dynamites on a critical angle of the pipelines linking the receptor jetty and blew it up, the eyewitness disclosed. When Vanguard visited the area at about 1.30 pm yesterday, the charred remains of the officers including the officer, a Navy Commander, who was said to have assumed duty barely three weeks ago at the Atlas Cove, were spotted on the ground. EXTRACT B29

MEND claims responsibility: The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent by email to the media, saying its fighters launched an attack on the Atlas Cove Jetty in Lagos state overnight, the first in the area since the group began its latest campaign in May. Destroyed Receptor pipeline for refined petroleum products at the Atlas Cove Jetty which is responsible for 35% of the nation’s daily consumption of petroleum products by MEND. The depot and loading tankers moored at the facility are currently on MEND claimed. EXTRACT B30

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This is a clear indication that militant activities can take place anywhere not minding the region where the militants come from. The extracts above spell it out clearly that the militants “took” their time in a “brazen” attack that lasted several hours. Meaning, they were not afraid of any form of obstruction from any angle because they felt the security operatives attached to guard those facilities could not pose any threat to them. The report did say that “they blew up the receptor pipelines inside the Atlas Cove jetty, effectively crippling the capacity of the facility to receive petroleum products”. Since this is the receiving end of petroleum products from the main source which is the Niger Delta region, they (the militants) had to “blow” it up to stop the flow of petroleum products thus giving credence to the use of the word “halt” in our previous discourse. Our major interest is in the aspect of the report that says “the attack left three naval personnel, including an officer dead, while an eyewitness added that four labourers also lost their lives”. From the foregoing, the spokesman for the Naval base reported the dead of his “men and even emphasized the dead of the “officer” but the dead of “three labourers” was reported by an

“eyewitness” who had no business with the modus operandi of the jetty. In a swift reaction to the bombing that took place, the militant group in the Niger Delta region, the

Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, (MEND) was said to have “claimed” responsibility for the attack and even threatened to launch more attacks if their condition was not reversed. The attack paralysed the flow of the oil products which the report claims accounts for thirty five percent of the nation’s consumption rate.

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4.3.6 Representation and Thematization of Environment and Economy

Multi National Oil Corporations have been massively involved in the production of crude oil in the Niger Delta region since 1956 when Shell British Petroleum successfully discovered oil in commercial quantities at Oloibiri the present-day Bayelsa state. Ever since, Shell, Mobil, Chevron, Agip, Elf and Texaco had operated and continue to operate in the region on the basis of joint venture agreements with the federal government through the NNPC. After some decades of oil exploration and production in the Niger

Delta region, the oil wealth has not translated into development in the region. Instead, it has caused environmental despoliation through dredging, construction of access canals to create paths to installations, oil spillages, gas flaring, oil well blowouts, and improper disposal of drilling mud, as well as pipeline leakages and vandalism.

Oil prospecting and exploration activities pollute the environment; consequently, there is a high level of farmland and aquatic species destruction. The people of the Niger Delta region who were originally farmers and fishermen, had their means of livelihood destroyed; as there is loss of fertile farmland, decline in agricultural produce, migration, loss and destruction of aquatic resources, contamination of natural sources, drinking water, atmospheric pollution, rapid corrosion of roofing sheets (acid rain), gradual extinction and migration of wildlife, general biodiversity destruction and massive rural/urban migration. All these activities were widely reported in the media and the place of the media in supporting structures for increased debate and widened public sphere, which guarantees the actualisation of democratisation project in contemporary Nigeria, as well as serves as a bridge to re-enforce conflict resolution in the Niger delta region is

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crucial. In consonance with this position, the media is naturally attracted to conflict, therefore an ‘understanding of the media’s role in shaping beliefs and behaviours, especially prejudiced beliefs and behaviours’’ is central in conflict resolution and management, (Paluck, 2009: 574). In contemporary Nigeria, media slant, conflict, prejudice and propaganda are major affixes in her media practice. This is the case with the Niger delta. An understanding of the reportage on environmental despoliation as a corollary of media engagement or mediation is fundamental in peace rebuilding process in the region. This is because the media is an instrument that could be utilised to shape belief, attitude, and perception. It is also a veritable instrument that could be used to advance objectivity and fairness.

4.3.6.1 The Niger Delta Case Studies

The focus of this segment therefore is to explicate media reports on environmental issues and see how the media has ensured that objectivity is maintained by calling attention of the government to the insurgency in the region. In order to critically examine the issues of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region as precursors to insurgent activities that have ravaged the region for a while, we take some extracts from our data and following the principles of Critical Discourse Analysis as laid down by Teun Van

Dijk, analyse them accordingly:

JTF Uncovers Oil Spill from Shell Pipeline: The Joint Military Task Force (JTF) code named Operation Pulo Shield yesterday said it has uncovered a huge crude oil leakage from the pipeline owned by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). The Media Coordinator of the Joint Task Force, Lt. Col Onyema Nwachukwu in a statement said the JTF patrol team discovered the leakage close to a signpost marker KP-67 located around

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Pulokiri/Money Ground (between Adamakiri and Creek 6) general area. The statement said preliminary investigation revealed that the spill may have been caused by corrosion of the pipelines and that an on the spot assessment showed brownish liquid substance coming out from an opening on the pipe line. EXTRACT C31

The headline in extract C31 above contains an element of truth as it concerns environmental degradation in the Niger Delta area as opposed to the initial claim that the people were only crying foul just to attract the attention of the international community.

As reported in the extract, the name shell which has always been an albatross on the throat of the Niger Deltans did not only appear as culpable but it is found to be behind the high level of degradation that has ravaged the region for a period of time. By using the expression “a huge crude oil leakage” the reporter uses hyperbole to exaggerate as well as local meanings such as “a signpost marker KP-67 located around Pulokiri/Money Ground

(between Adamakiri and Creek 6)” to polarise the relationship which had gone sour between shell and the host community. The name of the patrol team that “uncovered” the spill “Operation Pulo Shield” is a cover up for any act of extra-judicial murder which might be committed in the area because it is hardly known to anybody outside the military circle-a process that usually gives the operatives the power to carry out impunities without being caught. The emotion of the reporter however comes to the fore when he introduces the word “may” in reporting the incident thus placing a question mark on the revelation by the security operatives. Even though the reporter tries to down play on the truth about the revelation, the security operatives state the main cause of the leak as:

…corrosion on the pipeline and urged Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) management effect immediate repairs on the line to prevent further spill. In another development, the JTF spokesman, said its troops in

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Bayelsa State, deployed to patrol the water ways of Osiegbene Creek in Ekeremor, Brass and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas have stamped out 42 illegal oil distillery camps and scuttled 25 open wooden boats (Cotonu boats) used by oil thieves along Osiegbene, Yeregbene, Otui Lagos gbene and Oyeregbene communities. EXTRACT C32

This corrosive nature of the pipelines in the region call to question the allegation that there is lack of maintenance culture on the part of the multinationals that carry out oil exploration in the Niger Delta region; thus substantiating the claim that oil prospecting firms are only interested in their own gains to the detriment of the inhabitants of the region. But the media is constantly in search of news items on the issues of environmental despoliation whether subverted of objective as Taiwo observes:

Petroleum is the major source of income for Nigeria. It is the constant focus of discussion on a daily basis in most domains of discourse. Since the economy of the nation depends largely on it, issues that surrounds its pricing both at the local and international markets are naturally of concern to an average Nigerian the press knows the importance of petroleum in the life Nigerians and they always present captivating headlines on it (2007:48).

In the same extract above, the patrol team did not only uncover oil leakages but also

“stamped out 42 illegal oil distillery camps and scuttled 25 open wooden boats (Cotonu boats) used by oil thieves”. This has always been the major headache of the Nigerian state, the issue of oil pilferage which is known in the Nigerian parlance as “oil bunkering” a coinage that has become domesticated into the Nigerian English lexicon.

There are however certain lexical items in that extract that call our attention to the news report such as: “stamped out” “illegal oil distillery camps” “scuttled 25 open wooden boats” “(Cotonu boats”) “used by oil thieves”. To “stamp out” is to remove and one

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begins to wonder how the military men were able to remove 42 illegal oil distilling camps in one day. We believe that their intention was to use the word “destroyed” or even “demolished”. In another development, to “scuttled” is to frustrate one’s plans but when boats are being scuttled not even human beings then it becomes an issue for deeper linguistic examination. Our position is that the intention was to use the word halted in place of scuttled which is a more appropriate linguistic term for such an expression.

Again the use of the word “cotonu boats” is not clear whether those boats were made in cotonu or whether they were cotonu bound:

156trn Needed To Clean Up Niger Delta: Over N156 trillion ($1trillion) is needed to clean-up the Niger Delta area impacted by the activities of illegal refineries, oil theft and pipeline vandalism, Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Mr Kingsley Kuku has said. Kuku who is also the Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme, said at the conference on oil and illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta held in Lagos that the current wastages in the nation’s oil industry was regrettable. EXTRACT C33.

The negligence reported above led to the need for a huge sum of money to be used in cleaning the Niger Delta region. But the headline is too exaggerated and gives a very wrong signal. It is a fact that certain areas have been environmentally degraded in the

Niger Delta region but that does not mean every nook and corner in the region needs to be cleaned as used in that headline. The mere sight of the sum of money needed gives a very wrong signal that a chunk of the nation’s common wealth is going to be used in an entire region whereas it is the specific spots where the despoliation takes place that the cleaning exercise will be carried out. So in our view the headline is misleading, and aimed at misinforming the masses to distract attention from the main issues at stake.To give credence to that misinformation, the reporter begins by saying the money is needed

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because of “the activities of illegal refineries” “oil bunkering” and “pipeline vandalism” as if these are the activities that have caused the high level of environmental degradation.

The reporter downplayed on the activities of the multinational corporations that have been in the region since 1956 when oil was first discovered in Oloibiri the present

Bayelsa state. This is a process van Dijk calls “immersion” of a news reporter to misinform the populace. This looks like the reporter tried to appeal to the sentiment of readers by using hyperboles and litotes to play up the blame game in the course of immersing himself in the story to lay the blame on the people rather than the major actors in the menace of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region.

He said the president has since empowered joint military forces to tackle those who were hell-bent in sabotaging the nation’s economy and its environment. According to him, the efforts of the security forces in checking the activities of the saboteurs have started yielding results. ‘’We are aware that several sites of illegal refining have been dismantled and destroyed. We are entering a critical phase in frontally confronting this challenge and there is no doubt that we will triumph. EXTRACT C34.

The extract C34 still on the report on the need for environmental cleansing still places the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Niger Delta oil “thieves” as the reporter did state in the report. The irony however is that Shell petroleum which was mentioned in the report has been totally removed from the blame game. As the then special adviser to the president observes: the efforts of the security forces in checking the activities of the saboteurs have started yielding results; we are aware that several sites of illegal refining have been dismantled and destroyed; We are entering a critical phase in frontally confronting this challenge and there is no doubt that we will triumph. That even the

Nigerian government downplays on the challenges posed by the oil companies in creating

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problems in the Niger Delta as seen in the report is a clear indication of how the less privileged are relegated to the background as van Dijk opines:

The nature of news suggests that it is more than just practical ways of managing huge amounts of information within strict deadlines. The values are not arbitrary. They reflect the class, gender, and ethnic position of the journalists and play an important role in the reproduction of power. This process is most visible in news discourse content and the routines of everyday news production. To guarantee a steady supply of news, independently of what actually happens in the world, and for an effective organization of their newsbeat, journalists must make sure to tap sources that provide continuous information that may be used to make news. These sources are mostly powerful or elite institutions, such as the government, state agencies, parliament, city councils, big corporations, political parties, unions, the police, the courts, or the universities (Fishman, 1980; Tuchman, 1978). They have also organized their permanent access to the news media, e.g., through press offices and spokespersons and by press conferences and press releases. It is not surprising, therefore, that most news comes from and is about such institutions or the elite persons that control them. Despite the ideologically based illusion of independence, journalists partly share the class interests of these elites, and their news production routines are finely tuned to the representation of their actions, their points of view, and ultimately their ideology. (1988:170).

The above position of van Dijk clearly manifests in EXTRACT C34 as everything about the oil corporations are downplayed in the report and the entire blame placed on the oil pilferers who are the “less” mortals that can easily be used as scape goats in the case of any altercation.

Youths, Community Leaders Clash over Coy Gifts in Edo: More than five houses were set ablaze and many people injured in Okomu community of Ovia South West Local government area of Edo state yesterday when some youths suspected to be ex-militants attacked community leaders over gift donated to the community by the Okomu Oil Company operating in the area. EXTRACT C35.

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There is a shift from blame game to fomenting trouble in the Niger Delta by the same imperialist oil corporations operating in the region. In extract C35 above we see the peoples’ fortunes razed to the ground because of what the reporter calls “coy gift”. By

“coy” it refers to the abbreviated form of company. Just like the slave traders used “gin” to give to our fore fathers who drank and got intoxicated, the “coy” has decided to bring such “intoxicating” gifts to the Niger Delta region to ensure that peace is elusive as demonstrated in that report. The perpetrators of this dastardly act are said to be ex- militants. This is also a clear picture of disturbing times were militants where not fully integrated and accommodated into the amnesty programme thus leading to such nefarious acts being carried out.

One of the community leaders Mr Rickson Nanagha who spoke from his hiding place on telephone said the suspected ex-militants stormed his house Monday morning demanding for the materials donated to the community by the oil firm. He said his house and other buildings including that of the Headmaster of Okomu Primary school were set ablaze when they found out he had escaped. Nanagha said: “These boys started this problem in 2011 when we asked them to disarm and accept amnesty. They came to my house then and started fighting me. Luckily for me I got over that incident but they were not happy with some of us because we insisted they must drop their arms.” EXTRACT C36

The utterances that “the suspected ex-militants stormed his house” paint a picture of a war situation and seem lopsided in terms of the reportage. But the emotions of the reporter keep cropping up in the story as the use of the word “suspected” militants is the reporter’s creation. The community leader made it clear in his telephone interview that “These boys started this problem in 2011 when we asked them to disarm and accept amnesty. They came to my house then and started fighting me. Luckily for me I got over that incident but

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they were not happy with some of us because we insisted they must drop their arms.” So for the reporter to still claim that the perpetrators are not known even when they had been identified by the leader of the community is another way of hiding the truth to conceal certain ideological stance thereby bringing to the fore the believe of the news writer and the editorial team. As if dissociating themselves from any form of violent attack after the declaration of the amnesty programme, the Niger Delta youth(s) seem determined to ensure that effective development returns to the region after years of environmental despoliation. In the next report we see a different set of Niger Delta “boys” those who rather “report” perpetrators of violence to the authorities rather than being partakers in the crime.

Ijaw Youths blame attack on Tompolo: The Ijaw Youth Campaign for Peace has said that it is saddened by Sunday’s attack on Atlas Cove Terminal in Lagos and the continuous destruction of oil pipelines in the Niger Delta by the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta. In an online statement to Vanguard in Port Harcourt, yesterday signed by its spokesman, Pere Prince, the group called on all Ijaws at home and abroad to reject the actions of MEND for its wanton destruction of the country’s economic property in the land. EXTRACT C37

The extract C37 above is about the story on the bombing of Atlas Cove in Lagos south west Nigeria by Niger Delta militants who had issued a warning about their mission to

Lagos to prove that they could operate outside their region when it comes to destruction of oil installations in the country. This threat was enforced and a lot of oil installations were damaged in the process. In this report, we see a section of the regional “boys” claiming their innocence and pointing accusing fingers at “MEND” a militant group that had terrorised the country in the past before the issue of the amnesty. The Niger Delta

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“boys “suddenly realised the evils of destroying oil installations and called on all and sundry to condemn the activities of the only militant group that refused to disarm. But a graphic picture of the level of destruction was painted by the reporter as he quotes the spokesman for the dissenting voice saying:

We wish to categorically state that yesterday’s attack on Atlas Cove Terminal in Lagos and the previous attacks on oil installations which MEND claimed responsibility is condemnable. We also urge all Ijaws at home and in the Diaspora to join in condemning this barbaric act on the economy of our nation. This is an act of economic sabotage which will not solve the present crises rather it would bring a setback. EXTRACT C38

There are certain utterances in that report that tend to reveal the political dimension to the issue of the Niger Delta insurgency even though the issue had been projected as ethnic and environmental in the past. Such utterances include: “yesterday’s attack on Atlas Cove

Terminal in Lagos and the previous attacks on oil installations which MEND claimed responsibility is condemnable” “condemning this barbaric act on the economy of our nation.” “Acts of economic sabotage which will not solve the present crises rather it would bring a setback”. A close observer of the nation’s political development will agree that there was no time the youths of the Niger Delta region noticed that their activities were inimical to the development of the nation; that their persistent bombing of the oil installations constituted acts of economic saboteur or that the persistent claiming of responsibility for destruction in the region was condemnable until one of their own became the president of the nation. This also shows the political dimension in which the

Niger Delta crises have been configured to take sympathetic colouration while politics remains at the core of the events. Finally on this segment we take a look at the way the

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issue of the Odi massacre was reported after the indigenes had taken the federal government to the court and had won the case against the wanton killing and destruction of properties in the community. These extracts are taken from the three different newspapers under review. The Odi Massacre occurred as a retaliatory move in the clash between the Odi who were living in Lagos state and the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC)

(Yoruba ethnic militia group) in Lagos, the militant Ijaw Youths at the village of Odi erupted like a volcano. In an attempt to curtail the damage, some police officers were deployed there to maintain peace and order. In the process of arresting some militant youths, the police officers –seven of them – were overpowered and kidnapped on 4th

November, 1999. Before they could be liberated, they were killed by their captors. The

Federal Government reacted swiftly to the killings by asking the then Bayelsa State

Government to find the killers or face a state of emergency. At a press conference, the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar said:

A dividing line must always be drawn between genuine protest and outright criminality. Groups and individuals cannot hide under the guise of defending narrow community interest to commit mayhem and expect the government to fold its arms…all those who break the laws of the land will definitely incur the full wrath of the law”…. “The fact that we have to run a constitutional and democratic government does not diminish the capacity of the government to deal decisively with hoodlums, arsonists and terrorists wherever they are found in the country, (National Concord, Lagos, Nov. 10, 1999, p. 2.).

As a result, soldiers were moved to Odi purportedly to find the murderers barely two weeks after the Ijaw youths killed the police officers in the area. More than 100 persons including soldiers were feared dead in a renewed clash between the Odi and Mbiama youths in Bayelsa. Ijaw leaders claimed that the soldiers, who reportedly arrived in about

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10 TATA trucks, started ‘shelling’ Odi and its environs in the night. After some years, the Odi people of Bayelsa state won the court case they instituted against the then federal government. Since this particular incident falls within the ambience of environmental degradation and since the court case was won within the period of this study, we deem it fit to reflect the discourses generated from the reportage from a linguistic perspective.

Today, Odi is growing fast with well-planned streets and a Federal Government College. For a first time visitor, this may not be the picture of the community that has endured in the media. The story of Odi’s descent into oblivion started during the election that ushered in civil governance to the country in 1999. The army brought down every building, sparing the only bank in the town, First Bank, church buildings and schools. At the time they retreated, several bodies of children and the elderly burnt beyond recognition littered the town. The first people to visit Odi after the massacre were said to have met a deserted town with dogs eating the remains of the dead. EXTRACT C39

The picture painted above is that of gloom and petrifaction- a decomposing scenario that can only be endured by the oppressed. The expression Odi is growing fast with well- planned streets” is contrasted with the act of destruction which had stared the people in the face “The army brought down every building, sparing the only bank in the town, First

Bank, church buildings and schools”. The only symbol left was that of imperialism, a picture of the bank where money is sent to for easy transaction of business by the government and its agents. It is an irony that such structures were not levelled out. The destructive tendencies of the soldiers are adequately captured in this expression: At the time they retreated, several bodies of children and the elderly burnt beyond recognition littered the town. Therein lies the irony in a military regime ruling a nation for so long a time thus giving rise to unlawful tendencies as described in the above text. And for the

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dogs to be eating the remains of the dead is an eye sore. But because the art of subjugation, militancy and militarism had reign supreme in Nigeria, it was believed that democracy as at the early stage was an equivalence of militarism so the need for “an eye for an eye mentality”. As reported in the next extract, it was not only the lowly placed that were affected but also the crème de la crème of the society:

Among those who visited was the wife of the Senate President, Mrs David Mark, an indigene of the town. As she walked to where her family house once stood, her shoe was pierced by a nail which gave her a foot injury. The action of the soldiers was justified by Obasanjo and his then army chief, General Victor Malu. But it drew condemnation across the country. EXTRACT C40

The above picture is that of compounded agony and excruciation in the face of terror and pain caused by a government that ordinarily should support, protect and secure the helpless citizens of a country. The expression about Mrs David Mark that: “As she walked to where her family house once stood” is a euphemism for the total destruction that had befallen her family house---a euphemism for saying the ruins that had symbolised her paternal home and the reality that her family members if they were still alive had nowhere to call their home. And to further compound her woes, she was pierced by a nail on her way to inspect the level of damage done to her paternal home. It is also an irony that such a level of destruction was justified by a sitting president who was “elected” through the ballot boxes to protect the citizens of the country. The irony became situational when the same justifiable act drew condemnation from across the country as well as the international community.

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4.3.8 Representation of Ethnic Violence, Clashes and Armed Struggle:

4.3.6.1 The Boko Haram Case Studies

Ethnic violence in Nigeria has set Muslim against Christian and neighbour against neighbour. For extremist groups like Boko Haram, it is a holy war. For many Nigerians, it is part of a senseless fight for survival in a society where economic and political corruption is rampant. In Nigeria’s national politics, Christian anxieties about Muslim domination of the national political space and the accompanying fear that politically dominant Muslims would use their privileged perch to Islamize national institutions and impose Islamic Sharia law on non-Muslims is a major issue. Muslims, especially those from Northern Nigeria, for their part, have sought to fend off what they regard as unbridled Westernization and have sporadically sought refuge in parochial religious reforms. Mismanagement of national resources and misrule by multi-ethnic and multi- religious coalitions of successive rulers since independence have impoverished and denied opportunities to the majority of Nigerians. As a result, religious rhetoric blaming members of other religious communities and proposals for religious reform as a solution to society’s ills have found a voice among the masses. This genuine, if misplaced, quest for a religious utopia has given some opportunistic political gladiators an excuse to curry legitimacy through politicized appeals to piety and religious enthusiasm. The desperate advancement of religious solutions to socio-economic and political problems has deepened social fissures and spawned extremist and violent insurgencies such as the on- going Boko Haram Islamist terrorist campaign, which has killed and maimed Christians and Muslims alike. The adoption of the Sharia legal system by a swing of Northern

Nigerian Muslim-majority states between 2000 and 2002 was the highpoint of this new

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politicization of religion. Once Sharia was introduced, it only added to the fear of

Christians that they would be persecuted and their freedoms, guaranteed in the Nigerian constitution, curtailed. Christian communities in the affected states protested, their protests stoked by the rhetoric of Christian politicians and leaders. Clashes between

Christian and Muslim communities with a history of peaceful cohabitation followed, in which thousands of people were killed, property destroyed, and hundreds of thousands displaced. The focus on the data tagged: Ethnic violence, clashes and armed struggle is therefore to describe how the media has been able to use linguistic particles to represent the crises as well as the major actors.

Sixteen soldiers and 150 suspected insurgents have been killed during a military operation targeting a Boko Haram camp in Borno State, the Army headquarters said in Abuja yesterday. Nine other soldiers are still missing following the clash at Kafiya Forest, Army spokesman Brigadier General Attahiru Ibrahim told Daily Trust. EXTRACT D41 In the above extract, the report states the number of soldiers killed and the number of members of the Boko Haram sect in the clash. Though the report did not say specifically whether the number of insurgents killed are actually members of the Boko Haram sect but preferred to use the word “suspected” to hide the real message in the report. Despite the intention to hide the message, readers are made to understand that the clash took place in the den of the sect members through the use of the word “camp” to state the context of the occurrence of the skirmish. To further give authenticity to the report, the spokesmen for the military Brigadier General Attahiru Ibrahim was quoted to have reported the incident the day after the occurrence as if there was something to be hidden. In the next paragraph from the same report, we are told why the incident was not reported immediately it happened:

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The incident happened on Thursday, but authorities confirmed the casualty figures only yesterday following a story on the Internet that gave a much higher death toll. An earlier announcement made by the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army on Saturday said “several” insurgents were killed but made no mention of military casualties in the incident. Brig-Gen Ibrahim told Daily Trust yesterday that on September 12, troops from the Maiduguri-based 7 Division embarked on aggressive patrol around the forest and launched an assault on a Boko Haram camp. EXTRACT D42.

From EXTRACT D42 we see the reason why it was necessary for the military to hide the outcome of the operation from the masses even though it was reported in an online media outfit. The actual number of casualties was not released but the military preferred to use the word “several” to divert the attention of the people from the total number of people killed. In that same report, the word “several” was meant to hide the true message and thereby cover up the casualty figures. Again, the total number of soldiers killed in the operation was downplayed. Rather than use the linguistic term known to the masses with regards to military operations, the military hid under the cover of such terms as: troops from the Maiduguri-based 7 Division embarked on aggressive patrol around the forest and launched an assault to legitimise their operation. These terms point to the fact that an operation took place and because it was “aggressive” blood was shed which also means that the shedding of blood was not on only one side of the divide but on both the Boko

Haram and the Nigerian military. But the reason why the military choose to hide their own casualty figure is to give victory to it and portray the Boko Haram sect as a group that is losing the war. As if under compulsion, the military rather belatedly revealed how the operation was carried out and the number of casualties recorded:

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“During the assault, we killed over 150 insurgents and we lost an officer and 15 soldiers, with about nine soldiers missing in action,” he said. Ibrahim added that during the clash a Boko Haram commander named Abba Goroma, who had a N10 million bounty on his head, was killed. He said the camp was well-fortified with anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft guns mounted on vehicles. The Army spokesman denied a report on the Internet yesterday that said up to 40 soldiers were killed and 65 others missing after an ambush by insurgents. EXTRACT D43. The use of the word “killed” over 150 insurgents reveals the legality and the privilege the military has to take away lives at will. When juxtaposing the two words “killed” and the use of the word “lost” when it comes to the soldiers who were killed by the insurgents, it shows how language is used to downplay on certain occasions to give legitimacy to whatever act that is perpetrated. When it involves a military person the linguistic term is

“lost” but when it involves a member of the Boko Haram sect the word “killed” is freely used with impunity. Although an online media outfit had claimed that 40 soldiers were killed and 65 others missing, the military was quick to deny and rubbish such insinuations saying they were mere figments of the media’s imagination. The report however confirmed the killing of one of the leaders of the sect Abba Goroma whose head was a bounty of N10 million naira. As if responding to the reportage, the subsequent report gives another linguistic term to the mode of taking life by the Boko Haram sect. the extract below testifies to this:

Gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect have between last Saturday and Sunday killed at least 52 people in Mafa and Konduga local government areas of Borno State, locals and hospital sources said. Our correspondents gathered that at Ngom, a border settlement between Mafa and Konduga local government along the Gamboru-Ngala road, the insurgents reportedly invaded the village and slaughtered 12 people at night on Saturday. EXTRACT D44

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There is no consistency in the use of the term. In the first line the term killed was used but in the subsequent line, the reporter preferred to use the term “slaughter” to demonstrate the process of killing. The use of the word “invaded” is military-like but when placed side by side with the word “slaughter” it is aimed at portraying the insurgents as cannibals and butchers who take delight in sniffing life off humans. To slaughter is to kill animals for celebration or for a particular ritual but when the insurgents deviate from killing and take refuge in slaughtering, they then put on the garment of cannibalism and ritualism. What is confusing is why the use of “kill” in the first line and the preference for “slaughter” in the next line. The reporter’s intention is clear: to paint the insurgents in bad light and tell the whole world their Gestapo style of carrying out their mayhem without recourse to the sanctity of human life. Extract D45 below lays credence to the heinous crime where even medical experts testified to the atrocious acts of the insurgents:

Locals said about 40 people were also slaughtered at Mandarari and Malari communities of Konduga local government, along the Maiduguri-Bama road. It was gathered that the attackers dressed in military and police uniforms stormed the villages in four-wheel drive trucks and motorcycles. Witnesses said many people sustained injuries and scores of houses set ablaze by the attackers in all the affected villages. A source at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) confirmed that 26 people who sustained various degrees of injuries are now receiving treatment at the hospital. EXTRACT D45.

The use of certain lexical items in extract D45 above paints a horrifying picture of the level of assault launched by the insurgents. Words such as “slaughtered” “attackers”

“military and police uniforms” “sustained injuries” “scores” “houses set ablaze” all tend to demonstrate the existence of danger. Even though the attackers are not in any position to adorn the uniform of security operatives, they are presented here by the reporter as

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people who came into the community disguised in security attire to unleash terror on the people. And as the reporter presents the story, the medical experts even laid credence to the level of carnage that was carried out leading to the dead of scores of innocent people.

As the insurgency rages on, the nation’s leadership seemed not to be prepared for such eventualities as the then president posits inter alia:

President Goodluck Jonathan says the activities of the Boko Haram sect and its tactics of terror took the nation by surprise. Jonathan was speaking at the State House in Abuja late Tuesday night during the breaking of Ramadan fast with Muslim members of the diplomatic community. The president regretted that attacks by the sect had resulted in the death of innocent Nigerians including security operatives. EXTRACT D46.

This position taken by the number one citizen of the country shows a level of helplessness as encapsulated in the report. His reference to such utterances as “tactics of terror took the nation by surprise” even in the presence of members of the “diplomatic community” during an official event portrays the then president as one in need of help by any means. This is substantiated in the expression “The president regretted that attacks by the sect had resulted in the death of innocent Nigerians including security operatives”. If the security experts who are entrusted with the responsibility of securing as well as protecting lives and properties are killed at will by a sect as exemplified in that report, then the then president’s expression was more of a lamentation.

EMOTIONS RUN HIGH AS ARMY BURIES 15 SOLDIERS: It was all tears at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja yesterday when the remains of fourteen soldiers killed by Boko Haram insurgents and another in the peace-keeping mission in Dafur, Sudan were buried. Hundreds of mourners at the cemetery including relations, ministers and top military officers could not hold back their tears at the funeral. Fourteen soldiers including two

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majors were killed by insurgents in North East region following the declaration of state of emergency there while one soldier was killed while serving under the United Nations Mission in Dafur (UNAMID). EXTRACT D47.

Several mourners openly cried of sorrow when a girl of about 6 years, Hauwa’u Usman walked slowly to the chief of army staff, Lt General Azubuike Ihejirika to collect the national colours covering the coffin of her father Corporal Salisu Sadauki. More people even wept when 4-year old Jacob Daniel was handed over the flag on the coffin of Trooper Kantoma Daniel. EXTRACT D48.

The atmosphere in the cemetery in the course of burying the security operatives as presented in the above extracts is more worrisome. There is gloom and mourning brought about by the presence of certain persons at the scene of the burial. The use of such words as “tears” “National Military Cemetery”, “fourteen soldiers killed by Boko Haram insurgents” “mourners” “funeral” in extract D47 paints the insurgents as heartless and brutal people who take delight in destroying lives at will not minding who is involved.

The report paints a graphic picture of teenagers who have been rendered fatherless by the heartless and brutal insurgents such utterances as in extract D48: Several mourners openly cried of sorrow when a girl of about 6 years, Hauwa’u Usman walked slowly to the chief of army staff, Lt General Azubuike Ihejirika to collect the national colours covering the coffin of her father Corporal Salisu Sadauki. More people even wept when

4-year old Jacob Daniel was handed over the flag on the coffin of Trooper Kantoma

Daniel. This picture appeals to the most heartless being in such a gathering. The mere sight of a girl of about 6 years, Hauwa’u Usman walked slowly as if she was expected to run or smile or rush to embrace the leadership of the Armed Forces even at the funeral of

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her father. The representation of this scenario is mainly to appeal to emotions, draw sympathy to those who lose their loved ones and give the security the impetus to persist in the fight to flush out the insurgents. This became clear as a four year old was said to have been handed the national flag used in covering his father’s coffin.

The use of minors in crises reportage is more symbolic than ever: to draw the attention of the world to the level of destruction carried by rendering so many young people homeless and without bread winners. By extension this also shows how married women were being turned into widows as a result of the insurgent activities. Extract D49 below vividly captures the depiction of insurgency as deployed through linguistic resources in the media:

Six Killed as Blast, Gun Fire Hit Kano: Six people were killed and six others injured in Kano last night when explosives went off at a relaxation spot in the Sabon Gari area, state police commissioner Musa Daura said. The explosions were followed by gunshots, Daura said, according to a news alert sent by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Witnesses told Daily Trust that many people were believed to be hurt after four explosions targeted a church and a number of drinking joints in two congested parts of Sabon Gari. EXTRACT D49.

The extract D49 is a sharp deviation from what obtains in a place of relaxation. The extract is a demonstration of how ironic, certain situations can be when it comes to crises situations. The headline did not reveal the context, venue and manner in which the incident took place. It just left the message hanging by simply stating the number of people killed and generalising the place of the occurrence as if the entire Kano is one small village: Six Killed as Blast, Gun Fire Hit Kano. But a closer look at the body of the

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story reveals something deeper and more destructive. The incident shows how a place that ordinarily should be for relaxation had been turned into a slaughter house where humans were killed like animals at will. To worsen the situation the explosions were even targeted at a church not the relaxation spot. To say that: The explosions were followed by gunshots…many people were believed to be hurt after four explosions targeted at a church and a number of drinking joints in two congested parts of Sabon-Gari means that the perpetrators of those acts are not always in a hurry to leave the scene of their attacks but they are people who wait around and ensure that their acts are carried out to the letter.

Apart from ensuring that their mission is accomplished, their targets are always: “church” and “a number of drinking joints” in “congested parts” a depiction of places where people are usually concentrated to carry out their legitimate businesses by trading, relaxing or worshipping. At the initial stage of this insurgency as painted in extract D49 above, it was as if the targets were churches and Christian gatherings. But extract D50 below is more of an irony that even Muslim neighbourhoods were “mistakenly” affected by the blasts from their own brothers’ guns and bombs. This same extract is a mere irony and

“miscalculation” on the part of the perpetrators as presented in this particular report if actually the Muslim prayers were only “disrupted” and not scattered then the process was carefully planned to ensure that a set of people were targeted.

Daily Trust learnt that the impact of the explosion also shook many adjoining neighbourhoods and interrupted Muslims prayers in nearby mosques. Another witness at New Road told our reporter that the explosions in the area occurred when a Mercedes Benz car parked close to a church detonated and caught fire, adding that he saw soldiers at the scene and a number of injured people being assisted. It was learnt that some casualties whose limbs

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were severed as a result of the explosions were seen at Enugu Road, the second scene of the attack. EXTRACT D50

The closeness of the Mercedes Benz to the church which later detonated and caught fire reveals the intentional act carried out by the insurgents and targeted at a select few who are “Them” and not “Us”. The eruption of fire from such a car deliberately parked “close to a church” shows how deeply rooted is the spirit of hatred for the “other” the sect has built over time. Also the presence of “soldiers” at the scene shows the level of responsibility the security experts are ready to carry out even in the face of challenges and at the risk of losing their own lives. Ethnic or sect prejudices as enacted in this report by the insurgent members provide a framework which ethnic groups and the whole ethnic situation are perceived and represented in a biased way. Insurgency within this contextual representation is construed as a threat to non-sect members-as a conflict between us and them, between those who belong and those who do not. This is a situation whereby non- sect members just like the Christians are portrayed in this report are seen as those who are not wanted. The problems the Christians are perceived to cause to the sect members are basically ideological: They are seen as a burden on the religious principles guiding their mode of worship. Such prejudices, which are also shared by the media as reported here, tend to draw the attention of the public to such events the stories that are consistent with such opinions. At the same time, deviance and disruption are consistent with prevalent news values. That is, if Christian targets by the insurgents are portrayed in the press, stories that feature such opinions, even implicitly, tend to be published more often than normal, neutral, or positive news stories about them.

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4.3.6.2 The Niger Delta Case Studies

Meanwhile, as insurgency continues to rage in the northern part of the country, the method of operation of the Niger Delta militants had changed from that of bombing of oil installation to oil bunkering and piracy. The security operatives within the region were recording success in the area of putting an end to bunkering. In the course of carrying out the operation of ensuring a safe haven for the multinational oil corporations, lives were also lost. In the extracts below reported within this period, the situation is hardly different from that of the Boko Haram in terms of shedding of blood:

IT was celebration galore for the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Niger-Delta, codenamed Operation Shield, when its troops, on June 23, accosted some purported sea pirates in the creek of Bayelsa State and shot dead six of them in a supposed gun battle, while the seventh suspect, who escaped with bullet wounds, later died. One of the suspects, Tony Ebipa, a speedboat driver, was married with two wives and two children. In fact, one of his wives was pregnant at the time he was killed, last month. Another victim, Timi Esemogha, a bricklayer, was married to one wife with one child. Media Coordinator of JTF, Lt. Col Onyema Nwachukwu, told reporters: “About 5.00 pm on June 23, troops of JTF Operation Pulo Shield, at Agge, while on patrol along River Ramos, encountered a gang of seven suspected pirates. On sighting our troops, the pirates opened fire and our patrol troops immediately returned fire. EXTRACT D51

The opening sentence in the above extract D51 is a contradiction of what ought to be when a life is lost within the African context. The use of the expressions: “celebration galore” as reported by the news writer tends to place a question mark on the rationale for the celebration at the death of a living being. The same extract reveals that some people have been made widows as a result of the killing of the militants-an exercise that is marked with “celebration galore”. The said widow in the report is even said to be

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pregnant-a situation that should have called for sympathy but heralded by “celebration galore”. But the reason for such acts is revealed in the last sentence as the spokesman for the team observes: “on sighting our troops, the pirates opened fire and our patrol troops returned fire”. This means that the killing was a reaction to the shooting by the pirates who were the first to launch an attack. “The response with fire” was only reported and not its repercussion which is only revealed after a closer look at the news item as presented by the reporter. In the subsequent extract the spokesman avers that:

“Six pirates were killed in the encounter while one escaped into the river with gunshot wounds”. He added that items recovered included one 200-horse power speedboat, two single barrel guns, seven mobile phones, two hack saw blades, four wraps of substance suspected to be Indian hemp and four torch lights. Few days, however, human rights activists and families of the purported suspects raised dust over the killings, alleging extra-judicial murder. They claimed there was no exchange of gunfire between the youths (suspects) and soldiers who arrested them before they were murdered. EXTRACT D52.

The ambiguity and contradictions are further revealed in the extract as the human rights group “claimed extra judicial killing” of the youths who “did not fire any gunshot but were murdered without any form of resistance after they were captured alive”. The focus is on the use of the two lexical items “killing” and “murdered”. To the security experts

“killing” is legitimate within the confines of the law while the human rights group is of the view that “murdered” is unlawful and a violation of the rights to life of the victims. In our view the word “killing” is a representation of justice by soldiers who paint the victims as evil doers while the human rights group sees the act as a deliberate attempt to label

“innocent” citizens as “evil” to “extra judicially” eliminate them. The allegation that the suspects were arrested before being “killed” in the words of the soldiers is what paved the

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way for the celebration galore because there wouldn’t have been any form of “celebration if the suspects were shot in an exchange of fire in the bush in an ideal situation unless there was a bounty placed on them as wanted “criminals” or even “societal outlaws”. In a bid to sustain the fight to ensure the safety of oil pipelines the Armed forces report in the next extract their determination to flush out the leader of one of the militant groups from his place of hiding even though it was speculated that he had escaped to Ukraine. From the headline, the message is clear- to flush out the militant leader but the reversal to the word militant in place of pirates as used in the above extract is what is not clear. Extract

D53 below captures the message:

We’ll soon flush Tompolo out of hiding- JTF: The Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Niger Delta has debunked the report that militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, who was declared wanted by the security outfit on May 21, had escaped to Ukraine, declaring that he would soon be smoked out of his hideout. Also, leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND), General Boyloaf, who indicated, weekend, his intention to accept the proposed amnesty for militants by the Federal Government, yesterday reassured oil companies in the region and asked them to ignore the 72-hour ultimatum given by the militant group to vacate the region, saying there was no cause to panic. The MEND ultimatum expired Monday night and there were fears that the militant group would resume fresh attacks as from yesterday (Tuesday) but, General Boyloaf, who spoke exclusively to Vanguard said: As far as I am concerned, nothing will happen in Bayelsa, Ondo, Edo, Rivers and parts of Delta State, where I have given directives that they should not blow up oil installations or disturb oil workers. EXTRACT D53

The use of such lexical items as: “militant leader”, “declared wanted” “escaped” “smoked out of his hide out”” indicated” |his intention to accept the proposed amnesty for militants”“72 hour ultimatum given by the militant group to vacate the region, “no cause

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to panic”” there were fears that the militant group would resume fresh attacks”” I have given directives that they should not blow up oil installations or disturb oil workers” tend to give the Niger Delta militants some measure of audacity and notoriety to decide when to quit. This therefore could be responsible for the “celebration galore” that heralded the execution of six people who were arrested unarmed as alleged in extract D51. It should be made clear at this point that the word “MEND” as reflected in the above extract refers to an organization formed by a select group of Niger Delta militants to agitate for equity in the distribution of the resources in the region. Their mandate is to ensure that oil exploration within the region is done in accordance with the international laws that govern such exercise as obtainable in other parts of the world. Their belief however is that the level of corruption that permeates the exploration activities can only be checkmated by a pressure group such as MEND which is violent in approach where dialogue fails. As seen in the extract above, the leader of the group was declared wanted as a result of his activities that tend to halt oil production; a situation that prompts the security operatives to resort to the use of force in ensuring that he is “smoked out of his place of hiding”.

General Boyloaf the leader of the group however is seen in this report being ready to embrace dialogue and sue for peace as the report observes: General Boyloaf, who indicated, weekend, his intention to accept the proposed amnesty for militants by the Federal Government, yesterday reassured oil companies in the region and asked them to ignore the 72-hour ultimatum given by the militant group to vacate the region, saying there was no cause to panic.

This indicates the willingness to embrace dialogue as well as the federal government’s amnesty programme which is aimed at pacifying the militants. The amnesty programme

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is also targeted at ensuring that they (militants) drop their weapons and be ready to get integrated into the larger society. This is expected to enable them live normal lives again after a long period of struggle with the federal government.

4.3.6.3 The Boko Haram Case Studies

In reflecting on the operations of the Niger Delta militants, the Boko Haram insurgents were also getting ready to celebrate their one year of the first violent attack that shook the nation. This is captured in extracts D54 and D55 below:

Boko Haram anniversary: Police comb Maiduguri for weapons: Police searched for weapons and residents were on edge in Maiduguri yesterday ahead of the one-year anniversary of a deadly uprising by the Islamic fundamentalists, Boko Haram, with fears they would strike again. A sect leader believed killed appeared on video issuing threats recently, adding to concerns that the militant group was reforming, though local police dismiss the clips as digital mock-ups and insist he is dead. EXTRACT D54.

Extract D54 makes use of certain lexical items as: “searched” “residents were on edge”

“deadly uprising by the Islamic fundamentalists” “issuing threats” “reforming” to show the level of tension that is being generated in the northern part of the country. That text states that it was exactly one year since the insurgents launched their first attack in the country and there were fears they were going to celebrate that successful attack by launching a more devastating one. There was therefore the need for adequate preparations to curtail their excesses in case of any eventualities. This preparation came in the form of

“searching” for weapons within the environs to forestall any attack. That residents were on edge is a very serious issue because to be on edge means “to be nervous. The use of such an expression goes to show the level of fear that has been instilled in the members of

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that community at that point in time. This fear as expressed in the report is rather reinforced by the use of the word “Islamic fundamentalists” marking a deviation from the usual use of the word insurgents. Fundamentalism is ideological concept anchored on the fact that everything about a particular group is perfect and cannot be faulted. The journalist’s use of that word connotes a strong believe deeply rooted in religious practices that sees non-members of such a group as “outsiders” while members are “insiders” complementing Van Dijk’s belief in “us” and “them”. Extract D55 paints a picture of the level of preparedness of the Nigerian government to forestall any uprising that may emanate from insurgency:

Authorities have set up night checkpoints and are searching vehicles in a bid to keep weapons from entering the city of Maiduguri — the centre of the uprising. A dozen police vans escorted by a siren-blaring armoured car have been regularly rumbling through the city streets, but the show of force was halted recently because it rattled residents, a police officer said. This is part of the security strategy because these troublemakers may want to use the cover of night to bring in arms, said a police sergeant at a checkpoint on Friday night, where about a dozen cars waited. Last year uprising began on July 26 and spread to four states, though it was centred in Maiduguri. EXTRACT D55.

There are specific lexical items that capture our attention in the above extract. First the use of Maiduguri as the centre of Boko Haram means that the context, base and method of operation of the sect members are centred in that town. Again the use of the word

“trouble makers” in place of the either “Islamic fundamentalists” as used in extract D55 or the usual “insurgents” by the media calls for concern on the level of switching from one lexical item to the other in describing the perpetrators of violence in Nigeria. Again we are also told that the level of preparedness to defend the occupants of the town which

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is supposed to be a sort of relieve to them rather “rattled them” and was “halted”. To

“rattle” is to “scare” and to “halt” is to put on hold. These expressions tend to confuse the reader because we are not told whether the “halting” paved the way for “the trouble makers” to have access to the town and unleash terror on the citizenry or it was a temporary or tactical withdrawal to reinstall confidence in the masses that they were not being threatened. The report however went ahead to state the precise date in which the first Boko Haram attack was launched, that date as we observed is captured in this sentence: Last year uprising began on July 26 and spread to four states, though it was centred in Maiduguri. From this utterance, one can observe that Maiduguri is just a base because the crises have already spread to about four states and it is still spreading. That spread was however short-lived as the arrow head of the group was arrested by security operatives as captured in extract D56 below:

Yusuf Boko Haram leader arrested: Leader of the Islamist fanatics, Boko Haram, the radical anti-western education sect has been captured. Mohammed Yusuf had fled Maiduguri during the recent fighting between his followers and the Nigerian military. According to reports, troops stormed the sect’s stronghold overnight, killing many of the sect members and forcing others including the sect leader to flee. But he was reported to have been found hiding in a goat pen at his parents-in-law’s house today. Before Yusuf’s arrest, members of his sect were killed in a gun duel with security forces in Yobe state. EXTRACT D56.

Extract D56 above captures in clear terms the process that led to the arrest of the leader of the sect in his place of abode. Through the use of such words as: “Islamist fanatics” “, the radical anti-western education sect” “fled” “troops stormed the sect’s stronghold overnight, killing many of the sect members and forcing others including the sect leader to flee” “killed” epitomize an atmosphere of “war”, “defeat” and “surrender” which

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culminated in the arrest of the much elusive Mohammed Yusuf. Again there is the introduction of another lexical item in describing the sect; that word is “Islamist fanatics” which denotes a people who hold a strong view about their ideology and belief. But members of this sect brush aside every linguistic label with regards to the group and state clearly what they stand for. According to the acting leader of the sect, Mallam Sanni

Umaru, such designations are figments of the media’s imaginations:

Boko Haram does not in any way mean 'Western Education is a sin’ as the infidel media continue to portray us. Boko Haram actually means 'Western Civilisation' is forbidden. The difference is that while the first gives the impression that we are opposed to formal education coming from the West…which is not true, the second affirms our belief in the supremacy of Islamic culture (not Education), for culture is broader, it includes education but not determined by Western Education. The sect frowns at Medias' description of it as the Boko Haram. Instead it prefers to be addressed as the Jama‟atu Ahlissunnahlidda‟awatiwal Jihad, meaning a "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad, (2005:89).

This position when juxtaposed with the various names given to the group, reveal an ideological position taken by the media and that taken by the sect itself thus leading to a clash of interest and ideological beliefs. The expression in the above extract that: troops stormed the sect’s stronghold overnight, killing many of the sect members and forcing others including the sect leader to flee substantiates our initial position that there was defeat, retreat, surrender and arrest. But was this success sustained?

Boko Haram leader handed alive to police, Army insists: The Nigerian army insisted yesterday that it handed over Islamist sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf, alive to the police last week before he was killed under controversial circumstances. Colonel Ben Ahonotu, commander of the operation that led to Yusuf’s capture in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri last Thursday, said the sect leader was

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interrogated by a senior military officer before the handover. EXTRACT D57.

The headline above says it all- a categorical statement that the leader of the Boko Haram sect who was arrested alive was handed over to the police after a brief interrogation by the military. The military is not entrusted with the responsibility of incarcerating an individual hence the need to hand him over to the appropriate quarters where he was to be kept for further examination. But the above headline is a reaction to the news that the said leader was summarily executed in an extra-judicial manner by the same police that were to see to his safe keep. This also is an irony that a man whose duty is to secure an individual turns out to be the killer of the same person under his custody. To “insist” is to

“reaffirm” thus substantiating an earlier position taken. Here the army officer reaffirms his position that the leader of the sect was handed over alive and even went ahead to produce videos of the interrogation before the “official hand over” as he asserts:

I personally arrested Yusuf and handed him over to the police after a short questioning the same day, only to be told that he died in a shootout, Ahonotu told AFP. A senior military officer conducted the interrogation of Mohammed Yusuf, he said without disclosing the identity of the army officer. Police have denied that the Boko Haram sect leader was killed while in their custody, saying he died in crossfire with security forces while trying to escape. Yusuf, 39, was killed after security forces crushed an uprising last week by the self-styled Taliban fundamentalist group in several northern states. EXTRACT D58.

The opening sentence in extract D58 is a testimony to the argument over the state of health of Mohammed Yusuf before his “execution” as claimed by the police authorities.

The use of the first personal singular pronoun “I” and the term “personally” do not need any further investigation to ascertain the authenticity of the claim. Other lexical items lay

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credence to the claim such as: “short interrogation” “same day” but the porosity of the police argument is decoded in the use of the terms “crushed an uprising” “he died in crossfire with security forces while trying to escape”. The army claims the insurgent leader was arrested and a high profile insurgent of Yusuf’s calibre wouldn’t have been arrested without being handcuffed. The uncertainty in this extract is the unrevealed information about his “trying to escape” from where to where” and if he was handcuffed in both hands and legs how and what was the mode of the escape? Therein lies the hidden ideology behind a news item either from the reporter or from the authorities who are bent on not revealing the truth about an incident that involves those in authorities thus drawing a line between “them” and “us” as espoused by Teun Van Dijk. The extract also reveals another linguistic label with regards to the name of the insurgent group. This time the group is described as “self-styled Taliban fundamentalist group” thus linking it with the

Taliban modus operandi when it comes to terrorism since the Talibans are mostly terrorists, the expression above points clearly to the fact that the group this time has grown to the point of being compared with the terrorist group and not the “insurgents” as it was being referred to by the media even though the group has denied such a label (see page 139) of this study. The murder or “killing” of the leader of the sect did not go unchallenged as a human rights group, Access to Justice (AJ) challenged the manner in which Yusuf was killed and called for an inquiry into the incident so as to bring the perpetrators to book.

Boko Haram: AJ seeks suspension of Police officers: To pave way for detail investigation on what led to the summary killing of the leader of Boko Haram sect, Mohammed Yusuf, Access to Justice (AJ) yesterday urged the Police Service Commission to suspend all the police officers involved in the alleged killing. Besides, the

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organisation rejected the probe ordered by the Presidency over the matter, saying it is inadequate and inappropriate. Executive Director of AJ, Mr Joseph Chuma Otteh, who disclosed these at a press briefing in Lagos, advised the federal government to establish a judicial Commission of Inquiry into the killings in Borno, Yobe, Kano and Bauchi states. EXTRACT D59.

From the headline of extract D59 the human rights group demanded a holistic approach to uncovering the circumstances leading to the killing of the insurgent leader. This time, there is a twist to the use of the word as another adjective “summary” is introduced to describe the mode of killing. The group calls for the suspension of the police officers involved in the killing. From this, we can infer that for calling for their suspension, this is taken to mean that the deal was clandestine, carefully planned and involves some other people who were highly placed and that the suspension will lead the officers to expose those behind the killing. For also rejecting the probe panel instituted by the Federal

Government it means the group does not have faith in the government of the day. Despite this position, the Federal Government went ahead to institute a commission of inquiry to investigate the murder and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Boko Haram: Yar ’Adua orders probe: following allegations that Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the religious sect, Boko Haram, was hurriedly killed after he was earlier captured alive in order to shield his sponsors who are influential members of the society, President Umaru Yar’Adua yesterday directed the National Security Adviser (NSA) to carry out a full scale investigation into the matter. The President who described the killing as a serious matter said as a government that insists on the rule of law, the case has to be fully investigated given the controversies surrounding Yusuf’s death. EXTRACT D60.

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In extract D60 there is another word used to describe the group this time the word is

“religious sect” and the manner of killing is described as “hurriedly” thus trying to reveal the intentional act. Though the rationale behind it is still unknown, the president went ahead to describe the issue as “a serious matter” thus placing it among matters requiring urgent attention. And because the matter is “serious” it has to be “fully investigated” as if other cases were partially investigated in the past. But the presidential fiat is anchored on his belief in the rule of law as reported in the above extract. Whether the “rule of law” was followed to a logical conclusion, is a matter left for posterity to decide.

4.3.7 Representation and Thematization of Politics, Religious Extremism and

Terror

Religious extremism and the struggle for political power can be said to be responsible for internal conflict in Nigeria. This is because “conflict arises when one group decides to impose its brand of religion on another group because of extremism…whereas with Boko

Haram in Nigeria, religion is a contributing factor to the insurgency or conflict, there is therefore the need for all religions to treat one another with mutual respect” (Emeka

Anyaoku Daily Post, November 19, 2014). It is therefore believed that such conflicts as we have in Nigeria naturally generate antagonistic memories that are sometimes hard to heal, even long after the cessation of conflict. Insurgencies are more disruptive of human security when there is struggle for control of political power between the component major ethnic groups, or imbalance in the distribution of social economic resources. The perpetrators however call for an all-inclusive government so as to accommodate everybody; because in the absence of an inclusive government, the art of reconciliation

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and healing of memories becomes difficult and even unrealisable.” Our focus in this segment therefore is to describe the newspaper reports on insurgency as the reflect politics, religious extremism and terrorism in Nigeria. The headline and news content extracted below attest to the above postulation:

Boko Haram’s threat: We’ll resist any attempt to harm Jonathan – Ex N-Delta militants: The threat by the violent Islamic group, Boko Haram to bring down the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in three months has drawn the flak of stakeholders in the Niger Delta region warning of grave consequences should any harm befall him. Reacting to the violent Islamic Boko Haram threat on the President, Spokesman of the defunct Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF), a former militant group in the creek of delta, Capt. Mark Anthony warned Boko Haram to mind its utterances in the interest of peace. EXTRACT E61

The extract is a reaction to the allegation that the Boko Haram sect had threatened to

“bring down” the administration of the then president Goodluck Jonathan within a space of three months of their attacks. Ordinarily, the Boko Haram threat ought to be a national issue that demands seriousness on the part of the relevant security operatives. However, it is the Ex Niger Delta militants that took the responsibility of “defending the president” by reacting to the threat issued by the Northern insurgents. This is a clear indication that the entity called Nigeria is a “mere geographical expression”. As reported above, it is not only the ex-militants that reacted but “all major stakeholders” who spoke through the mouth piece of the former militant group “Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF)”. The reaction calls for peace through being “mindful” of their utterances. Continuing, the ex- militants observe:

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“Boko Haram has continued as though they have the licence to kill. Threatening the life of the President is taking the matter beyond any imaginable limit. “We think the Boko Haram is gradually coming out behind the curtain to avail Nigerians of the real motive of the group after all.” The ex-Niger delta chief described as an affront on the sensibilities of ex militants in the Niger Delta who have had over 10 years of violent confrontations with the Nigerian Army under the Joint Task Force warning that any attempt to harm the President would spell doom for the nation. In a statement entitled, “Boko Haram, Mind Your Utterances, N/Delta Ex-militants warned,” the group said, “The attention of the leadership of Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF) has been drawn to the ranting of Islamist militants Boko Haram leadership utterances of planning to bring President Goodluck Jonathan’s democratically elected government to an end in three months. EXTRACT E62

Certain discourse patterns in the above extract need a closer examination. Those utterances tend to confer the sole responsibility of protecting the president on the shoulders of a sectional militia group. Such utterances as: ““Boko Haram has continued as though they have the licence to kill. Threatening the life of the President is taking the matter beyond any imaginable limit. “We think the Boko Haram is gradually coming out behind the curtain to avail Nigerians of the real motive of the group after all.” A close scrutiny reveals that the “Boko Haram” insurgents have the liberty to “kill” because they have a safe haven which is protecting them from any form of prosecution “We think the

Boko Haram are gradually coming out behind the curtain to avail Nigerians of the real motive of the group after all”. To however label the speech of the Boko Haram as ranting as revealed in this text “The attention of the leadership of Niger Delta Liberation Force

(NDLF) has been drawn to the ranting of Islamist militants Boko Haram leadership utterances” is an indication of a call to anarchy and an affront on the sensibilities of the

Boko Haraminsurgents. Any reasonable person who believed that this threat was the

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business of ex-militants to react was just joking as even the elders from the Niger Delta region saw the threat as a slap on their faces:

“We are warning the entire northern leaders to advise their children to be mindful of their actions and utterances as any attempt on President Goodluck Jonathan’s life shall spell doom for the entire nation. We will resist violently because we have said it over again and again that the Presidency for the South-South was a sympathy vote by the entire country to appease Niger Delta ex-militants and the region over federal government criminal abandonment of region’s oil and gas wealth being exploited over 50 years.” EXTRACT E63. The opening sentence accuses the “northern elders” of knowing the identities of the perpetrators of violence and who have been described severally as “faceless”. To say they should “advise their children to be mindful of their actions and utterances” is a direct accusation/indictment which needs a critical examination. But to also say “We will resist violently” entails that the duty of protecting the president of a country “rests on the shoulders” of militants and ex-militants. In the same report, the federal government is rather criminalised instead of the various militia groups who have been portrayed as

“gangsters”, “criminals” etc. the Ijaw media group also added its voice to the political dimension to the ragging Boko Hara insurgency by spelling out in clear terms the perceived link between extremism, insurgency and politics in Nigeria.

Any harm to Jonathan’s life would elicit grave consequences – Ijaw Group: In its reaction the Ijaw Media Forum through its President, Elder Asu Beks urged the Islamic group to have a rethink, warning that any attempt to harm the President would be visited with grave consequences. Elder Beks said, “Like other discerning Nigerians, the Ijaw Media Forum knew before now that the entire Boko Haram crisis was a well-organized political movement packaged by those opposed to the Jonathan administration.”, “We are not surprised that this threat is coming from the Boko Haram and their political backers. EXTRACT E64.

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The knowledge that the “Ijaw Media Group” had all the while that the Boko Haram insurgency is a political agenda well planned and orchestrated to “destabilise” the government of a “minority” leader is quite alarming. But to describe the insurgents as “a political movement” is the height of intolerance on the Nigerian political scene where there is persistent scheming to ensure that only the major ethnic groups have their say in the political running of the country. Again the knowledge that the insurgents are being sponsored as reported in that extract is a clear indication that there is an agenda to

“destabilise” the then government based on ethnic sentiments and parochial political ideologies. There seems to be a lack of clarity on what insurgency is all about in Nigeria.

Some see the situation as religious; others see politics playing out while others believe land is a major factor. But from the newspaper reports analysed so far, politics seems to be a major factor of insurgency. Even some sections of the northern part of the country key into the notion that insurgency in the country is as a result of the power shift. In the extract below, the middle belt renaissance is of the opinion that the aim of Boko Haram insurgency is to harass and intimidate the then sitting president:

Insecurity Instigated to Undermine Jonathan: The Middle Belt Recognisance group has alleged that the security situation in the country was a deliberate attempt to undermine President Goodluck Jonathan. It said this is so because the President comes from a minority group in the Niger Delta. EXTRACT E65.

The use of the word “deliberate” connotes “calculated” or “orchestrated” meaning that the actions of the militants are not coincidental but well hatched plans. To “undermine” as used here is to “challenge” “destabilize” “weaken” or even “threaten” this according to the report is because the sitting president is from “a minority” tribe. This utterance is not

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in defence of the Niger Delta but an attempt to assert its own identity as an independent region within the larger bloc of the northern state as the report further observes:

The group condemned recent remarks by leaders from the north suggesting that the middle belt has no independent identity, thereby tying the region to the apron strings of the far north. He said no region in the country is superior to another. The statement condemned the concept of the north as encompassing the central states of Nigeria, calling the idea, “anachronistic and irrelevant in contemporary context”. EXTRACT E66.

The subsequent remark substantiates our initial suspicion that the threat of domination, suppression and intimidation are responsible for most of the crises that ravage the nation.

The report also challenges the alleged “superiority” identity imposed on the larger ethnic group while that of “inferiority” is conferred on the “minority” tribes thereby leading to the divide in attitude and relationship with one another in the society. The “core north” as used often in the nation’s media reports is a concept that imposes a heavy burden on those that are not from the “core” north as typified in reports. This is the political dimension in which the nation’s insurgency takes. Just as the Niger Delta militants believe that the

President was under constant threats, the Niger Delta militants declared the former Vice

President, Atiku Abubakar persona non grata within the Niger Delta region, thereby blaming the then president Goodluck Jonathan’s woes on the former vice president. But the umbrella body of the Northern elders, the Arewa Consultative Forum was quick to react:

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forum’s position was contained in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary Anthony Sani. Sani said the threat by the militants is a deviation from peaceful resolution of differences in the political process common in democracy. He described the action as counter-productive which will do nobody any good. EXTRACT E67. Discourses of this nature are capable of “over heating” the polity thereby further encouraging insurgency as we experience in Nigeria. There is an intricate link in Nigeria between politics, governance, corruption, poverty and violence. Politics is largely driven by money. Elected officials are hardly accountable to citizens. The well-connected exercise undue influence according to the strength of their purse and the strings they can pull. The various elite factions – political, economic/business, bureaucratic, traditional and religious – have been drawn into a political economy driven by huge oil receipts and implicated in wide-scale and systemic corruption.

The high rate of insurgency emanating from religious extremism has polarised the nation along religious lines. For extremist groups like Boko Haram, it is a holy war but for most

Nigerians, it is part of a senseless fight for survival. Each of the two dominant regions in

Nigeria i.e. Christianity and Islam contains ethnic and religious minorities who harbour grievances against ethnic and religious majorities they see as hegemonic oppressors.

These grievances are sometimes expressed through bitter political complaints, through insurgency stoked by political elites and incendiary media rhetoric, and through violent insurgencies. The desperate advancement of religious solutions to socioeconomic and political problems has deepened social fissures and spawned extremist and violent insurgencies such as the on-going Boko Haram Islamist terrorist campaign, which has killed and maimed Christians and Muslims alike. The adoption of the Sharia legal system

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by a slew of Northern Nigerian Muslim-majority states between 2000 and 2002 was the highpoint of this new politicization of religion. Once Sharia was introduced, it only added to the fear of Christians that they would be persecuted and their freedoms, guaranteed in the Nigerian constitution, curtailed. Christian communities in the affected states protested, their protests stoked by the rhetoric of Christian politicians and leaders.

Clashes between Christian and Muslim communities with a history of peaceful cohabitation followed, in which thousands of people were killed, property destroyed, and hundreds of thousands displaced. Sharia had been a sticking point in Nigerian politics for decades. In 1978 when many Northern Nigerian Muslim delegates to a constitutional conference sought to extend Sharia beyond the realm of family law, Christian delegates protested, and the Sharia debate almost tore the conference apart. A compromise allowed states with majority or significant Muslim populations to set up Islamic courts but

Sharia’s application was restricted to inheritance and family law. The endemic nature of religious extremism got entrenched into the Nigerian socio-political landscape that the

Chief of Army Staff reacted in all of the nation’s national dailies but extracted from one of the media houses chosen for study in this research. This was so entrenched into the nation’s polity that the Chief of Army Staff had to issue a warning to take stand against its infiltration of the military as reported below

Ihejirika Warns Soldiers on Religious Extremism: The Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika has warned officers and men of the Army against religious extremism, saying the authorities will not hesitate to fire anyone found wanting in that regard. Ihejirika gave the warning at the weekend during the graduation ceremony of 1,600 soldiers, who attended the two-month Basic Counter Terrorism Course 13/13 at the Nigerian Army Training Centre (NATRAC) in Kontagora, Niger State. EXTRACT E68.

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As experts have observed, religion is often at the heart of any conflict especially in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious setting such as Nigeria. And as such religion and extremism go insitu because they are ideologically based. The word

“extremism” as used in the above extract can be equated with such words as:

“radicalism”, “fanaticism”, “fundamentalism”, “terrorist”, “extremist”, “militants” as well as “violent” and such categorizations are capable of causing disaffection because they are judgemental. Such words can only occur through the process of media slanting and media framing to portray such social actors in bad light as belonging to “them” and not “us” see (van Dijk 1999:112). The “warning” by the chief of Army Staff did not come without any repercussions or consequences as he further states: “the authorities will not hesitate to fire anyone found wanting in that regard. The word “fire” as used within this context does not refer to the military usage as in “shoot a gun” or within the denotative parlance which refers to “the ability to generate heat” but the word is used in this context to mean “dismissal” from the Nigerian Army where the culprit will possibly face “a court martial” as used within the Army in “civil prosecution”. All the utterances above are based on “rumours” which the Chief of Army Staff describes as “falsehood” as he posits inter alia:

“It has been observed of recent that a religious cleric has been distributing inciting statements, leaflets and Compact Disc loaded with information to confuse, misdirect and cause disaffection among you. It is also targeted at breaking the espirit-de-corps which binds us together as a fighting force,” he said. He said the allegations that the Armed Forces are opposed to Federal Government’s plan for amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect are false. “Most of the spurious allegations recently raised by a religious cleric accusing the Joint Task Force (JTF) of conniving with Boko Haram to give locations and timings to conduct attacks are untrue and baseless,” Ihejirika said.

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“You can see for yourselves the infrastructural developments around you in Kontagora Barracks which are also replicated in other barracks all over the country to improve your efficiency, service delivery and well-being.” EXTRACT E69.

The rescinding of the “misleading” information contained in “Compact Disc” to

“confuse”, “misdirect” and “cause disaffection” is the thematic preoccupation of the

Army Chief’s message to “you” here referring to the military officers whose “espirit-de- corps” is about to be broken by the “incorrect” message being “distributed” by a certain

“Muslim cleric”. The implication of using the label “Muslim” in describing the “cleric” is a deliberate attempt to situate the source of “misleading” information as reported in extract E69. Such utterances are capable of “sparking” fire to further degenerate the insurgency which had already got to the advanced stage. As if reacting to the alleged use of compact discs to weaken the spirit of oneness amongst the soldiers, the Christian

Association of Nigeria, CAN rejects the alleged imposition and sanctioning of sermonic preaching through certain laws. In the next extract the association rejects the imposition of sanctions on certain “men” of God to regulate their use of language.

CAN rejects attempt to regulate preaching: The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja has rejected the attempt by the northern governors to regulate religious preaching in the north using traditional rulers, saying that it will not be practicable? CAN also said that it is holding the federal government and the five state governments where violence erupted during the Boko Haram crisis which it said led to the beheading of 11 Christians, including three Pastors and the burning of 20 churches. Addressing a news conference in Kaduna yesterday evening, the Secretary of CAN in the area, Elder Saidu Dogo said that the fundamental issue that motivated the Boko Haram movement to unleash terror on innocent Nigerians is the quest for the total implementation of sharia in the country.

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Also, the Kaduna state Secretary of CAN and Publicity Secretary of Northern CAN, Rev. Joseph Hayab, in his own contribution said that Christians already have their own internal mechanism to regulate their own preachers. Hayab said that no Catholic, Anglican or Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) can preach the gospel without being licensed to do so, adding that this was the situation in other churches. EXTRACT E70.

This reaction emanates from the 19 Northern states governors’ decision to use traditional rulers to regulate the mode of preaching of religious scholars and pastors as well as catholic Reverend Fathers within the crises ridden states. This is where politics gets intermingled with religion thus leading to clash of ideologies and culminating into religious insurgency in a volatile society such as Nigeria. Religion and politics are separate entities that do not follow the same patterns or regulations but when politicians begin or decide to pontificate on behalf of religious practitioners, it leads to chaos, and to avoid that chaotic scenario, the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN states categorically that the organization “ is holding the federal government and the five state governments where violence erupted during the Boko Haram crisis responsible which it said led to the beheading of 11 Christians, including three Pastors and the burning of 20 churches”. This means that if the 19 northern states governors had the capacity to regulate the activities of religious practitioners, they should have the same capacity to “regulate the activities of the Boko Haram sect”. While the Islamic sect is bent on ensuring that sharia law becomes the legal norm in Nigeria, Christians are of the opinion that they have their regulatory bodies that ensure that the tenets of the Christian religious practices are adhered to:

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as the case may be? We are addressing this Press Conference with a heavy heart as a result of the mindless killing of Christians and destruction of their churches in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, by members of the Islamic fundamentalists known as Boko Haram. Since the incident, some northern leaders including the federal and the Borno state government appear to be suppressing the facts of the violence as it affects Christians in Maiduguri and we feel it is imperative to tell the world about the callousness, the barbarism that the Islamic sect meted on Christians. The Boko Haram sect went about wielding dangerous weapons and abducting Christians to the enclave of their leader, Mohammed Yusuf in the name of implementing Sharia in Nigeria. They were forcefully converted to Islam after they were tortured. Three pastors and eight other Christians who resisted the forceful conversion were beheaded on the order of the leader of the Islamic sect. while 20 churches were burnt to ashes by the fundamentalists. The Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 Northern States is holding the Federal Government and the five state governments where violence erupted responsible for the mayhem, especially the Borno state government. EXTRACT E71. By attempting to use “traditional rulers” to regulate the “preaching” of Islamic scholars or Christian preachers is to equate orthodox practices in religious worship with traditional practices and even superimpose the superiority of traditionalists on religious practitioners. And to challenge this decision of the politicians, the religious hierarchy rhetorically enquires how can a Muslim Emir or Christian traditional ruler regulate preaching in Christianity or Islam as the case may be? This is also followed by the use of certain lexical items to describe the heinous crimes committed by the Boko Haram sect in the name of propagating their religious beliefs. Such lexical items are: “wielding”

“dangerous weapons” “abducting” “forcefully converted” “tortured” ”forceful conversion” “beheaded” “20 churches were burnt to ashes” “mayhem”. All the linguistic labels above fall within the same semantic level of “heartlessness” by sharing a great deal of semantic overlap meaning that the words have the capacity to explain each other.

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These linguistic labels adequately explain the activities of the Boko Haram in relation to carrying out their ideological belief within their region.Insurgencies are the most-covered subjects, while other subjects such as politics, economy are relegated during such situations (see Schary, 1969; Wilson & Gutierrez, 1985; Van Slike Turk, Richstad,

Bryson & Johnson, 1989; in a different perspective Gans, 1980; Knopf, 1975; Merten,

1986; Van Dijk, 1991). In doing so, particular groups may receive special attention such as the insurgency in Nigeria thus leading to bias which is usually indicated by the amount of space allocated to such groups that is always very little even when the “other group” is the major actor, (Van Dijk, 1991). The implication is that the particular group does not have the opportunity to challenge the negative definitions given of it in the press (Merten,

1986). In other words, such group members are mostly represented in the news as speechless actors involved in negative acts (TerWal, 2002). In the next extract, the umbrella body of all Christians in Nigeria accuses the late president Umar Musa

Yar’adua led federal government and the then governor of Borno state, Ali Modu Sheriff of shielding the insurgents from prosecution. According to the accusation, the height of this complicity is the “hasty” execution of the founder of the Boko Haram sect,

Mohammed Yusuf.

CAN Accuses FG, Sheriff of Complicity: Alleges bombing of 20 churches, killing of 14 pastors. However, the leadership of the Christian Association, (CAN) has accused the Federal Government and Governor Modu Sheriff of Borno state of complicity in the Boko Haram crisis. Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, National Secretary of CAN, Elder Samuel Salifu, stated that the urgent manner in which the Boko Haram sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf was killed in custody was only an indication that the Federal Government did not want him to expose his sponsors and backers. EXTRACT E72.

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The implication of the above scenario is that the leadership of the sect group was “hastily” executed to cover up certain individuals within the government circle. The politics of

“finger pointing” comes into force as the Christian association of Nigeria clearly states that the “then governor of Bornu state” Ali Modu Sheriff was culpable in the complicity to ensure that the message about the notoriety of the “Boko Haram” in unleashing terror on the masses is not exposed. This is brought out in the use of the following lexical items:

“accused” “complicity” “urgent manner” “killed”- words that denote “conspiracy to murder” in a hidden manner and to “conceal” the act of violence which has been committed to avoid legal sanctions or prosecution in a civil court. This is evident in the report which further states that “Government paid deaf ears to the 21 security threats and reports by the SSS for two years purely out of complicity, and sympathy for the fundamental objectives of the Boko Haram sect, but only reacted when government felt its own security was threatened. The association rhetorically probes:

Why was government preserving the Boko Haram sect? How did the sect acquire arms without the notice of government? Who are their sponsors? Why did Governor Sheriff refuse for more than two years to say a thing about the group even as their headquarters was in his state? Finally, how did his commissioner become second “in- command in the Boko Haram and yet the governor is just knowing about the group now? When Boko Haram was allowed to establish its headquarters in Maiduguri despite security reports, it raises logical questions of who are the people in government sheltering the Boko Haram sect from prosecutions. Why were the leader Mohammed Yusuf and his second-in-command, Alhaji Buji Fai an ex- commissioner in Sheriff’s government reported to have been captured and taken to Government House and silenced so quickly? EXTRACT E73.

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Rhetorical Questions as used above are special syntactic stylistic device whose essence is to reshape the grammatical meaning of the interrogative sentence. In other words, a question is no longer a question but a statement expressed in the form of an interrogative sentence. Thus there is interplay of two structural meanings: that of the question and that of a statement. Both are materialised simultaneously. Rhetorical questions express various feelings, emotions or a particular state of mind of a speaker. The more intense the feelings of a speaker are the more repetitions, gradations and exaggerations are used.

They express disappointment, bitter feelings, disagreement, reproaches and anger.

4.3.8 Militants and Insurgents as Terrorists

The level of violence unleashed by the “Boko Haram,” has become a nation-wide concern in Nigeria. On a daily basis the media run and re-run pictures of dramatic acts of violence carried out by this group. Such graphical illustrations of pictorials are always scary. Nigeria can now be compared to countries where terrorist groups operate freely, plan sophisticated attacks and stockpile weapons. The federal government, with the support of the international community, has launched many initiatives to combat the threat posed by Boko Haram. Indeed, considerable amount of money and political capital have been invested in new and continuing programmes to enhance security and contain the threat of Boko Haram. In this segment of our analysis, we examine critically the use of the word “terrorism” as it is used in the media reports on insurgency in Nigeria and see whether the activities of the Boko Haram meet up the standards of the word as found in the data for analysis.Chiluwa (2011:78) observes that the word “terrorism” has no universally legal binding definition since the concept may itself be controversial as it is

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often used by state authorities to delegitimize political brutality and potentially legitimize the state’s own use of armed forces against opponents. The most common definition of the word “terrorism” refers to those violent acts which are intended to create fear or

“terror”, perpetrated for religious, political or ideological goals. The following extracts from our data therefore form the bedrock for our analysing acts of “terrorism” committed by the Niger Delta militia groups and the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria.

4.3.8.1 The Boko Haram Case Studies

Data presented and discussed under this topic focus specifically on the Niger Delta experience in relation to the topic under review:

Outrage, angst greet Nigeria’s first suicide bombing: LAGOS – IT used to be a story heard from distant lands like Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Middle-East, United States and Europe, among others. Now, suicide bombing is here with us in Nigeria and panic-stricken citizenry, who are yet to recover from recent waves of bomb explosions, are not happy about it. Thus, on the lips of eminent Nigerians and groups were outright condemnations for yesterday’s suicide bombing of the Police Headquarters, Abuja, which claimed two lives and destroyed 73 vehicles. EXTRACT E74.

The word “bombing” within the Nigerian socio-political landscape is met with disdain in many circles of social and political life because the people see “bombing” as a process that involves warfare and militarism---having to do with military confrontation. It also serves as a reminder to the gruesome civil war that took place between the Nigerian government and the secessionist Biafra republic (1967-1970). However the bombing of the United Nations HQs in Abuja---being the first bomb attack after the civil war is either viewed as a war or a terrorist act and in that report, the reporter tries to recontextualize

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the concept of “terrorism” by insinuating that such acts are only possible in countries like

“Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Middle-East, United States and Europe”. But

Fairclough and Van Leeuwen are of the opinion that recontextualization is the procedure by which semiosis in a ‘war on terror’ discourse can be operationalized into political discourse. In the extract above, we have a situation where the speakers’ reactions to the bombing evoke certain feelings by making reference to emotions through their speech.

By appealing to emotions that give the audience a sense of fear, action is legitimised as a necessary precaution to avert the consequence the speaker is proposing (Reyes 2011). A key feature to achieving this strategy is the construction of the adversary, ‘them’, in relation to the familiar group, ‘us’ (Wodak, Meyer 2001). Furthermore, a dramatization of the enemy’s actions appeals to fear responses through a tactic, introduced by Reyes

(2008: 34), called ‘Explicit Emotional Enumeration’ (EEE). ‘Politicians state the threat enumerating the negative actions of the enemy and they provide the solution (war) to eliminate that threat’ (Reyes 2008: 35). This strategy is realised by breaking the object under discussion into a descriptive list, whilst presenting no new information to the listener. It is purely used as an appeal to emotions (Reyes 2008). This strategy can also be used to define the victims of terrorism, demonstrating that the ‘other’ does not discriminate in their attacks. The joint effort of referential strategies in describing what the ‘other’ is, and the appeal to emotion that the speaker can achieve provides the initial building block towards constructing the adversary.

Coming at a time the country was still searching for answers to the upsurge and of bomb blasts, Nigerians, who reacted to the latest twist in the bombing, urged urgent and decisive actions to address the matter. Some of them asked the Inspector-General of Police and National Security Adviser, to quit. Indeed, the police hierarchy and its boss,

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Hafiz Ringim, were engrossed in a marathon meeting in Abuja, last night over the incident as fear, anxiety and confusion enveloped the nation’s capital city with business activities brought to a halt. At the office of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Zone 5, all vehicles packed inside the premises were immediately driven out as the road leading to Ibro Hotel, which is adjacent to NSCDC office became an emergency parking lot. EXTRACT E75.

Due to the brutality of the sect, the Nigerian populace called for the resignation of the then inspector general of police, mister Ringim. This call for resignation is wrapped up in the word “quit” which means to vacate his seat. It is also an allegation of gross incompetence being levelled on the personality of the IGP at the time. The repercussion of this incident is that the hierarchy of government and the security department were

“engrossed in a marathon meeting in Abuja, last night over the incident as fear, anxiety and confusion enveloped the nation’s capital city with business activities brought to a halt” In this case, certain characteristics, qualities, and features are attributed to “them”

(Wodak, Meyer 2001: 73), i.e. killers, murderers etc. to construct what threat the “other” presents to the listener. Where the ‘argument’ of the speaker succeeds, some form of social action will transpire because this is a microcosm of the struggle for predominance between orders of discourse as described by Fairclough. The predominance of the ‘war against terror’ order of discourse in political and military institutions gives the government’s recontextualisation of the Boko Haram insurgency an added significance.

Therefore, an appeal to emotions in the case of the bombing as reported above is cemented by the employment of referential, nomination and predicative strategies, supported by an argumentative strategy to show what they have actually done. This evokes a sense of fear in the audience as ‘they’ are distinguished from ‘us’, and so the

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next stage to gaining acceptance for action is the hypothetical circumstances this situation may lead us to. This pictorial view of the Boko Haram sect as a “terrorist” organization is captured in the extract below where certain “documents” were said to have linked the sect to the terrorist Osama Bin Ladin.

Documents Link Boko Haram to Bin Laden: There was some form of regular communication between Osama bin Laden and the Boko Haram sect, documents recovered from the Pakistan house of the slain al-Qaeda leader have revealed. This effectively confirms the suspected external link to the Nigerian fundamentalist group, which again struck at the Bayero University Kano yesterday, killing two professors and 15 others at two church services. The Boko Haram militants also struck last night at a church in Jere, near Maiduguri, Borno State, killing three persons. According to a report in the Guardian of London, bin Laden appeared to have been in direct or indirect communication with Boko Haram as well as many other militant outfits. EXTRACT E76.

Osama bin Ladin was a notorious terrorist who masterminded the bombing of the World

Trade Centre (WTC) in the United States of America and the link between this world recognised terrorist and the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria is pictured in the level of carnage caused by the sect which can only be compared with what terrorists do the world over. At the killing of bin Ladin in Pakistan by the American security operatives was the uncovering of this truth of the link as reported by the Guardian of London. The use of such words or expressions as “Nigerian fundamentalist group” “Boko Haram militants” to paint a picture of the sect is a clear indication of the tendency to ascribe the sect to the terrorist groups thereby making them take the shape of terrorist organizations. The reference to the Boko Haram group as a terrorist organization by connecting it to Osama bin Ladin might help to ascertain the acts of terror being committed in the world to

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blacklist it and make it take the shape of “them” i.e. terrorists and not “us” the innocent citizens and this is substantiated by the use of weaponry that look similar to those used by terrorists thus making the operation intertextually connected to the bin Ladin’s world of terror. The ability of “us” to protect lives and properties and not “them” that focus on destroying them are clear indications of a polarised society--a situation described by Van

Leeuwen (2009) as “moral evaluation” thus making the reporter to use a threat to value systems as a reason for social action (Reyes 2011). The extract above shows that most of the themes discussed here are thrown up by the media representation of the situation with the reference to bin Ladin as recontextualisation processes. The rhetorical evaluation in extract E77 testifies to our assertion:

The question of whether Boko Haram, which has been responsible for a series of suicide attacks and bombings in the last year, is in touch with al-Qaeda or one of its affiliates had been hotly debated by analysts, according to the newspaper. “But documents in the cache show that leaders of the Nigerian group had been in contact with top levels of al-Qaeda in the past 18 months – confirming claims made to the Guardian in January by a senior Boko Haram figure,” the newspaper wrote. A Boko Haram spokesman had boasted after the attacks on Police Headquarters in Abuja last year that the group had just trained a generation of suicide bombers in Somalia in what was seen then as a direct link to al-Shaabab, a Somali terrorist group aligned to al-Qaeda. Boko Haram is also believed to be working with Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), based in Algeria. EXTRACT E77.

The portrayal of the insurgents as terrorists is further proven in the extract as they are linked to the various known terrorist organizations in the world. From the “al-Qaeda” in the Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, etc. “AQIM” in Algeria and “al-Shaabab” in Somali the

Boko Haram is heavily connected to a network of terrorist groups thus prompting the

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media reportage that the group is more of a terrorist one than a mere agitating organization. This is further substantiated in the expression that:

“But documents in the cache show that leaders of the Nigerian group had been in contact with top levels of al- Qaeda in the past 18 months – confirming claims made to the Guardian in January by a senior Boko Haram figure,”

This is a clear indication that can hardly be flawed in any court of human emotions. As stated earlier, terrorism instils fear in the people thus paving the way for unchallenged

Gestapo style of operations by the perpetrators of such acts:

Fear rules Bauchi over Boko Haram: For quite some time, Bauchi State has been in the news for the wrong reasons largely due to the level of insecurity in the State. This is because cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and terrorist acts of the dreaded Islamic sect, known as Boko Haram, are all becoming the order of day and this is giving everybody a cause for concern. The once enjoyable peace in the state is now threatened as people are reportedly forced to sleep with one eye open. But the most disturbing of these criminal trends is the Boko Haram rebel group that recently invaded the Northern parts of the country, with particular reference to Bauchi and Borno states. EXTRACT E78. It is the prerogative of humans to “rule” over a piece of land and over human beings but the headline in the above extract clearly states that “fear rules” over Bauchi---a state in the

Federal Republic of Nigeria thereby allocating the functions of humans to an inanimate or abstract being. This ascription of the role of humans to “fear” which has taken over the state is rather seen as being “bad” news as a result of insecurity caused by the Boko

Haram sect. but there are other issues that are associated with the activities of the sect such as: “armed robbery” “kidnapping” and “terrorist acts” which are attributes of the sect. As a result of the activities of this sect the people now literarily “sleep with one of their eyes closed” a culmination of the insurgent activities that have threatened the peace of the state. Even though the leader of the sect, Mohammed Yusuf, was captured and

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killed in Maiduguri, his disciples have kept his dream alive. That is those that escaped being killed due to their participation in the crisis as well as those arrested and remanded in prison custody. Before the death of Mohammed Yusuf, he stated that “even after I’m gone, my followers will still spring up and continue this mission. Boko Haram can never die”. This threat did not only focus on politicians or nonbelievers it also extended to the media as some of them became targets of the sect:

Bomb blasts hit 2 This Day offices: ABUJA– A loud explosion rocked an area Abuja on Thursday followed by smoke and ambulances headed in the direction of the blast, with injuries reported. Reports have it that the first bomb blast was in the Abuja This Day office in Jabi and was carried out by a suicide bomber who drove into the media house before detonating the bomb hence blowing away the building ‘s roof. Another blast was also reported at the Kaduna This day office according to witnesses. But Mr Yushau Shuaib a National Emergency Management Agency spokesman said the Abuja This day blast “occurred inside the premises of a national newspaper,” adding that “a preliminary investigation seems to indicate that the explosive device was planted somewhere within the premises, not likely a case of suicide bombing.” EXTRACT E79.

As reported above, the head office of This Day newspaper was bombed by the militant

Boko Haram sect who later claimed responsibility for the bombing for what it termed

“irresponsible” reportage of its activities by the media outfit. In the data we are told that the explosion “rocked” an area office and “shattered” the building to frighten the media outfit and cow it into submission. The bombing was reported to have taken place simultaneously in Abuja and Kaduna thus making the act calculated and deliberate and for the “explosive device was planted somewhere within the premises, not likely a case of suicide bombing “stands to show that the perpetrators “had enough time” to carry out

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their act without being caught. Security operatives also testified to the happening “we heard something like that happened, but we don’t have the details yet.” But a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency said “it’s true there was an explosion at

Jabi (district).” “NEMA officials are on the ground,” “They are trying to move those injured to the hospitals, but we don’t have any information on casualties yet.” The aim here is to blackmail the media into submission and ensure that their nefarious activities are not reported appropriately and that is why the next extract focuses on the “changing dynamics” of the modus operandi of the sect. After the bombing, Boko Haram claimed responsibility and warned of more such attacks. The bombings killed eight people. Boko

Haram alleged that the press was not reporting the group accurately. It said the group attacked This Day newspaper to send a strong message to the media that it would no longer condone reports misrepresenting it in the press, or blaming it for acts it knows nothing about. According to the spokesman for the group Abu Qaqa:

"The media are not a problem to us if they do their jobs professionally without taking sides, each time we say something, it is either changed or downplayed but when our enemy says something even without logical proof, it is blown out of proportion,” "We have repeatedly cautioned reporters and media houses to be professional and objective in their reports. This is a war between us and the Government of Nigeria; unfortunately the media have not been objective and fair in their report of the on-going war, they chose to take side,” "We have just started this new campaign against the media and we will not stop here, we will hit the media hard since they have refused to listen to our plea for them to be fair in their reportage (2012:98).

It should be noted that since its radical operational metamorphosis in 2009, Boko Haram has undergone a number of significant transformations. When the group started around

2002, it modelled itself on Al-Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan. After conflicts between

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the members of the sect and the Yobe State Government over the application of unadulterated Sharia, the Yobe State Council initiated efforts to expel the sect from the state. The sect then relocated to Kanama, a remote village near the border with Niger

Republic. Goaded by the desire for revenge, the group waged a retaliatory attack on the residences of local government heads, regional officials, and divisional police in Yobe

State on 24 December 2004. That attack paved the way for subsequent Boko Haram terrorist campaigns against Nigerian government authorities.

4.3.9 Major Actors as Cultists, Kidnappers and Negotiators:

4.3.9.1 The boko haram case studies

The height of kidnapping in Nigeria was the abduction of over 200 school girls in the

North eastern state of Borno, but prior to that time; Nigeria was under close watch over issues of kidnapping especially in the Niger Delta region. When the Niger Delta militants targeted oil facilities in the Niger Delta in the 2000s and kidnapped oil workers, it was a serious issue that called for concern even on the international scene. That Niger Delta crises which mixed genuine grievances with a form of organised crime including kidnappings and extortion, made some people to come to the conclusion that the nation was unstable. In recent years, Boko Haram has come to eclipse unrest in the Delta. It was not apparently an immediate threat to oil interests, in part because of geography as oil wells are hundreds of miles away in the south. But what is most worrying is a clearly stated intent by Boko Haram and by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb to coordinate and synchronise their efforts in terms of their styles of operation. The Boko Haram could possibly be a threat to Nigeria’s oil production because the group has already adopted many of al-Qaida’s tactics. If Boko Haram continues this trend, Nigerian oil facilities will

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be in the crosshairs. Previously the targets were foreign oil companies’ western workers, who were taken by the Niger Delta militants, but now it has steadily penetrated into the northern states and the kidnappers are becoming ever more attracted to wealthy individuals and politicians. Our focus in this segment is to describe and interpret how such speculations on the whereabouts of the major actors, blame game on the part of government and the militants as well as the level of dialogue that has followed the menace of insurgency in Nigeria as they are represented in the media from the perspectives of linguistics.

Backlash Against Boko Haram Spurs Risky Vigilante War: Nigerian iron worker Ba Kaka initially felt sympathy for Boko Haram’s violent uprising against a state he and many others saw as corrupt, un-Islamic and kowtowing to Western ideology. But as deaths mounted in the Islamist sect’s bloody campaign against state institutions, security services, Christians and even school children in northeast Nigeria, he began to see them as a threat to his life and livelihood. EXTRACT F80.

“We thought they were doing God’s work at the beginning, but over time, we realized they were just a cult,” said Kaka, who was forced to close his shop in the Northeast’s main city of Maiduguri after a spate of Boko Haram attacks in his area. Kaka is part of a popular backlash against the Islamists - a member of one of a number of government-approved vigilante groups that have become a weapon in a military offensive that has dismantled Boko Haram networks and squeezed its fighters into a mountainous area by the Cameroon border. Though the sect remains the gravest threat to Africa’s most populous country and top oil producer, it is weaker than it has been for years. EXTRACT F81.

Extracts G80&81 above are clear indications of speculative tendencies in the search for peace in the crises ravaged north where the Boko Haram militia hold sway. The initial thought was that the course was a “just one” and that they militants were an alternative to

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a corrupt and debased society that was ruled by men of “questionable integrity” but the

“supporters” of the movement gradually discovered that their “support” was misdirected against “their own selves” hence the need to “fight back”. In the first extract we see such expressions as “initially felt sympathy for Boko Haram’s violent uprising” “corrupt, un-

Islamic and kowtowing to Western ideology” where these words were used to describe the initial position of the “ignorant” and “innocent” who were “brainwashed” into believing that the Boko Haram struggle was mainly for political, religious and institutional “emancipation”. However, the introduction of kidnapping and other heinous crimes led to the “reversal” of thoughts as one of the “former” supporters of the group opines ““We thought they were doing God’s work at the beginning, but over time, we realized they were just a cult” thus the label “cultists” or “cultism” or “a cult” is an indictment on the part of the Boko Haram who operate on the principles of secrecy. This decision is described by the media as “popular backlash against the Islamists” which could connote “reaction” “repercussion” “recoil” “counterattack” “criticism” “hostile response” all these are lexical items that point to aggressiveness to a rejected “enemy”.

But the reporter opines that the decision by the ex-members of the sect to be used as

“civilian fighters” against the sect is a counterproductive approach as he says:

Yet the decision to give these gangs of largely unemployed youths the go ahead to hunt down militants risks dragging civilians further into the North’s conflict. Reprisals are already a problem, and security troubles could emerge further down the line, as has happened in the past with youth gangs. Though the state is not giving them guns, a few have acquired them anyway. Kaka himself uses his iron-working skills to fashion bladed weapons like machetes for the militias. “With all the death around us, we have gone beyond being afraid of them,” he said, gesturing to a dusty street in his area where a local politician was gunned down by the militants. EXTRACT F82.

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This concept of ideological projection by the reporter is a clear indication of allowing personal emotions to overshadow the essence of the report thus giving room for speculative tendencies as observed in extract G83 above. The reporter observes that “Yet the decision to give these gangs of largely unemployed youths the go ahead to hunt down militants risks dragging civilians further into the North’s conflict” which indicates a situation of “taking advantage” of the un-employability of the youths to engage them in an insurgent squabble thereby risking their lives. The use of the phrase or expression

“hunt down” is an attempt to “ask” the “civilian fighters” to resist the “assistance” and leave the business of fighting terrorism to the security operatives who hardly know the nooks and corners of the crises ravaged area. This is clearly stated in the reporter’s opinion that “Reprisals are already a problem, and security troubles could emerge further down the line, as has happened in the past with youth gangs. Though the state is not giving them guns, a few have acquired them anyway” but the reporter’s position is further revealed in the opinion that “Though the state is not giving them guns, a few have acquired them anyway” meaning the suggestion that “civilian fighters” join in the struggle to flush out terrorists is only verbal as the acquisition of weaponry is “left” in the hands of the local militias. The decision of journalists to take a position in any news item is greatly criticised by Teun van Dijk as he opines:

News reports, as well as their production and understanding, presuppose vast amounts of shared social representations, including specific prejudices and ideologies. Readers, of course, have less practical knowledge of the professional routines, ideologies, and news values of journalists; but they know part of them implicitly, through the interpretation of news reports in which such beliefs or values are indirectly expressed or signalled. The definition of news by the journalist, thus, is also reproduced indirectly by the readers, who would be

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surprised about (and probably resist against) a drastic change in the choice, contents, or style of news reports. Especially important for the cognitive analysis of news communication is the model construed by the readers of a news event as expressed and persuasively conveyed by the news report. Obviously, for each individual reader this model will not be exactly identical with that of the journalist, or identical with the model the journalist wanted the reader to build. Personal models and differences in social representations may lead to a different interpretation of the news, that is, to different models, but again, these variations are limited because the interpretative framework of most readers is constrained by the social representations that define the consensus (1988:28).

This therefore forecloses the idea that issues reported in the media are objectively reported from the point of view of the reporter and the media outfit. There are however ideological projections which can only be deciphered by a critically minded reader. The extract F83 below paints a picture of divergent scenes, of opposites, contradictions and misdirection portraying the nation’s security outfit as incompetent, not knowledgeable and a bunch of untrained and unqualified illiterates:

Local council officials had fled and police stations were empty, especially in Borno state, relic of an old Islamic caliphate. The military crackdown has re-established sovereignty over these areas. Military officials say senior Boko Haram commanders have also been killed or arrested - though they decline to name names - which could mean a secession crisis if Shekau is caught. At a desk in the capital Abuja, surrounded by folders marked “confidential”, a top Nigerian security official, who declined to be named, watches recently-seized Boko Haram recruitment videos and scans satellite images of the Gwoza hills, next to Cameroon, where he says Shekau is suspected to be hiding. Alongside videos of Boko Haram members demonstrating how to stitch a suicide vest - “here’s one I made earlier,” says one in Hausa language, as if baking a cake for daytime TV - there is also one of “traitors” being executed. Two suspected state informants are beheaded in a field by masked men wielding Ak-47s to creepy music praising

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jihad. RISKS AHEAD Since the vigilantes rose up, Boko Haram, whose name roughly translates to “Western education is forbidden”, has turned on civilians. EXTRACT F83.

Most of the lexical items used to describe the actors in this extract are drawn from the lexical field of ‘war’ thus presenting an image-schema structure which is at variance with known attributes of civilians. Such lexical usages are: “local council officials” “fled”

“vigilante groups” “weapon in a military offensive” “dismantled” “squeezed its fighters”

“hunt down militants” ‘fight’, ‘victims’, ‘aggravate’, ‘dispute’ are terms denoting conflict that are not usually associated with the actions of a docile civilian. These metaphors thus construe the VILLAIN – VICTIM pair, making civilians the responsible agent of the conflict while security operatives and ‘the Boko Haram sects’ are the casualties which the

‘war’ has ‘taken its toll’ on. In negotiating the crises, the sect members are called upon to lay down their weapons and sue for peace. The decision to keep mum on the issue of whether the leader of the sect was killed in an operation is “speculative” and is capable of raising tension among the militants. The contradiction in this text is whether the

“suspected killed” Shekau is still the one being suspected of “hiding around Gwoza hill near Cameroun in the video being watched that is marked “confidential” this is also speculative in approach.

Boko Haram’s Shekau Likely Dead JTF Says: Military authorities in Borno State yesterday said Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau might have died from gunshot injuries sustained on June 30. The Joint Task Force said in a statement in Maiduguri that “Shekau might have died between 25 July to 3 August” at Amitchide in Cameroon while nursing fatal wounds inflicted on him when troops attacked the Sambisa Forest. The JTF revelation came just a week after a video posted on the internet showed a man claiming to be Shekau speaking on various events that

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happened days after the dates of his supposed death. EXTRACT F84

In the video released on August 12, the man spoke on the Eid el-Fitr celebration of August 8, as well as on the attacks launched by sect members in Gamboru-Ngala, Bama and Mallam Fatori in the first week of the month. The 32- minute video showed the man claiming to be Shekau alone, wearing a green caftan, a cap and a turban. He had an AK- 47 resting on his chest while holding a paper in his left hand and a chewing stick in his right hand. His face and pattern of speech in Hausa and Arabic languages matched the previous videos released by Shekau, our correspondent said. But JTF yesterday said the video must have been dramatized by an impostor as intelligence reports show Shekau had died days or weeks earlier. EXTRACT F85.

Not only semantically, but also syntactically these expressions are rather similar, featuring the usual information for initial lead sentences. In both cases, the purported

Shakau is sentence topic, in the Extract G84 sentence subject of a passive clause, and in

Extract G85 subject of the intransitive verb. The cause in the extract sentence is described in an embedded temporal clause, whereas the next extract sentence uses a complex adverbial phrase. In both cases noun phrases are qualified with several embedded clauses: the relative clauses appended to Shekau in the second sentence of the extract, and the relative clauses in the next extract that specify the result of the alleged killing. Finally, in both cases the information is embedded in declaratives, a passive "was said" in the two extracts and a postponed declarative main clause, "our reporter said". Both are typical for news discourse syntax, and a routine strategy to embed new information within specified or unspecified information about sources or declarations. Final position main clauses used as declaratives are especially typical in news discourses and emphasize the background nature of the source and the foreground nature of the contents of the

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declaration. Thus, the general pattern is a complex sentence, in which a declarative is often the formal main clause, but the main news actor remains subject and topic of the sentence as a whole, such that the major actors are modified by one or more relative clauses or adverbials. Note also that even simple sentences may be rather long and complicated, due to the use of nominalizations and adverbials to give a detailed analysis of the scenario as purportedly found in the news report. This is based on speculations more or less referred to as “intelligence reports as portrayed in the extract below:

“Intelligence report available to the Joint Task Force Operation RESTORE ORDER(ORO) revealed that Abubakar Shekau, the most dreaded and wanted Boko Haram terrorists leader may have died,” JTF spokesman Lt- Col. Sagir Musa said in the statement. “He died of gunshot wound received in an encounter with the JTF troops in one of their camps at Sambisa Forest on 30 June 2013. Shekau was mortally wounded in the encounter and was sneaked into Amitchide, a border community in Cameroun for treatment which he never recovered. “It is greatly believed that Shekau might have died between 25 July to 3 August, 2013. “He was reported to have masterminded the kidnap of the seven French citizens and that of the elder statesman Alhaji (Dr) Shettima Ali Monguno in addition to many murders of Islamic clerics in Northern Nigeria. He was also responsible for bombings of many places of worship and public buildings including Police and United Nations headquarters in Abuja. EXTRACT F86.

The very first sentence in extract G86 above betrayed the news content as it relies solely on hearsay to presume the “dead” of the most dreaded and wanted Boko Haram terrorists leader” thereby not being in a better position to substantiate the killing of a man who has been described as “a dreaded terrorist” by both the media and the populace---government inclusive. The reporter in this article relies on quotations to prove his point but fails to ingratiate the Nitti gritties of the news. If the leader “died” of gun wounds sustained from

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the operatives in a battle why the use of a conditional statement “It is greatly believed that Shekau might have died between 25 July to 3 August, 2013” in the subsequent line thus giving an indication that the news item itself is speculative and lacks a sense of direction. This usage is incoherent with the more general lexical framework of violence terms associated with a terrorist group action and expresses prominent underlying prejudices about the Boko Haram sect as Ruhrmann & Kollmer (1984:69) show that negative evaluations in the press are usually framed in terms of criticism, deviation of the norm, and stereotypes. The deviation leads the reporter to move from the core of the news to the activities carried out by the “late Shekau” thus further compounding the whole issue of not presenting a clear picture of the unfolding scenario. The woes of the security agents and those of the federal government were further compounded when after the above news extract the revelations in the coming days’ news reports were unbearable:

SHEKAU APPEARS IN NEW VIDEO: We’re studying clip – Army: The leader of the Jama’atuAhlisSunnah Lid Da’awatiWal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, has resurfaced and claimed responsibility for recent attacks that left more than a hundred people dead in Borno State. Abubakar Shekau, who military authorities said in August might have been killed, released a video yesterday in which he said: “The world should know that by the grace of Allah I am alive and will only die at the appointed time.” The video was sent out through intermediaries who had previously passed on similar messages by the sect leader. “Those underrating my capacity should have a re-think because the war we are waging will consume all of you,” Shekau said in his usual boastful style. EXTRACT F87.

The headline above is manipulative, printed in bold letters and topicalized to portray the unrealistic events that had followed the “alleged” death of Shekau who is said to have appeared in a new video. But the reaction of the security operatives which is in the form

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of news lead is also speculative as we are told they “are studying it” (the video) thus raising more suspicion on the claims that the sect leader may have died. Shekau did not only reappear but claimed responsibility for the atrocities that had taken place after his alleged demise “…has resurfaced and claimed responsibility for recent attacks that left more than a hundred people dead in Borno State”. The use of a categorical statement “The world should know that by the grace of Allah I am alive and will only die at the appointed time” is followed by a threat to national security “Those underrating my capacity should have a re-think because the war we are waging will consume all of you” thus placing the nation on a red alert. According to the sect leader, the announcement of his possible death by the Joint Task Force in Maiduguri is misleading and might have been aimed at provoking him to speak. But he chose to take his time before reacting:

“I deliberately kept quiet all this while, laughing at Nigerian authorities who misled the world that I am dead. I wish they would stop bothering themselves because I cannot be stopped,” he said. In the video, Shekau is seen dressed in military fatigue, sitting on a rug and surrounded by lieutenants who wielded sophisticated guns. He spoke in Arabic, Hausa, English as well as his native Kanuri language. Shekau taunted President Goodluck Jonathan and his counterparts, U.S.’s Barack Obama and France’s Francois Hollande, saying they would be sad to hear he is still alive. “The claim that I was injured in Sambisa and taken to Amichide in Cameroon for treatment is not true. By Allah, I was never in Cameroon. Only Allah knows my whereabouts because I only give orders and I will never tell anyone where I am,” he said. EXTRACT F88.

The opening sentence in the above extract is a paradox where someone who “kept quiet” is at the same time “laughing at the Nigerian government”. It is also a way of dramatizing the “incompetence” of a security outfit which relies on mere information to release press statements on the alleged death of a known terrorist. He also expresses his unstoppable

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tendencies and ability to manoeuvre situations even at difficult times “I wish they would stop bothering themselves because I cannot be stopped” thereby daring the authorities to confront him by any means. The reporter’s statement and personal opinion that “Shakau taunted world leaders including the US President, the French President and the Nigerian

President” is an attempt to raise anger and emotions on the part of the leaders to rise up and crush the rampaging militancy of the Boko Haram. Shekau sees himself as a man who commands and not one who follows as he asserts “Only Allah knows my whereabouts because I only give orders and I will never tell anyone where I am,” and thus aligns himself with the Almighty Allah who “is in support of his actions”.

Boko Haram resurrects, declares total Jihad: The Islamic sect Boko Haram has declared total Jihad in Nigeria, threatening to islamise the entire nation by force of war. In a statement dated August 9, 2009 and made available to Vanguard, the sect whose activities led to the loss of hundreds of lives in northern Nigeria recently declared that their leader Yusuf, who was killed in controversial circumstances during the crisis, lives forever. In what looked like a declaration of war on the rest of the nation, the Boko Haram sect said it will unleash terror in Southern Nigeria this August, beginning with the bombing of Lagos, Ibadan, and Enugu to make good its words. EXTRACT F89.

From “appear” to “resurrect” to “declare war” the Boko Haram has become a living being through speculative tendencies as created in the media. When we analyse the extract above in describing the sect we find that the headline is an embodiment of personification. This is partially explained by the fact that, overall, the most frequent target domain in the news item is the sect group. In addition, given that the newspaper report is on the speculations on the dead of the group leader, the need to persuade through discourse and to rouse the nationalistic sentiments of the people becomes probably

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greater than any other interest. Almost half of the personifications describing the sect in this extract seem to support the argument that in the struggle to free the stronghold of the

Boko Haram sect the security agencies and the media use metaphors in their attempt to construct a discourse of national security. The conceptual metaphor of insurgency as a

RESURRECTING PERSON becomes the most common personification that the media relies on to describes the security situation at the time. Examples of this metaphor include: “has declared total Jihad in Nigeria” “threatening to Islamise the entire nation”

“by force of war” “their leader Yusuf, who was killed in controversial circumstances during the crisis, lives forever” “it will unleash terror in Southern Nigeria”“ beginning with the bombing of Lagos, Ibadan, and Enugu to make good its words”. This metaphor therefore sees the insurgency as a RESURRECTING PERSON which implies that anew beginning is taking place. This interpretation draws from the idea that the Boko Haram via Shekau was “dead” and “finished,” but now that the same Shekau has “reappeared” the group is “born again.” This suggests a process of rebirth, consistent with the national security discourse. As a way of making its threat real, there was the speculation that the sect had smuggled some weapons into the country through the Niger Delta region as reported in the extract below:

How Boko Haram smuggles weapons into Nigeria – Ex- N/Delta militants: WARRI—EX-MILITANTS in the Niger-Delta, under the auspices of the defunct Niger Delta Liberation Force, NDLF, said they have uncovered a secret conduit through which the militant Islamic sect, Boko Haram, allegedly transports weapons/ammunition into the country. Spokesperson of the group, ‘Captain’ Mark Anthony, told Vanguard in an exclusive interview, yesterday, in Warri, Delta State, that a top government official (names withheld) was using his influence to circumvent the laws of Nigeria Customs to allow entry through the nation’s border to illegal arms dealers who

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supply military hardware to members of the sect. President Goodluck Jonathan, speaking at a church service held at the National Christian Centre to mark the 2012 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, early this year, had said that members of the Islamic sect had infiltrated the three arms of government at the federal level. He confessed that combating Boko Haram was complicated as members of the Boko Haram sect were in the armed forces, the executive, legislature and judiciary. EXTRACT F90.

Extract F90 exposes the sect in their bid to “transport” weapons into the country by means of clandestine affairs through the cooperation of security operatives: “NDLF said they have uncovered a secret conduit through which the militant Islamic sect, Boko Haram, allegedly transports weapons/ammunition into the country”. The Niger Delta “boys” who were once in the business of “terrorising” the country are now “protecting” the territorial boundaries of the country by ensuring that “illegally” acquired weapons are not smuggled into the country through their waterways. The use of the word “conduit” is a metaphor for

“channel” “canal” “duct” “tube” “pipe” but this usage is restricted to humans who aid the transportation of such weapons by crook means. The name of this “conduit” is not revealed but an expose’ is given in this utterance “a top government official (names withheld) was using his influence to circumvent the laws of Nigeria Customs to allow entry through the nation’s border to illegal arms dealers who supply military hardware to members of the sect” it is also an irony that “a top military personnel” who is entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the nation is “now a conduit in the hands of the Boko

Haram sect” which aims to terrorise the country. But the irony is further compounded in the presidential pronouncement that: members of the Islamic sect had infiltrated the three arms of government at the federal level. He confessed that combating Boko Haram was complicated as members of the Boko Haram sect were in the armed forces, the executive,

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legislature and judiciary”. This becomes impossible to detect who is a sect member and who is not as even the law makers, the judiciary and executive members have been alleged to be sympathetic to the course of the Boko Haram sect. These “key” government officials are not only supporting the course of insurgency but are financiers:

The NDLF spokesperson told Vanguard that the top official, evidently among the key financiers of Boko Haram, “is single-handedly sponsoring the current anti- Jonathan debates in the National Assembly to destabilize President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.” The former agitators called on President Jonathan to dismiss the official and order his arrest by security agencies and prosecution for offences against the state. He said: “We, therefore, call for the immediate sack, arrest, investigation and prosecution of the shadowy Boko Haram senior officer and financier in government to serve as a deterrent to others.” Asked if the group had alerted any of the nation’s security agencies on its findings, he said: “This is our own method of alerting the security agencies so that they will swing into action. EXTRACT F91.

The allegation that the financier of the sect is a “top” government official is revealed by the Niger Delta militants whom the reporter referred to as “former agitators” thus giving a mild description of the nefarious militias who were once “terrorizing” the nation in the name of agitating for the enforcement of their fundamental human rights and implementation of the government white paper on the revenue derivation formula favourable to the region. The ex-militants demanded the “dismissal of the official and order his arrest and prosecution” to serve as a deterrence to others. The speculative tendencies in this report are captured in the inability of the ex-militants to reveal the names of the so called “financiers” by dodging the question put to him on the real identity of those “financiers”.

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GUNS FOR SALE: A study group with interest in peace and security under the auspices of the Arewa House Centre for Historical Documentation and Research recently decried the proliferation of small arms and light weapons along Nigeria’s northern border areas. According to the group, guns were being sold openly at the border areas and that an A-K 47, with 20 rounds of ammunition, sold for N10, 000. This revelation should be cause for worry because of its implications for the incidents of crimes and other forms of violence that bedevilled the country in recent years. It also accentuates the fact that not enough is being done to keep out or mop up these weapons by the various government organs charged with doing so. EXTRACT F92.

The proliferation of weapons, according to many accounts, emerged as an outcome of the many years of military rule Nigeria witnessed, and the culture of violence that ensued. But if such proliferation can be attributed to military rule, the demand for them has gone beyond that of petty thieves and armed robbers. The weapons have now become tools to settle community disputes that were once amicably resolved through mediation. These days, communal conflicts are causes of casualties and destruction of property. Ease of access to weapons has contributed to the escalation of communal conflicts across the country as no region has been spared the bloody disputes that have occurred over differences on community boundaries, grazing lands and other matters. EXTRACT F93.

As the “business” of smuggling arms into the country through the Niger Delta waterways failed the insurgents resort to buying from the black market within the Northern axis of the country. This time the revelation comes from insurgents’ northern-Muslim brothers under the auspices of the Arewa Consultative Forum as the group opines “A study group with interest in peace and security under the auspices of the Arewa House Centre for

Historical Documentation and Research recently decried the proliferation of small arms and light weapons along Nigeria’s northern border areas”. This is a follow up to the alarm raised by the ex-Niger Delta militants who observe that certain elements within the armed

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forces were in the business of aiding the northern insurgents to procure arms and ammunitions through the Niger Delta waterways. The group even went further to reveal the amount paid for a particular weapon which it says “… guns were being sold openly at the border areas and that an A-K 47, with 20 rounds of ammunition, sold for N10, 000.

The use of figures in that extract is to spur emotions and whip up sentiments amongst the people as well as draw government’s attention to the nefarious activities of the sect members. The news reporter did not waste time to unearth the sentiments expressed in the extract as it is observed that “This revelation should be cause for worry because of its implications for the incidents of crimes and other forms of violence that bedevilled the country in recent years. It also accentuates the fact that not enough is being done to keep out or mop up these weapons by the various government organs charged with doing so.

The above expressions are aimed at raising alarm to call government to action in a bit to

“rid” the region of illegally acquired arms and ammunitions.Extract G93 blames the proliferation of arms into the country on the principles of “historical allusion” by stating that the persistent stay of the military in power led to those sharp practices being carried out by the insurgents. The proliferation of weapons, according to many accounts, emerged as an outcome of the many years of military rule Nigeria witnessed, and the culture of violence that ensued. This presupposes that the military came with impunity and created a culture of violence to ensure that peace is illusive in the country. The reporter states that the essence of “making weapons available” by the military was for the purpose of banditry but that its aim has been over taken by events “But if such proliferation can be attributed to military rule, the demand for them has gone beyond that of petty thieves and armed robbers” this again is speculative and a case for intrigue and blackmail on the part

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of the military who are not in a position to answer for their “wrong doing” while in government---a legacy that has planted a culture of violence, impunity and barbarism.From the foregoing, one can observe that the debilitating impact of weapons been easily accessed have had so much impact in the Niger Delta crisis and Boko Haram insurgency. Because the Niger Delta militants possessed them in large quantity it once turned the Niger delta region into a theatre of war, where heavily armed militants made that part of the country almost ungovernable. Recourse to use of force to quell the militancy could achieve only so much in limiting its destructive impact in the region. The militants sabotaged economic installations, targeting oil pipelines and embarking on bunkering as well as kidnapping for ransom.

We Didn’t Meet Shekau Says Amnesty Committee: Chairman of the presidential committee on dialogue and peaceful resolution of security challenges in the north Mallam TanimuTuraki has said the committee made tremendous progress in the task assigned to it by the President. Turaki who is also minister for special duties and inter-governmental affairs made this known yesterday in Abuja while briefing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on the achievements of his ministry. EXTRACT F94.

He said however that the committee has not been able to meet with the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Imam Abubakar Shekau, but said the sect sent some of their leaders to meet with them. Turaki said the committee has completed about 99 percent of the work assigned to it by the President and that it will round up within the week and submit its report any time given to it by the President. When asked if the committee has been able to establish contact with Shekau, he said: “I think I will also ask you where is Shekau?” adding that they were directed by Mr President to identify key members of the sect and then engage them in dialogue which they have done. He said: “Mr President did not ask us to look for Shekau and engage him in dialogue. And it is important for Nigerians to appreciate that in matters of this nature you don’t just wake up one day even as a dialogue committee established by

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government and say you are discussing with the highest leadership of insurgents. EXTRACT F95.

“Usually what happens is that after that we have been able to establish confidence because it is necessary, they now deployed lower rank of their membership to us, like a water testing mechanism,” the minister explained. “They would come to us we will discuss with them, when they go back without any molestation then at the next meeting they would deploy a higher set of members. And this is how it has been going to the level where we now are, where we have started to engage key members of these insurgencies. “But for us it does not have to be Shekau. If these are the people they are now sending as representatives for the purpose of liaising with the committee we cannot determine for them who should represent them. For us, as far as we know that these are genuine members of the organizations, we deal with them and we have several ways of determining,” he said. The minister insisted the dialogue committee has laid solid foundation for sustainable peace to be achieved in Nigeria stressing that the release of captives on the order of the president has also reduced the level of insurgency in Nigeria. EXTRACT F96.

There is a high level of contradiction in extract G94 where the minister for special duties who said in line one that his committee “committee made tremendous progress” in executing the assignment given to it to ensure that dialogue with the Boko Haram sect is seen to a logical end. But the same minister contradicts himself in extract F94 by saying that he has not been able to “meet with the leader of the sect to negotiate” any peace deal, and went rhetorical to enquire from an inquisitive journalist who sought to know if there has been any form of relationship established between the committee members and the

Boko Haram sect “I think I will also ask you where is Shekau?”Mr President did not ask us to look for Shekau and engage him in dialogue”. If the “job” has been done 99 percent as claimed by the negotiating minister and no contact has been made with the protagonist, then there is hardly any result achieved in that claim. In extract G95 there is a clear

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indication of power play deployed in the negotiation strategy because the minister opines that because the “insurgents” are scared of being “molested” they chose to send the

“lower ranking” men within their fold to negotiate with the government as he observes

“Usually what happens is that after that we have been able to establish confidence because it is necessary, they now deployed lower rank of their membership to us, like a water testing mechanism”. This also reveals the fact that there had been molestation on the part of the government thus causing the “high ranking” insurgents to delegate the

“lower ones” to negotiate the peace deal. But the minister has no problems negotiating with the “lower” members of the sect as he says “But for us it does not have to be

Shekau” which means the whole business is anchored on “trust”. This “trust” culminates into the “release” of some sect members a situation that simmered their operational strategies “the release of captives on the order of the president has also reduced the level of insurgency in Nigeria”.In the extracts G94, 95 & 96 we can identify representations of

Boko Haram insurgency as the continuation of Mohammed Yusuf’s war on non-believers due to the fact that both the sect members and their operations are not based on societal laws but on the concept of extremism.

4.3.10 Insurgents/Militants as Educational Terrorists

The abduction of Chibok girls in Nigeria in 2013 represents the greatest “mistake” which the Boko Haram insurgents made in their campaign to impose an Islamic state on

Nigeria. The terrorist attack on the school in Chibok can be described as the bloodiest school siege worldwide in nearly a decade and the worst terrorist attack in recent history.

Amid an outpouring of anguish and condemnation in Nigeria and around the world, the

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Boko Haram insurgents were quick to claim responsibility. "We selected the school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and friends," "We want them to feel our pain." The attack was another expression of a brutal trend: A growing number of educational institutions have been targeted in terrorist attacks in recent times. In trying to access the level of damage done to the world educational sectors, the University of

Maryland's Global Terrorism Database, which lists more than 125,000 terrorist attacks around the world since 1970, recorded a sharp increase in terror attacks on schools. This increase in the number of attacks on schools has coincided with a more general increase in terrorist attacks around the world. Schools remain a small and relatively stable proportion of overall terrorist targets recorded in the Global Terrorism Database. Though recent years have brought the rise of Nigeria's Boko Haram, which explicitly condemns

Western education and conducted one of the biggest school attacks when it kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls, it is extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia, along with Iraq in the Middle East, who are largely driving the growth in terrorist targeting of schools. In this segment we take a critical linguistic look at the representation of the Boko

Haram and the Niger Delta militants as the tormentors of educational infrastructure in

Nigeria. While the Boko Haram terrorists set their eyes on destroying schools in Nigeria, educational centres have been turned into a safe haven for the Niger Delta ex-militants where they are camped to receive training and in most cases they turn around to vandalise the facilities in those schools.

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4.3.10.1 The Niger Delta Case Studies

Data described and interpreted here focus on the Niger Delta militants and their portrayal as militants as well as educational terrorists as they are depicted in the media:

From a Militants’ Kingdom to a University Community: The militant enclave of Gbaramatu Kingdom of Delta State becomes a university community as President Goodluck Jonathan performs the ground breaking ceremonies of the Nigeria Maritime University and a Shipyard/Dockyard facility in the coastal community. This time four, five years ago, Gbaramatu Kingdom, the militant enclave of Delta State, was of forlorn hope, despair, sadness and a battle ground between one of the warlords of the bloody Niger Delta Struggle and the Federal Government Joint (Military) Taskforce. The area did not only witness severe bombardment, it came under heavy shelling and was almost reduced to rubbles on the accusation that it harboured militants, fighting against the economic interest of Nigeria and in the quest to capture dead or alive one of the most dreadful commanders of the region’s militants, ‘General’ Tompolo, a son of the kingdom. Many fled their homes to seek refuge in surrounding bushes and neighbouring communities, some were killed or maimed, homes were damaged, burnt or destroyed, and the people were torn between life and death. EXTRACT G99.

Extract G99 above paints a picture of gloom, war and terror with a mixture of sadness and joy as the once “enclave for Niger Delta militants” becomes a University environment.

The reporter captures vividly the happenings that had taken place in that community prior to its becoming a place for the acquisition of knowledge. The news headline is a typical irony where the reporter opines that the community was undergoing a period of metamorphosis---transforming from “a militant enclave” to a university environment:

“From a Militants’ Kingdom to a University Community”. Such lexical items used in describing the level of terror that reigned supreme include: “The militant enclave”

“forlorn hope” “despair” “sadness” “a battle ground” “severe bombardment” “under

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heavy shelling” “reduced to rubbles” “harboured militants” “fighting against the economic interest of Nigeria” “capture dead or alive” “Many fled their homes” “to seek refuge in surrounding bushes and neighbouring communities” “some were killed or maimed” “homes were damaged” “burnt” or destroyed” “the people were torn between life and death”. All these lexical items portray a moment of anguish, frustration and despair accompanied by an exodus of people to an unknown destination. But the same environment with such lexical descriptions has been turned into “university community”

“as the then President Goodluck Jonathan performs the ground breaking ceremonies of the Nigeria Maritime University and a Shipyard/Dockyard facility in the coastal community” and the reporter was quick to observe that some years back, the same environment was hardly accessible: “This time four, five years ago, Gbaramatu Kingdom, the militant enclave of Delta State, was of forlorn hope, despair, sadness and a battle ground between one of the warlords of the bloody Niger Delta Struggle and the Federal

Government Joint (Military) Taskforce” these are juxtapositions of the positive and negative painting the “other” bad in order to make the “us” look good. The change in the atmospheric condition is captured in EXTRACT G100 below:

But all that had long given way to a new life of promise and hope in the wake of the hand of amnesty extended by the government to the fighting militants. As President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and his entourage of the Delta State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano , the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Ziakade Akpobolokemi and a host of others stepped out of their choppers to a rousing reception in the kingdom for the ground breaking ceremonies of the Nigeria Maritime University (NUM), the NIMASA Shipyard/Dockyard facility both sited in Okerenkoko and the flag off of the temporary site of the NUM in kurutie,

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also in the kingdom, it was obvious that the days of the long knives are long over. The president was visiting the kingdom for the first time since he assumed office, having been there last in 2007 as vice president. EXTRACTG100

The above extract presupposes that there was hopelessness and that the presence of the then president and members of his entourage was to give the people hope. This is a clear indication of polarization effects to ensure that “them” are the bad ones while the “us” epitomizes a ray of hope---“But all that had long given way to a new life of promise and hope in the wake of the hand of amnesty extended by the government to the fighting militants” “it was obvious that the days of the long knives are long over. The president was visiting the kingdom for the first time since he assumed office, having been there last in 2007 as vice president”. For the president not to have visited the place for over seven years even though he is from that region and from that same locality goes to show how the peoples’ leaders show disdain for the people they purport to govern.

The mood was as warm as the occasion was colourful; celebrations knew no bounds as cultural and other displays took over. In between the unending singing, dancing and display of joy, President Jonathan rose to perform the mission of his visit to a thunderous ovation. He was delightful at his return to the kingdom, recalling that the last time he visited in 2007; he solicited their co-operation to embrace peace in the Niger Delta region convinced that “peace in the region was invariably going to translate to greater economic fortunes for the kingdom and our great country in general. “I am glad you took the advice and today the story of our collective success in entrenching peace in this region is told all over the world and is currently considered a model for the resolution of conflicts in other parts of the World particularly, in Africa. We must admit that the journey to the present state has been challenging but you forged ahead. EXTRACT G101

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The extract above is an embodiment of ideological collectivism and collectivism of inclusiveness by saying ““I am glad you took the advice and today the story of our collective success in entrenching peace in this region is told all over the world and is currently considered a model for the resolution of conflicts in other parts of the World particularly, in Africa” the president is of the opinion that it is only the principles of

“collective responsibility” that can “move a nation forward” and for taking the advice, the decision has led to greater improvements in the region. This is accompanied by the use of such lexical items as “warm” “colourful” “celebrations knew no bounds” “cultural and other displays took over” “unending singing” “dancing” “display of joy” “thunderous ovation” to denote the acceptance of the present circumstance and a rejection of the former approach to life. This corroborates the text below as we see results of the need for skills acquisition.

PTI trains 350 ex-militants: ABOUT 350 ex-militants have been trained in various skills in the Federal Government – owned Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, near Warri in Delta State, the Acting Principal/Chief Executive Mrs Nnenna Dennar has disclosed. Mrs Dennar stated this while briefing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Upstream, led by the chair, Hon Ajibola Muraina, who were at the institute on oversight function, Wednesday. She said most of them were employed on completion of their training, adding that there was a case of 26 ex-militants that trained as divers, who were employed by a Nigerian company even before they finished the training. Mrs Dennar in response to inquiry by committee members confirmed that the fees for the ex- militants that were trained by the school were paid by the Presidential Amnesty Office, PAP, and Abuja. EXTRACT G102.

Here the Petroleum Training Institute {PTI} becomes home to the ex-militants who through the amnesty programme have received trainings in different areas of

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specialization as the principal of the institute observes “350 ex-militants have been trained in various skills in the Federal Government –owned Petroleum Training Institute”

“…most of them were employed on completion of their training, adding that there was a case of 26 ex-militants that trained as divers, who were employed by a Nigerian company even before they finished the training”. Herein lies the need for peace as preached by the ex-president on the occasion of the “ground breaking” ceremony of the establishment of the University in Delta (see extract G100).

NOUN to build study centres for militants: The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is to build a study centre for the Niger Delta militants, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Olugbemiro Jegede has said. Jegede said that already, NOUN has identified an abandoned ship used by the former Military Governor of Rivers state, Commander Diette Spiff that would be refurbished to serve as one of the centres. He spoke in Kaduna yesterday while commissioning a special study centre for officers and men of the Nigeria Air Force. EXTRACT G103.

The position of the Vice Chancellor that the National Open University of Nigeria “will build” study centres to train ex-militants is a sharp contrast to the subsequent sentence that says “an abandoned ship” has been spotted and that it “will be refurbished” to become a study centre for the ex-militants. The headline betrays the main news item as it is couched in sensational tendencies to attract potential readers who would ordinarily rush to buy the paper to see how “brand new” educational institutions will be built for ex- militants at the expense of the dilapidating federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country and other educational institutions only to discover that the headline is an opposite of the main news, and by training the ex-militants in an abandoned

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ship is a clear demonstration of the level of decay that trails the Nigerian educational sector. The Vice Chancellor’s position is clear on the issue:

We will develop it to be a complete study centre complete with offices, computers, DSTV and satellite station so that they can communicate with anybody and do their assignment. Anywhere it gets to, students will come in, do their assignment, get off and the ship moves. We are hoping that, since the government has, its wisdom said that the River Niger should be dredged, once it is dredged, ships can go all the way to Barro and go through the other side to Makurdi. Our plan is that the ship will sail all through the River Niger. So, it will be moving and our staff will be on it all the time. We want to develop it and once we can do that, it will help alleviate the problems of the unemployed youths that we have running around the country, particularly in the South-South and the Riverine areas. We think that because education is so critical, these people need to be educated or must be educated. We think that the irreducible minimum that Nigeria owes its people is education. EXTRACT G104.

The Vice Chancellor’s emphasis is on “development” which he says “we develop it to be a complete study centre complete” contrary to the media reportage that “building study centres is the key word”. The word “develop” is used twice for emphasis and for using the expression with the word “can” “once we can do that” It means the process is conditional subject to approval from certain quarters before the “developing” and not “building” can take place. The journalist therefore whipped up sentiment into the headline through the process of media sensationalism to sell his paper at the expense of the true position of the story which is more important to the readers. The need to “develop” the ship is anchored on the premise that “We think that because education is so critical, these people need to be educated or must be educated. We think that the irreducible minimum that Nigeria

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owes its people is education” thus portraying the bench mark for any nation that is ready to meet the challenges on the international scene.

4.3.10.2 The Boko Haram Case Studies

As the south-south region of the country is waking up from the slumber of “destroying” oil installations in the name of militancy to call government’s attention to the level of negligence, there is a sharp disconnect in the northern part of the country where the Boko

Haram insurgents are busy kidnapping and destroying the schools in that part of the country. In an interview with the leader of the Arewa Consultative Forum {ACF) one of the Hausa socio-political organizations, there is a clear rejection of the government implementation of certain programmes in ensuring that the streets urchins in the north are made to go back to school. He completely rejects the offer and calls for a total overhaul of the system where the Boko Haram insurgents will be granted amnesty where they will be made to get the same benefits as their Niger Delta counterparts. He rather sees the Boko

Haram insurgency as a political war and demands an immediate arrest and prosecution of the former governor of Bornu state, Modu Sheriff. He describes the “Almajiri” school programme as a “crazy idea” and calls for its immediate reversal.

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Almajiri School. We are thinking of how government can integrate the people into the society. The concept of the Almajiri is that they are children of poor people, beggars and less privileged of the society. EXTRACT G105.

The term “Almajiri” is a concept derived from the Hausa language for those children who go about begging on the streets for their daily bread and the Federal Government decided to keep such children off the streets by creating schools for them. Those schools were called “Almajiri schools” mainly for the less privileged in the northern part of the country.

However, in this extract the leader of the Arewa Consultative Forum extends the semantic concept of “Almajiri” to even those who go about lobbying for positions in government and traces the problem of the northern part of the country that culminated in the formation of the militant Boko Haram to political irresponsibility on the part of politicians. He also sees the linguistic label “Almajiri” as a derogatory term that is reserved for the poor and downtrodden that have been perpetually relegated to the background because of the position the government has placed them. By describing the idea as crazy, is a sign of total rejection of the government offer that is aimed at sanitising the system and keeping the children off the streets. In EXTRACT G 106, we see violence right inside students’ hostels:

50 YOBE COLLEGE STUDENTS SHOT DEAD: Gunmen suspected to be insurgents launched a predawn attack on an agriculture college in Yobe State yesterday, killing at least 50 students and injuring five others. The students were woken up from sleep in their dormitory and shot dead at the College of Agriculture, Gujba, 50 kilometres south of the state capital Damaturu. Survivors said about 30 gunmen drove into the school in three Hilux vans and four motorcycles around 1.30am. They headed to the hostel where they assembled the students in one place and opened fire on them. EXTRACT G106.

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The outright rejection of the Almajiri school system was followed by the launching of terrorist attacks on both tertiary institutions and secondary schools in the northern part of the country where the Boko Haram sect reigned supreme. In this extract the insurgents were said to have carried out a predawn attack that resulted in the dead of over fifty students of a federal college of education in Yobe state. In the face of this insurgency, the journalist chose to use the word “suspected” to describe the insurgents as if there was war in the country involving another set of people aside from the Boko Haram sect. It is a situational irony that “The students were woken up from sleep in their dormitory and shot dead” because the night is a period of terror both spiritual and physical and when people go to bed they pray to see the light of day but in the case of these students, the day was the most horrifying moment in their lives and a time they will not pray to encounter again; that the insurgents “headed to the hostel where they assembled the students in one place and opened fire on them” mean that they had a destination in mind; they knew their destination and knew exactly what to do. But the euphemism of “opening fire” and not

“slaughtering” or “killing” or “butchering” them is a way of hiding the real truth so as to avoid tension and reprisal attacks in other parts of the country. The headline is so captivating, catchy and straight to the point. But the essence is to provoke emotions and whip up sentiments because for “50 students to be shot dead” in one day is not only tragic but it is heart rendering and emotions laden. There is however disparity in the actual number of casualties as different authorities gave different figures to ascertain the true figure of those that died in the course of the insurgent intrusion into the students’ domain.

At first we thought they were security personnel on surveillance,” a survivor told Daily Trust, adding that the gunmen were in military fatigue. State Police Commissioner Sanusi Rufa’i confirmed that 40 corpses

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were recovered, and the medical director of the Sani Abacha Hospital in Damaturu, Dr Garba Fika, also said 40 bodies were deposited at the morgue. Five other students who sustained bullet wounds were admitted and those with fractures would be referred to the Nguru hospital, Fika said. But provost of the college Murima Maimato Gaidam, speaking to Associated Press news agency, said the number of dead could be as high as 50, adding that security forces were still recovering the bodies and that about 1,000 students had fled the campus. EXTRACT G107.

The mere sight of people wearing security uniforms deceived the students into believing that the insurgents were “security personnel on surveillance” “the gunmen were in military fatigue” so there was no point running away from them. This is clearly a case of manipulation of circumstances and betrayal of trust. In the aftermath of that ugly situation and the killings that followed in other schools as reported by the media, schools in the state were shut down due to insecurity but the reaction of the president captures our attention.

YOBE SHUTS SCHOOLS AFTER DEADLY ATTACKS: Attackers will go to hell – Jonathan{ . 40 ‘insurgents’ killed in Borno: Secondary schools in Yobe State have been shut until a new academic session begins in September, following the school attack that left dozens of students dead in Potiskum local government area on Saturday. Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, who ordered the closure yesterday, said it was to give authorities time to figure out how to better protect the lives of students and teachers. In the pre-dawn attack on Government Secondary School, Mamudo, gunmen set fire to buildings and then opened fire on fleeing students, leaving more than 20 students and a teacher dead. EXTRACT G108

The headline above is clear and unambiguous. But the contradiction in the news lead is worthy of note; the Boko Haram ideology is built on the firm believe that “those who kill in the name of Allah” will not only go to “Aljana” but that they will “marry seventy

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virgins” and here we have the president declaring the perpetrators of such acts “guests of hell”. This is where the clash of ideology comes into play: one is of the view that those who kill enjoy at their death while the other is of the view that those who kill will rot in hell. The killing is however seen as “horrendous” “criminal” “callous” and “devoid of any shred of humanity.” And the decision to shut down all schools is to allow the state government in collaboration with the Joint Security Task Force (JTF) and community leaders to evaluate and evolve better and additional strategies that would ensure the safety and security of students and their teachers” as observed by the state Governor who made the pronouncement on the closure of schools. A juxtaposition of the happenings in the north and south shows a clear demarcation between the two militant groups: at the time of this study, one focused on acquiring education while the other focuses on destroying the educational infrastructure.

4.4 Ideological Representation of the insurgency and the Major Actors

The concept of ‘ideology’ as van Dijk observes:

is often used in the media and the social sciences, but it is notoriously vague. Its everyday usage is largely negative, and typically refers to the rigid, misguided or partisan ideas of others: we have the truth, and they have ideologies (1995:56). However, in contemporary times, the notion is used in a more neutral, descriptive sense, e.g., to refer to belief systems (Freeden, 1996). Generally, ideologies play a role in the legitimization of power abuse by dominant groups. One of the most efficient forms of ideological dominance is when also the dominated groups accept dominant ideologies as

‘natural’ or ‘common sense’. Gramsci called such forms of ideological dominance

‘hegemony’ (Gramsci, 1971). Bourdieu sees ideology as a form of symbolic power or

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symbolic violence which main interest lies in the social conditions of discursive and symbolic power, such as the authority and legitimacy of those who produce discourse

(Bourdieu & Eagleton, 1994) thus resulting in ideologies often having a polarized structure which reflects, competes or conflicts group membership and categorization in in-groups and out-groups. These underlying structures also appear in more specific attitudes – for instance the media reports on violence and insurgency which results in the biased personal mental models of group members. These mental models control the

‘contents’ of discourse, and if they are polarized, it is likely that discourse will also show various types of polarization. Van Dijk observes that ideological discourse often features the following overall strategies of what might be called the ‘ideological square’:

Emphasize Our good things Emphasize Theirbad things De-emphasize Ourbad things · De-emphasize Theirgood things.

These overall strategies may be applied to all levels of action, meaning and form of text and talk. Thus, political speeches, interviews, programmes, news reports or propaganda typically focus on the preferred topics of ‘our’ group or party, on what we have done well, and associates opponents with negative topics, such as war, violence, drugs, lack of freedom, etc. For instance, an ugly incident involving an enemy– like a terrorist attack-- will thus appear on the front page, in a big article with big negative headlines. In other words, there are systematic means to examine discourse at various levels when looking for ways ideologies are (not) expressed or enacted in such discourse: Whenever a meaning is associated with good things it tends to be associated with the in-group and all structural properties of the discourse may be brought to bear to emphasize such meanings.

And the opposite will be the case for the “Others”, opponents or Enemies. Based on our

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explanation so far, some of our extracts that are based on insurgency are used here to demonstrate how ideologies have been hidden in the texts in relation to “them” and “us”.

The main point of the analysis is to show how various ideologies, are expressed in various kinds of structures. We do this by following in the tradition of van Dijk’s approach to ideological discourse analysis.

4.4.1 Language and ideology

In this segment of the analysis we focus on the role played by the media according to differences in cultural and political ideologies, based on the premise that linguistic choices in texts can carry ideological meaning. This is because ideologies are closely linked to power and domination, and they are located in language. News is a representation of the world in a language that is considered to be neutral and a mediatized. Everything that is said or written is articulated from a particular ideological position: … there are usually different ways of saying the same thing and they are not random, accidental alternatives. Differences in expression carry ideological distinctions and thus differences in representation (Fowler 1991:4). The press should ideally provide a truthful, comprehensive, and intelligent account of the day’s events presented in a context that gives them meaning. Newspapers have a responsibility to inform and enable people to make judgments about topical issues. That is why it is very important to have a press free of vested interests in order to allow readers to form their own opinions

(Gerbner, 1977:79). Truth and accuracy are essential and impartiality is also important because the news reports should be separated from the writer’s own opinion. The press is more than a business; it has a duty to the public as a major source of information on the

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main issues of the day. The wishes of the readers also need to be taken in to account.

Newspapers should avoid bias, which is evident when there is a deliberate suppression or omission of important events or facts. Exaggerated and highly coloured presentations of facts can have a powerful influence over readers. Language is a powerful tool which can be used to manipulate people. There are always different ways to say the same thing and differences in ideology may result in differences in expression. For that reason we find that newspapers often try to catch the interest of the readers by using journalistic techniques such as bold letters, pictures, and big headlines. For majority of people, reading the daily newspaper whether in print or online constitutes their most substantial and significant consumption of printed discourse. For most, it is second only to television as a window on the world. These factors of quantity and of habit provide newspaper discourse with major ideological importance. (Fowler, 1991:121) As a commodity the press is generally reliant on advertising, which often has a negative impact. Advertisers push for different editorial content to readers, and their demands can alienate readers.

There is a belief that the press should provide editorial content of interest to the reader and not at the behest of advertisers whose influence is regarded as corrupt. The main source of revenue for newspapers comes from selling space to advertisers rather than newspapers to readers. In seeking to present their products in the most positive light, advertisers have a major influence on the content of newspapers. Publishers do not want the public or the reader to know that the substantial financial contribution advertisers make gives them a say over content. It may seem that the main economic purpose of newspapers is selling advertising space. That is the reason that it is essential for the press to have its own economic freedom, at least to some extent.

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News is very important in daily life, and most of the knowledge of political developments worldwide originates in the newspapers‟ daily reports. Nevertheless, journalism is probably the domain most often accused of manipulating language. Obscuring the facts with linguistic and stylistic techniques is one of the methods that can be used for not telling the whole truth, for manipulating or presenting false information. In doing this, different choices are used to evoke different reactions from the reader. Style is the textual result of choices between different ways of saying more or less the same thing by using different words or different syntactic devices or structures. The study of news reports in the press is one of the major tasks of discourse-analytical media research. Linguists analyze how language can indicate underlying ideologies. Articles in newspapers can be interpreted and reshaped in different ways: “They can be summed up, simplified, polarized, intensified and personified. A transformation of the original account of the event in question is presented to the reader in such a way that it may affect his/her view of the world” (Nordlund, 2003:8).

4.4.1 Ideology of relieving burden. Argumentation against societal challenges is often based on various standard arguments, or topoi, which represent premises that are taken for granted, as self-evident and as sufficient reasons to accept the conclusion.

The threat by the violent Islamic group, Boko Haram to bring down the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in three months has drawn the flak of stakeholders in the Niger Delta region warning of grave consequences should any harm befall him. Reacting to the violent Islamic Boko Haram threat on the President, Spokesman of the defunct Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF), a former militant group in the creek of delta, Capt. Mark Anthony warned Boko Haram to mind its utterances in the interest of peace. EXTRACT E61

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Differences between discourse types are ideologically significant. A speaker expresses evaluations through drawing on classification schemes, which are in part systems of evaluation, and there are ideologically contrastive schemes embodying different values in different discourse types (Fairclough, 1989:119). This is a situation that “establishes the degree of authority of an utterance” (Kress & Hodge 1979:122). It refers to different ways of expressing attitudes. By adopting this style, the newspaper could be allowed to present opinions and speculations that might be interpreted as actual facts by the readers through the use of utterances that carry a range of meanings

4.4.2 Ideology of Categorization

Often time people tend to categorize people who do not belong to their group in a very bad light. Examples are:

“We think the Boko Haram is gradually coming out behind the curtain to avail Nigerians of the real motive of the group after all.” The ex-Niger delta chief described as an affront on the sensibilities of ex militants in the Niger Delta who have had over 10 years of violent confrontations with the Nigerian Army under the Joint Task Force warning that any attempt to harm the President would spell doom for the nation. “The attention of the leadership of Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF) has been drawn to the ranting of Islamist militants Boko Haram leadership utterances of planning to bring President Goodluck Jonathan’s democratically elected government to an end in three months. EXTRACT G62

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This aspect of ideological projections tends to expose the “sponsors” of the militant Boko

Haram sect who are subtlety seen to be coming out behind the curtains. Again the

“religious clerics” are categorized as those who “belong” to the sect members as they are distributing materials for corporal mortification.

4.4.3 Ideology of Comparison Different from rhetorical similes, comparisons as intended here typically occur in talk about major actors in insurgency for instance when speakers compare in-groups and out- groups. In news reports, out-groups are compared negatively, and in-groups positively.

Whatever anyone may think is the difference between Boko Haram and MEND as a beneficiary of amnesty, the fact is that the militants did not come out from the creeks where they operated from until it was clear that late president, Umaru Yar’adua, was sincere in his commitment to bring an end to the problems of Niger Delta. EXTRACT D1

Here the difference between the Niger Delta militants and their modus operandi is clearly spelt out. How the former came out of hiding is quite different from the way the latter is operating. In the next extract the Nigerian soldiers are clearly identified while the insurgents are “suspected” if they are “suspected” why were they killed?

4.4.4 Ideology of Counterfactuals

What would happen, if…” the typical expression of a counterfactual, is often used as a persuasive argumentative move that is also related to the move of asking for empathy:

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“…even IF it is the Nigeria Police that apprehended any person suspected to have committed such offence, it is the duty of the police to hand over such suspect to the NSCDC for prosecution.” EXTRACT B24

An ex-militant in the Niger Delta region, Mr Kennedy West, has warned of a heavy arms build-up in the region, stressing that the area might witness another orgy of violence IF immediate steps were not taken. He called on the federal government to urgently embark on another round of disarmament programme in the region to avoid a return to the pre-amnesty era. EXTRACT B26

The first excerpt is the decision to substantiate the initial position that the police have no legal right to prosecute vandals and the second excerpt is on the suspicion that there were arms build-up in the Niger Delta region and the repercussions of such actions if government does not intervene.

4.4.5 Ideology of Disclaimers

A well-known combination of the ideologically based strategy of positive self- presentation and negative other-presentation, are the many types of disclaimers.

Disclaimers briefly save face by mentioning “Our” positive characteristics, but then focus rather exclusively, on “Their” negative attributes. Hence our qualification of the positive part of the disclaimer as 'Apparent', as in Apparent Denials, Concessions, Empathy, etc.:

Traditional rulers or Emirs are not qualified to regulate religious preaching because it will create more problems than solutions. How can a Muslim Emir or Christian traditional ruler regulate preaching in Christianity or Islam as the case may be? The Boko Haram sect went about wielding dangerous weapons and abducting Christians to the enclave of their leader, Mohammed Yusuf in the name of implementing Sharia in Nigeria. They were forcefully converted to Islam after they were tortured. Three pastors and eight other Christians who resisted the forceful conversion were beheaded on the order of the leader of the Islamic sect. while 20 churches were burnt to ashes by the

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fundamentalists. The Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 Northern States is holding the Federal Government and the five state governments where violence erupted responsible for the mayhem, especially the Borno state government. EXTRACT E70.

Again this excerpt serves as a disclaimer to the superimposition of the decision of the northern politicians to believe that traditional rulers have the right to regulate the preaching of Imams, Pastors and other religious leaders in the country.

4.4.6 Ideology of Evidentiality

This refers to claims or points of view in argument that are more plausible when speakers present some evidence or proof for their knowledge or opinions. This may happen by references to AUTHORITY figures or institutions or by various forms of Evidentiality:

How or where did they get the information. Thus people may have read something in the paper, heard it from reliable spokespersons, or have seen something with their own eyes.

When sources are actually being quoted, evidentiality is linked to Intertextuality.

Examples:

IT used to be a story heard from distant lands like Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Middle-East, United States and Europe, among others. Now, suicide bombing is here with us in Nigeria and panic-stricken citizenry, who are yet to recover from recent waves of bomb explosions, are not happy about it. Thus, on the lips of eminent Nigerians and groups were outright condemnations for yesterday’s suicide bombing of the Police Headquarters, Abuja, which claimed two lives and destroyed 73 vehicles. EXTRACT E74.

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professors and 15 others at two church services. The Boko Haram militants also struck last night at a church in Jere, near Maiduguri, Borno State, killing three persons. According to a report in the Guardian of London, bin Laden appeared to have been in direct or indirect communication with Boko Haram as well as many other militant outfits. EXTRACT E76.

FG LOST 4TRN TO MILITANTS: During the heat of the Niger Delta militancy, the Federal Government lost as much as N4 trillion, former minister of Niger Delta. Hundreds of mourners at the cemetery including relations, ministers and top military officers could not hold back their tears at the funeral. Fourteen soldiers including two majors were killed by insurgents in North East region following the declaration of state of emergency there while one soldier was killed while serving under the United Nations Mission in Dafur (UNAMID). EXTRACT D47.

The leadership of the Christian Association, (CAN) has accused the Federal Government and Governor Modu Sheriff of Borno state of complicity in the Boko Haram crisis. Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, National Secretary of CAN, Elder Samuel Salifu, stated that the urgent manner in which the Boko Haram sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf was killed in custody was only an indication that the Federal Government did not want him to expose his sponsors and backers. EXTRACT E2

The first two excerpts in this segment are based on the principle of “intertextuality” where the activities of the Boko Haram sect are likened to those of other terrorist organizations while the last three are based on the reactions of the people to the activities of the Boko

Haram in relation to the killings they have perpetrated and the aftermath of their actions.

4.4.7 Ideology of Exemplification/Illustration

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A powerful move in argumentation is to give concrete examples, often in the form of a vignette or short story, illustrating or making more plausible a general point defended by the speaker. Concrete stories are usually better memorized than abstract arguments, and have more emotional impact, so they are argumentatively more persuasive.

Your amnesty committee is still on the road, somehow immune from attack. What Naija citizens trying to survive a messed up nation and a mismanaged economy want is to continue to live like zombies, to pray in their mosques and churches without fear and to live till the next day. They can’t stop the grand looting, or prevent the amnesty committee members from cashing their fat allowances. Is there a roadmap to subsistence? EXTRACT E13

In the first excerpt the amnesty committee members are accused of foot-dragging while in the second one the same group is accused of looting the nation’s treasury with impunity and in the last excerpt the Niger Delta militants are seen as people who operate with impunity without being challenged.

4.4.8 Ideology of National Self-Glorification

Positive self-presentation may be implemented by various forms of national self- glorification: Positive references to or praise for the own country, its principles, history and traditions.

Today, Odi is growing fast with well-planned streets and a Federal Government College. For a first time visitor, this

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may not be the picture of the community that has endured in the media. EXTRACT C39

Leader of the Islamist fanatics, Boko Haram, the radical anti-western education sect has been captured. Mohammed Yusuf had fled Maiduguri during the recent fighting between his followers and the Nigerian military. According to reports, troops stormed the sect’s stronghold overnight, killing many of the sect members and forcing others including the sect leader to flee. But he was reported to have been found hiding in a goat pen at his parents-in- law’s house today. Before Yusuf’s arrest, members of his sect were killed in a gun duel with security forces in Yobe state. EXTRACT D56.

The growth of Odi with well-planned streets as compared to the deserted village left by the Obasanjo administration is a thing of pride to the Goodluck administration. The position that “Boko Haram” took federal government by surprise is a way of saying the federal security has the military might to confront any challenge. The proclamation of the

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arrest of the Boko Haram leader Mohammad Yusuf and his successful hand over to the police is a way of self-glorifying the security agency.

4.4.9 Ideology of Negative other-Presentation

The categorization of people in in-groups and out-groups, and the division between 'good' and 'bad', is not value-free, but imbued with ideologically based applications of norms and values.

“A dividing line must always be drawn between genuine protest and outright criminality. Groups and individuals cannot hide under the guise of defending narrow community interest to commit mayhem and expect the government to fold its arms…all those who break the laws of the land will definitely incur the full wrath of the law”…. “The fact that we have to run a constitutional and democratic government does not diminish the capacity of the government to deal decisively with hoodlums, arsonists and terrorists wherever they are found in the country”, (National Concord, Lagos, Nov. 10, 1999, p. 2.).

Boko Haram does not in any way mean 'Western Education is a sin’ as the infidel media continue to portray us. Boko Haram actually means 'Western Civilisation' is forbidden.

The difference is that while the first gives the impression that we are opposed to formal education coming from the West…which is not true, the second affirms our belief in the supremacy of Islamic culture (not Education), for culture is broader, it includes education but not determined by Western Education.

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The government is not ready for the short term solution rather looking for a long term by opening Almajiri School. That is crazy. Yes. Tell me one person that is not an Almagiri in Nigeria. Today the constitution has made the Federal government stronger and the states weaker. Anything you want to do, you have to go to Abuja and lobby for it. In fact, if you want to be your local government chairman, you have to lobby for it in Abuja, no matter your credibility or acceptability. So, who is not an Almajiri? The problem in the northern part of the country requires a total overhaul and you can’t do it all at once, there are short measures to take rather than creating Almajiri School. We are thinking of how government can integrate the people into the society. The concept of the Almajiri is that they are children of poor people, beggars and less privileged of the society. EXTRACT G105

The former vice president Atiku Abubakar clearly states the position of the federal government in dealing with the Odi community by stating that: A dividing line must always be drawn between genuine protest and outright criminality. Groups and individuals cannot hide under the guise of defending narrow community interest to commit mayhem and expect the government to fold its arms…all those who break the laws of the land will definitely incur the full wrath of the law”…. “The fact that we have to run a constitutional and democratic government thus drawing a line between “Them” and “Us”. In the next extract the Boko Haram debunks the linguistic label of being seen as a people opposed to westernization and civilization.

4.4.10 Ideology of Polarization, “Us” “Them”

Few semantic strategies about “Others” are as prevalent as the expression of polarized cognitions, and the categorical division of people in in-group (US) and out-group

(THEM). This suggests that crises reportage are strongly monitored by underlying social

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representations (attitudes, ideologies) of groups, rather than by models of unique events and individual people (unless these are used as illustrations to argue a general point).

Polarization may also apply to 'good' and 'bad' sub-categories of out-groups, as is the case for friends and allies on the one hand, and enemies on the other. Note that polarization may be rhetorically enhanced when expressed as a clear contrast, that is, by attributing properties of US and THEM that are semantically each other's opposites.

The sect frowns at Medias' description of it as the Boko Haram. Instead it prefers to be addressed as the Jama‟atuAhlissunnahlidda‟awatiwal Jihad, meaning a "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad, (89). Boko Haram’s Shekau Likely Dead JTF Says: Military authorities in Borno State yesterday said Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau might have died from gunshot injuries sustained on June 30. The Joint Task Force said in a statement in Maiduguri that “Shekau might have died between 25 July to 3 August” at Amitchide in Cameroon while nursing fatal wounds inflicted on him when troops attacked the Sambisa Forest. The JTF revelation came just a week after a video posted on the internet showed a man claiming to be Shekau speaking on various events that happened days after the dates of his supposed death. EXTRACT F5

A Muslims’ organization Munazzamatu Fityanil Islam has expressed concern over the inability of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Amnesty to visit the affected Muslims and mosques during its official tour to the affected people and places by insurgency. EXTRACT A14

that the ward and village heads, politicians, police and the army, had fell victims of its serial killings, and that they have their list of targets which they will execute chronologically, “because they erred by associating themselves with the government in its effort to arrest Muslim brothers and sabotage Islam.” EXTRACT A16.

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The sect members surprisingly refused the offer. Recently, they transformed into Jama’atuAhliss- SunnahLidda’awatiWal Jihad, and resolved to target security operatives and some civilians for the on-going serial killings in Borno State following their “active support and protection” for the Nigerian system of government which they said contradicted Islamic principles. EXTRACT A18

The Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Niger Delta has debunked the report that militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, who was declared wanted by the security outfit on May 21, had escaped to Ukraine, declaring that he would soon be smoked out of his hideout. Also, leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND), General Boyloaf, who indicated, weekend, his intention to accept the proposed amnesty for militants by the Federal Government, yesterday reassured oil companies in the region and asked them to ignore the 72-hour ultimatum given by the militant group to vacate the region, saying there was no cause to panic. EXTRACT D53

Gunmen suspected to be insurgents launched a predawn attack on an agriculture college in Yobe State yesterday, killing at least 50 students and injuring five others. The students were woken up from sleep in their dormitory and shot dead. G106.

There is outright rejection of a linguistic label by the Boko Haram sect with preference for a particular name. The other name is an imposition by “them” while the acceptable one is used by “us”. In the next excerpt, the JTF clearly reports the dead of the leader of “their” group. The next excerpt shows the president being accused of selecting who to visit in the face of the Boko Haram insurgency thus preferring “us” to “them”. The next excerpt shows the use of certain linguistic labels to describe some enemies such as: the ward and village heads, politicians, police and the army, as those they will execute. Their resolve is to target “the enemies” who do not belong to them. The excerpt on the Niger Delta militants fails to proof that the militant leader had escaped to Ukraine but they insist on

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ensuring that he is killed in the process. In the course of the imbroglio, another militant leader “BOYLOAF” accepts amnesty thus leaving Tompolo to be the “bad” one. In the last excerpt, “gunmen” were seen as “suspects” keeping them in a position of innocence.

4.4.11 Ideology of Positive Self-Presentation

Whether or not in combination with the derogation of out-groups, group-talk is often characterized by another overall strategy, namely that of in-group favouritism or positive self-presentation which may take a more individual form of face-keeping or impression management, as we know them from familiar disclaimers ("I am not a terrorist, but..."), or a more collective form in which the speaker emphasizes the positive characteristics of the own group, such as the own party, or the own country.

Authorities have set up night checkpoints and are searching vehicles in a bid to keep weapons from entering the city of Maiduguri — the centre of the uprising. A dozen police

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vans escorted by a siren-blaring armoured car have been regularly rumbling through the city streets, but the show of force was halted recently because it rattled residents, a police officer said. This is part of the security strategy because these troublemakers may want to use the cover of night to bring in arms, said a police sergeant at a checkpoint on Friday night, where about a dozen cars waited. Last year uprising began on July 26 and spread to four states, though it was centred in Maiduguri. EXTRACT D55.

In order to positively represent the image of the good ones, the Ijaw youths who were once militants came out to condemn the attack on Atlas Cove in Lagos and blame the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, (MEND) Henry Orkah.

They did this by condemning the attack thus apportioning blames. In the same vein, the

JTF sets up check points in Maiduguri to ensure that “they” Boko Haram do not enter the city to celebrate their one year anniversary of launching a ferocious attack in Nigeria.

4.4.12 Ideology of Political Strategy

One of the dominant overall strategies of the war against the Boko Haram and the Niger

Delta militants is that of populism. There are several variants and component moves of that strategy. The basic strategy is to claim (for instance against the militants) that "the people" (or "everybody") does not support their actions.

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taken to Amichide in Cameroon for treatment is not true. By Allah, I was never in Cameroon. Only Allah knows my whereabouts because I only give orders and I will never tell anyone where I am,” he said. EXTRACT F88.

“At first we thought they were security personnel on surveillance,” a survivor told Daily Trust, adding that the gunmen were in military fatigue. State Police Commissioner Sanusi Rufa’i confirmed that 40 corpses were recovered, and the medical director of the Sani Abacha Hospital in Damaturu, Dr Garba Fika, also said 40 bodies were deposited at the morgue. Five other students who sustained bullet wounds were admitted and those with fractures would be referred to the Nguru hospital, Fika said. But provost of the college Murima Maimato Gaidam, speaking to Associated Press news agency, said the number of dead could be as high as 50, adding that security forces were still recovering the bodies and that about 1,000 students had fled the campus. EXTRACT. G107

Although the federal government makes the Boko Haram sect look rejected by the masses and rejoices at the alleged death of the major actor, the assumed dead leader says he

“deliberately kept quiet all this while, laughing at Nigerian authorities who misled the world that he was allegedly dead but he wishes they would stop bothering themselves because he cannot be stopped,” thus nullifying the government’s argument. In the next

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excerpt the Boko Haram did not only resurrect, it declares war “jihad” on the people of

Nigeria to proof its illusiveness. And lastly the initial propagandist approach to the Boko

Haram militancy was assumed to be a work for God” only to be revealed to be a devilish assignment thus substantiating its populist approach to prosecuting its agenda.

4.4.13 Ideology of Discrimination/Marginalization

Crises reportage is dominated by the binary US-THEM pair of in-groups and out-groups.

Thus, in order to emphasize the ‘bad’ nature of the major actors in the crises, reports may be exaggerated.

…the committee had only visited victims of the Sabon-Gari bomb blast and the affected Churches in Kano, Madalla, Abuja and Kaduna state. It said: “but the committee did not visit Muslim victims in Kano, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi and Gombe states among other places affected by the insurgency. And there was also no media report indicating the committee’s visit to any mosque destroyed in those areas. ”The statement further noted that even in Kano state, where the committee visited about 10 victims of Sabon Gari bomb blast, it neither paid similar visit to the families of over 200 Muslims that were killed during the first bombing, nor to the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, who was also attacked by unknown gunmen. EXTRACT A15.

In this area of ideological representation the federal government is accused of only visiting the Christian victims of the Boko Haram insurgency while the Muslim victims of the same fate were allegedly left without any form of consolation from the federal government. This is a clear case of victimization which follows the principles of ideological believe of painting the federal government in bad light as a government that favours only Christians.

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4.4.14 Ideology of Exclusion/Selective Favour

The study observes that the same ideological basis of the news media representation of insurgency holds true to the representation of the major actors-a representation based on the ideology of exclusion and “othering”. When it comes to the media’s representation of the insurgents and militants, the media expect to reflect the government’s policy and ideology. It is also observed that the media reflect the tense relations between the government and the insurgents and militants. Instances of such ideological projections occurred in the texts:

SHEKAU APPEARS IN NEW VIDEO: We’re studying clip – Army: The leader of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lid Da’awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, has resurfaced and claimed responsibility for recent attacks that left more than a hundred people dead in Borno State. Abubakar Shekau, who military authorities said in August might have been killed, released a video yesterday in which he said: “The world should know that by the grace of Allah I am alive and will only die at the appointed time.” The video was sent out through intermediaries who had previously passed on similar messages by the sect leader. “Those underrating my capacity should have a re-think because the war we are waging will consume all of you,” Shekau said in his usual boastful style. EXTRACT F87

Niger Delta Militants Besiege National Assembly: Hundreds of ex-militants from the Niger Delta region Thursday stormed the National Assembly to protest their alleged exclusion from the amnesty programme. EXTRACT A6

“These boys started this problem in 2011 when we asked them to disarm and accept amnesty. They came to my house then and started fighting me. Luckily for me I got over that incident but they were not happy with some of us because we insisted they must drop their arms.” EXTRACT C6

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The headline in the first excerpt of this segment clearly states that the alleged killing of the sect leader by security operatives is false but the government quickly reacts through the JTF that it is studying the videos of the alleged “resurrection” of the leader of the sect.

Shekau is not only said to have resurrected but has claimed responsibility for the “recent” bombing in the northern part of the country that led to the dead of many.

4.4.15 Ideology of Persuasion

Apart from other forms of ideological projections discussed in this study, the extracts below demonstrate elements of persuasion on both the government and the major actors in the crises. The ideology id embedded in a form of specific rhetoric and the way in which persuasion is conceived and embodied within the newspaper texts as shown here:

At least twice the Boko Haram was persuaded to dialogue with government and lay down its arms. Each time someone, obviously an insider, leaked the move to a select media before negotiations had even begun in an apparent attempt to scuttle the talks (Daily Trust, October 9th, 2012). “…without peace and security of life and property, no meaningful development could take place in the state” EXTRACT A51

“…the president has since empowered joint military forces to tackle those who were hell-bent in sabotaging the nation’s economy and its environment. According to him, the efforts of the security forces in checking the activities of the saboteurs have started yielding results” EXTRACT C4.

Here the government is said to have persuaded the insurgents to embrace peace and sue for dialogue a gesture the insurgents rejected insisting on unleashing terror on the people.

But there is a statement that says ““…without peace and security of life and property, no

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meaningful development could take place in the state” followed by the president’s empowerment of the JTF to ensure that the flush out anybody who fails to embrace dialogue. This is the carrot and stick approach to resolving issues in a crises ridden society.

4.5 Discourse Patterns in the Data

4.5.1 The use of Actor Description model

The way actors are described in discourses depends on our ideological projections.

Typically, we tend to describe in-group members in a neutral or positive way and out- group members in a negative way. Similarly, we mitigate negative descriptions of members of our own group, and emphasize the attributed negative characteristics of others. Examples:

The challenges we are facing are much, I know that in a contract like this, you will definitely face challenges, but I am prepared for them and know that after some time, we will overcome them. EXTRACT A1.

This shows that the Niger Delta militants are suffering through challenges while the

“other” which is the federal government is devoid of such challenges. The Niger Delta ex- militant is of the view that “they” ex-militants are facing challenges while the federal government is hardly affected by those challenges.

He urged the Federal Government to ensure that all former militant leaders and repentant militants, who have demonstrated genuine repentance, are absorbed in the amnesty programme, adding that a situation where the amnesty committee seems to be neglecting some groups in the region was not healthy for the exercise. EXTRACT A3

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The two extracts above are clear indications of outsiders-insiders negotiation where the one is kept outside the amnesty programme and the other is accepted. The second extract portrays the militants who destroyed the atlas cove as outsiders who got insider message as they took their time to carry out the operation.

4.5.2 Appeal to Authority

Many speakers in an argument have recourse to the fallacy of mentioning authorities to support their case, usually organizations or people who are above the fray of party politics, or who are generally recognized experts or moral leaders. People of different ideologies typically cite different authorities. Examples of such expressions are in our texts are:

“…no region in the country is superior to another. The statement condemned the concept of the north as encompassing the central states of Nigeria, calling the idea, “anachronistic and irrelevant in contemporary context”. EXTRACT E6.

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Yar ’Adua orders probe: following allegations that Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the religious sect, Boko Haram, was hurriedly killed after he was earlier captured alive in order to shield his sponsors who are influential members of the society, President Umaru Yar’Adua yesterday directed the National Security Adviser (NSA) to carry out a full scale investigation into the matter. The President who described the killing as a serious matter said as a government that insists on the rule of law, the case has to be fully investigated given the controversies surrounding Yusuf’s death. EXTRACT D60

ACF others urge Ex-Militants to Withdraw Threats On Atiku: Following threats by ex-Niger Delta militants to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has urged them to make a retreat in the interest of peace. ACF described the threat of barring Atiku from the Niger Delta region as misguided, lacking in reason and in conflict with democracy. The forum’s position was contained in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary Anthony Sani. Sani said the threat by the militants is a deviation from peaceful resolution of differences in the political process common in democracy. He described the action as counter-productive which will do nobody any good. EXTRACT E67

The excerpts under this title are clear indications of appeal to authorities in order to achieve results. The first one focuses on the middle belt rejecting the label of inferiority

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imposed on them by the northern oligarchy. The next is an appeal to the appropriate authorities to release money for the cleansing of the Niger Delta environment which has been polluted due to despoliation. In the next excerpt we have an appeal to the Niger

Delta ex-militants to withdraw their threat on the former Vice president Atiku Abubakar.

In the last one the “key” financier of the Boko Haram is caught appealing to the lawmakers to frustrate the bills presented to it by the president Goodluck Jonathan.

4.5.3 Appeal to Consensus

To claim consensus is a well-known strategy in situations where the country is threatened,

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conference in Kaduna yesterday evening, the Secretary of CAN in the area, Elder Saidu Dogo said that the fundamental issue that motivated the Boko Haram movement to unleash terror on innocent Nigerians is the quest for the total implementation of sharia in the country. Also, the Kaduna state Secretary of CAN and Publicity Secretary of Northern CAN, Rev. Joseph Hayab, in his own contribution said that Christians already have their own internal mechanism to regulate their own preachers. Hayab said that no Catholic, Anglican or Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) can preach the gospel without being licensed to do so, adding that this was the situation in other churches. EXTRACT E70.

The ideologies projected here are those of: a warning of a possible threat to the unity of the country, the view that insurgency is a ploy to destabilise the presidency of Goodluck

Jonathan and the rejection of an attempt to regulate preaching by a section of northern oligarchy.

4.5.4 Euphemism as a Rhetorical strategy

The well-known rhetorical figure of euphemism is a semantic move of mitigation which operates within the broader framework of the strategy of positive self-presentation, and especially its correlate, the avoidance of negative impression formation, negative opinions about the Otherand not Us.

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President. Turaki who is also minister for special duties and inter-governmental affairs made this known yesterday in Abuja while briefing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on the achievements of his ministry. EXTRACT F94

The use of the word “slaughtered” can be taken to be a euphemism for “killing” or even

“dead” but it is wrapped up in a rhetorical rendition to hide the actual meaning or even intended meaning. In the second excerpt the amnesty international uses the word “meet” as a euphemism for citing the notorious leader of the Boko Haram sect in the course of its negotiation with the sect.

4.5.5 Use of Hyperbole

Hyperboles are semantic rhetorical devices for the enhancement of meaning within the overall strategy of positive self-presentation and negative other-presentation. We may thus expect in news report on crises or violence about the major actors that the alleged bad actions or properties of the “Others”are expressed in hyperbolic terms (our bad actions in mitigated terms), and vice versa. Sometimes such forms of hyperbole are implied by the use of special METAPHORS:

“We want to tell you that the arms in the Niger Delta region are more than what people think. The arms in this region now are two times bigger than what the militants from various camps submitted in 2009…the arms here are two times heavier than what we had here in 2009. EXTRACT B27

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security reports, it raises logical questions of who are the people in government sheltering the Boko Haram sect from prosecutions. Why were the leader Mohammed Yusuf and his second-in-command, Alhaji Buji Fai an ex- commissioner in Sheriff’s government reported to have been captured and taken to Government House and silenced so quickly? EXTRACT E73.

A loud explosion rocked an area Abuja on Thursday followed by smoke and ambulances headed in the direction of the blast, with injuries reported. Reports have it that the first bomb blast was in the Abuja This Day office in Jabi and was carried out by a suicide bomber who drove into the media house before detonating reported the bomb hence blowing away the building ‘s roof. Another blast was also at the Kaduna This day office according to witnesses. But Mr Yushau Shuaib a National Emergency Management Agency spokesman said the Abuja This Day blast “occurred inside the premises of a national newspaper,” adding that “a preliminary investigation seems to indicate that the explosive device was planted somewhere within the premises, not likely a case of suicide bombing.” EXTRACT E79

The arms build-up in the Niger Delta are exaggerated in this segment, the rational for the audacious attitude of the Boko Haram is put to question while the explosion witnessed in the head office of This Day newspaper is exaggerated through the use of such words as:

“A loud explosion rocked” “smoke” “blowing away the building ‘s roof”.

4.5.6 Use of Irony

Accusations may come across as more effective when they are not made point blank

(which may violate face constraints), but in apparently lighter forms of irony.

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“We thought they were doing God’s work at the beginning, but over time, we realized they were just a cult,” said Kaka, who was forced to close his shop in the Northeast’s main city of Maiduguri after a spate of Boko Haram attacks in his area. Kaka is part of a popular backlash against the Islamists - a member of one of a number of government- approved vigilante groups that have become a weapon in a military offensive that has dismantled Boko Haram networks and squeezed its fighters into a mountainous area by the Cameroon border. Though the sect remains the gravest threat to Africa’s most populous country and top oil producer, it is weaker than it has been for years. EXTRACT F81

“Several” insurgents were killed but made no mention of military casualties in the incident. EXTRACT D42.

“During the assault, we killed over 150 insurgents and we lost an officer and 15 soldiers, with about nine soldiers missing in action,” EXTRACT D43.

The irony in this segment of our discourse is that the visit of the senate president’s wife to her village is ironical because the nail that pierced through becomes an obstacle that prevents her from having access to her family house. The view that the speaker thought the Boko Haram were doing the work of God is an irony. The military that mentioned the number of insurgents killed in an operation could not mention the number of security officers killed in the same operation thus down playing the truth.

4.5.7 Metaphoric Conceptualization of Insurgency in Nigeria

Through the process of metaphor, we use critical metaphorical analytical approach to analyse an abstract entity (like insurgency) in terms of something based on abstract experiences (like a journey). Not only did the sect members conceptualize insurgency as the beginning of a journey they tried to make them invisible to their foes in this case the

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security forces. By conceptualizing insurgency as the continuation of the struggle initiated by the late leader, the current sect leader seems to be suggesting that opposing the jihad is the same thing as opposing the ideology of the Boko Haram. Most of the journey and construction metaphors used to conceptualize insurgency were used in the above extract. Journey and construction metaphors are strong source domains given that they provide a clear path with start and end points. In Politicians and Rhetoric, Charteris-

Black argues that unlike personifications, which often create relations of contrast between the poles of good and evil, the rhetorical purpose of journey metamorphosis to create solidarity so that positively evaluated purposes may be successfully attained (45). This may also be applied to construction metaphors, where positively evaluated purposes are conceptualized as buildings. The link here is reflected in the bombing of the United

Nations building in Abuja which makes the security operatives to come to the conclusion that the Boko Haram sect has links with external terrorists and is receiving training in such places as Algeria, Afghanistan etc.

Boko Haram 'Trained in Algeria, Afghanistan': Members of Boko Haram have received training from groups affiliated to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Algeria, according to a recent internal Nigerian intelligence report quoted by a United States’ newspaper, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), yesterday. And in Abuja, also yesterday, the State Security Service (SSS) finally spoke on last week’s United Nations House bombing and confirmed that the suicide bomber had a link with al-Qaeda. The security agency released the images of two suspects arrested in connection with the bombing and declared a third person wanted, while also disclosing that the nation’s intelligence community got information nine days ahead of the UN House bombing. In a press release, SSS spokesperson, Marilyn Ogar, said on August 18, 2011, “precise intelligence was obtained by this Service that some Boko Haram elements were on a mission to attack unspecified targets in Abuja in an ash-coloured Toyota Camry vehicle with registration number AA539GBL.EXTRACT F97.

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“On 21st August, 2011 about 1300 hours a joint operations by all security services led to the arrest of two (2) notorious leaders of the Boko Haram extremist sect, namely, Babagana Ismail KWALJIMA (a.k.a Abu SUMMAYA) [and] Babagana MALI (a.k.a Bulama)”. Ogar said following their arrests, security was further beefed up in Abuja and its environs. “Meanwhile the suspects have made valuable statements and are being held at a military facility,” she said, adding that investigation had revealed that one Mamman Nur, “a notorious Boko Haram element with Al-Qaeda links who returned recently from Somalia, working in concert with the two (2) suspects masterminded the attack on the United Nations (UN) building in Abuja”. EXTRACT F98.

The bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja the Nigerian federal capital territory led to the “speculation” or even “revelation” that the Boko Haram sect members were not only affiliated to the Al-Qaeda but that they were under the tutelage of the world renowned terrorist group. This revelation is simultaneously and intertextually reported both in the Nigerian print media and the United States world street journal as the spokesman for the Nigerian States Security Service (SSS) observes “Members of Boko

Haram have received training from groups affiliated to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and

Algeria, according to a recent internal Nigerian intelligence report quoted by a United

States’ newspaper, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), yesterday”. By mentioning those specific places the sect members have received training is a clear indication that the information at the disposal of the security agents is authentic. And by using such expressions as “And in Abuja, also yesterday, the State Security Service (SSS) finally spoke on last week’s United Nations House bombing and confirmed that the suicide bomber had a link with al-Qaeda” the Nigerian security outfit is made to look as appendage of the foreign counterpart where information is gotten from before they could

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be informed. The sect members and leaders are described as “notorious leaders and members” presenting them as people who are above mortality but at the same time being unmasked as mere mortals who can go through pains as any other human being.

The linguistic view of metaphor has contributed to some of the new directions taken in psychologically based, discourse-analytic, sociolinguistic and applied linguistic studies of metaphor. Lakoff and Johnson suggested that people continuously structure their world, their thoughts and their language in terms of conceptual metaphors metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature,

(Lakoff and Johnson, 1980: 3). As Lakoff and Johnson observe, the basic principle of

Metaphor is that metaphor operates at the level of thinking; it is central to thought, and therefore to language. The notion of metaphor is generally described as understanding one conceptual domain, the target domain, in terms of another conceptual domain, the source domain, with systematic sets of correspondences or mappings occurring across the conceptual domains. Generally put, a conceptual domain is ‘any coherent organization of experience’ (Kövecses, 2002: 4), such as Time, War, Sports, Food, Journey, Religion and so on. Conceptual metaphors are higher level representations which underlie various structures in language and thought. In this style of metaphorical analysis, it is assumed that A is B, while their linguistic realisations can occur in any linguistic form. A well- known example that Lakoff and Johnson present to illustrate their ideas about conceptual metaphors, and that has been repeated frequently, is that Argument Is War, for which the target domain of Argument is partly structured in terms of the source domain of War.

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Language is an important source of evidence of how we structure our thoughts, actions, and our world, and is thus used throughout their work to illustrate their propositions.

However, they also claim that, in addition to uttering such conceptual structures linguistically, people actually perceive them as such as well. Thus, with regard to the conceptual metaphor of Argument Is War, many of the things we do or act out when arguing are also partly structured in terms of war (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980: 4). There are a great number of other conceptual metaphors that have been discussed in detail by

Lakoff and others to illustrate that some conceptualizations are metaphorically structured in our minds (e.g. Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; Lakoff, 1993; Kövecses, 2002). Long lists of linguistic realizations of conceptual metaphors are presented as illustrations in the literature (e.g., Croft & Cruse, 2004; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; Kövecses, 2002), such as

Time Is Space (‘We’ve entered the 21st century’; ‘They worked through the night’),

Theories Are Buildings (‘The theory needs more support’; ‘We need to construct a strong argument for that’ ), Love Is A Journey (‘We’re at a crossroads’; ‘I don’t think this relationship is going anywhere’), Life Is A Journey (‘He had a head start in life’; ‘He’s gone through a lot in life’). The aim of the above position is thus understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980: 5). This applies to how we speak, but also to how we reason and how we behave. Based on the various source and target domain notions that Lakoff and Johnson spell out, it has been suggested that the fundamental basic concepts used to structure abstract notions are primarily highly concrete, human-oriented and experience-based. Understanding our experiences in terms of objects and substances allows us to pick out parts of our experience and treat them as discrete entities or substance of a uniform kind. Once we

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can identify our experiences as entities or substances, we can refer to them, categorize them, group them, and quantify them – and, by this means, reason about them. These concepts can be seen as basic human-oriented and concrete concepts based on concrete orientation and experiences. In our data under study, we discover that several source domains recur within the concept of spatial orientation, such as Space to understand

Time, concepts like Up and Down to understand Emotions, and so on.

Several scholars have emphasised the idea that metaphor is fundamentally grounded in embodied experience (cf. Gibbs, 2005; Gibbs et al., 2004; Kövecses, 2002). This essentially entails that systematic patterns of bodily experience, such as movement, the experience of momentum, bodily functions, etc., serve as the source domains for many cross-linguistic metaphorical mappings (Gibbs et al., 2004). Related to this is the notion of primary metaphors, which according to Grady (1997) are the most basic level of metaphorical mappings, that have a strong correlation in everyday embodied experience.

Many studies on metaphor in discourse have based their accounts of metaphorical language use on the initial ideas put forward by Lakoff and Johnson, and illustrate that many varieties of discourse, not just literary discourse, contain metaphorical language.

Where previous studies on metaphorical language seem to focus predominantly on the creativity and novelty of metaphorical expressions, the conceptual theory of metaphor provided the basis for studying the pervasiveness and patterns of metaphorical language in our everyday language use.

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4.5.7.1 Metaphor of Time

The Spatial Language of Time presents a linguistic analysis of space-to-time metaphors.

Metaphoric analysis is done in terms of the direct motivation by basic human experiences

(Grady 1997a; Lakoff & Johnson 1980). This motivation explains the linguistic appearance of certain metaphors, in certain context. Refining earlier treatments of temporal metaphor and adapting to temporal experience Levinson’s (2003) idea of frames of reference, proposes a contrast between perspective-neutral and perspective-specific frames of reference in temporal metaphor that has important cross linguistic ramifications for the temporal semantics of FRONT/BEHIND expressions. This is the cognitive- linguistic approach to temporal metaphor which analyses the extensive temporal structure in what has been considered the source domain of space, and showing how temporal metaphors can be better understood by downplaying the space-time dichotomy and analysing metaphor structure in terms of conceptual frames. Instances of metaphoric references to the insurgency in relation to time are as stated in these extracts:

The latest curfew came exactly one year after similar one was imposed on Potiskum and the Yobe State capital, Damaturu, which was partly responsible for the successful military operation that led to some level of peace in the last several months. Last year’s dusk to dawn curfew which lasted for over 48 hours subjected residents to severe hardships and grounded both government and other business activities (EXTRACT H 109).

We’re still working on the framework where we’ll sign an agreement and we’ll make that public. Wherever and whenever we agree on the time and place, the international and local media as well as all Nigerians will be privy to it” (EXTRACT H 110).

The Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of the Security Challenges in the North has said that the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, is involved

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in the current ceasefire deal. The chairman of the committee who disclosed this to State House correspondents in Abuja after yesterday’s FEC meeting, said though the ceasefire was not declared in a video, it could be relied on as his committee had been discussing with the right leadership of the sect (EXTRACT H 111).

“On hearing the news at about 11pm on Friday, 26th July, 2013, the JTF troops were drafted to the area and have been operating in Mainok and surroundings with a view to apprehending the bandits. The situation is cool and calm in the area and Borno State in general. Further details will be communicated to you at the end of the operation.” THE attacks in Mainok and Kukawa were the deadliest confrontation since the time the civilian JTF sprung up (EXTRACT H 112).

Two weeks ago, Education Commissioner Mohammed Lamin declared all schools opened after the long holiday, saying adequate security arrangements had been made in the schools. ‘Barbaric, heinous’In his reaction to yesterday’s violence, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam condemned the attack, saying it was “unconscionable, heinous and barbaric.” Speaking while on a visit to the injured students at the hospital in Damaturu, the governor said the state government will foot the medical bill of those who sustained injuries (EXTRACT H 113).

The use of such expressions and time as: three weeks ago, May shortly, exactly one year, last several months, Last year’s dusk to dawn curfew, 48 hours, (EXTRACT H 109), wherever, whenever, (EXTRACT H 110), in Abuja after yesterday’s FEC meeting,

(EXTRACT H 111), on hearing the news at about 11pm on Friday, 26th July, 2013,

(EXTRACT H 112), Two weeks ago, declared all schools opened after the long holiday,

In his reaction to yesterday’s violence, Speaking while on a visit to the injured students at the hospital (EXTRACT H 113) as found in the extracts, their meanings go beyond the linear progression of time. All these references are metaphorical, pointing to the exactness of events and their occurrences in relation to insurgency and the government’s effort at

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curbing the menace. These words and expressions are carefully chosen and captured to reflect the events of the moment and their realistic portrayal. For instance, yesterday’s

FEC meeting (EXTRACT H 111), refer to Wednesday in Nigerian political history where the federal executive council meeting are held and decisions affecting the nation are taken while on hearing the news at about 11pm on Friday, 26th July, 2013, refers to the prompt reaction of the security outfit in ensuring that a certain insurgent activity is curtailed. Two weeks ago, talks about the exact number of weeks that a college of education was shut down as a result of insurgent activities in the part of the country. The infiltration of the school led to the dead of hundreds of students thus leading to the school being shut down.

Last year’s dusk to dawn curfew, 48 hours, (EXTRACT H 109) is a metaphorical referent to the state of emergency declared in three states in the northern part of the country, but in this extract, the writer to the exact period of the occurrence of the event.

4.5.7.2 Metaphor of Journey

Suspected insurgents had sneaked into the city with explosives they allegedly stole from a Chinese construction firm during a night raid (EXTRACT H 114).

He later disclosed to our correspondent that the curfew followed an intelligence report of a planned attack by suspected Boko Haram insurgents ‘who sneaked in with

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Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to create panic in the town during the Eid-el-Fitr celebration’. Motorists that usually passed through Potiskum on their way to or from Maiduguri and Kano were caught in between, forcing many of them to return home or to take alternative routes which are longer and very difficult to drive on (EXTRACTH115).

Abubakar A. Bulama, who was on his way to Damaturu on Saturday morning to make telephone calls, said he witnessed the violence. “It was a sad day because the people of Mainok were mercilessly dealt with. When I noticed a crowd at the road side in Mainok, I first thought it was a car-crash. When I got closer to the car which was surrounded by onlookers, I saw three persons burnt inside,” he said (EXTRACT H 116).

The assailants operated for over 3 hours uninterrupted. They slaughtered some of them while shooting many in the head,” he said. “In all the schools attacks in Yobe the attackers go scot free and the security operatives are now narrowing their role in the crises to transporting corpses (EXTRACT H 117).

“The governor has pledged to continue to support security agencies in every way possible to restore peace and security. He called for regular aerial reconnaissance and more intrusive patrols along the Maiduguri-Damaturu- Potiskum highway where many dreadful attacks have taken place in the recent past” (EXTRACT H 118).

Additional 186 ex- militants at the weekend departed the Murtala Muhammed International Air-port, Ikeja, Lagos for South Africa, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland for educational and vocational training. This batch of brings to 16,683, the number of ex-militants that have been sent for training under the presidential amnesty programme since 2010 (EXTRACT H 119).

Special Adviser to the president on Niger Delta Matters Kingsley Kuku said of the 186 delegates, 60 will undergo a 12 month training in South Africa as emergency medical technicians otherwise known as “offshore medic”, while the other 126 will undergo educational training in tertiary institutions in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (EXTRACT H 120).

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In looking at the insurgency in Nigeria as a journey, the following words and expressions from our corpus attest to this fact: sneaked into the city … the curfew followed an intelligence report… (EXTRACT H 114), Motorists…passed through…on their way to or from Maiduguri and Kano were caught in between, forcing many of them to return home or to take alternative routes which are longer and very difficult to drive on (EXTRACT H

115), security operatives are now narrowing their role in the crises to transporting corpses

(EXTRACT H 117). The governor has pledged to continue to support security agencies in every way possible to restore peace and security. He called for regular aerial reconnaissance and more intrusive patrols along the Maiduguri-Damaturu-Potiskum highway (EXTRACT H 118). Additional 186 ex- militants at the weekend departed … for

South Africa, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland for educational and vocational training. This batch of brings to 16,683, (EXTRACT H 119), Special Adviser to the president said 60 will undergo a 12 month training in South Africa as emergency medical technicians otherwise known as “offshore medic”, while the other 126 will undergo educational training in tertiary institutions in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (EXTRACT H 120). From these corpuses, there is the sense of transition, constant movement involved in the crises. For instance, EXTRACT H 114 has sneaked and followed showing a movement which in this case is unauthorised hence the clandestine and secretive form of it. EXTRACT H 115 has Motorists…passed through…on their way to or from, routes denoting a busy route which links several states of the federation but which has become a rendezvous for criminality and insurgency thus limiting easy movement.

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4.5.7.3 Metaphor of Religion

“believe” religious language, we miss religion’s spiritual meaning. This is to say that religious language was not designed to be historical reporting, but rather to resonate in the soul and direct us toward transcendent realities. Its impact was intended to be closer to poetry than theology. The book uses specific examples to make its case: Jesus, the

Virgin Birth, the Kingdom of God, the Apocalypse, Satan, and the Resurrection.

Just last week, the JTF issued an alert warning residents of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital that insurgents were planning massive attacks to coincide with the end of the Ramadan fasting (EXTRACT H 121). Do they know the pain of birth? Do they know the pain of child upbringing? I will continue to pray until wrath of God befell on them” (EXTRACT H 122).

“By Allah, we have come of age; we now have the capability to face the United States, not to talk of Nigeria.” “We are responsible for the attack in Malam Fatori, the killings of vigilantes in Baga, attacks in Bama, Gamboru Ngala and Damaturu. It is surprising how a group you claimed you have decimated can demoralize you to the extent you abandoned your uniforms and gun and fled,” he added. The 32 minutes video showed Shekau alone, wearing green caftan, a cap and turban on his head, hung an Ak47 rifle on his right shoulder, a paper on his left hand and a chewing stick on his left hand. He tagged the video “Goron Sallah” (glad tidings for Eid el-Fitr). He said he and his group will fight to the finish. Shekau also told the youth vigilantes to stop wasting their time (EXTRACT H 123).

He also urged the attackers “to lay down the arms and embrace peaceful means of resolving any perceived grievances and the ensuing conflict in the interest of core values of humanity is long overdue” (EXTRACT H 124).

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THE president, in what appeared to be a surprise to the audience, assumed the role of an Islamic preacher, educating them on the significance of Ramadan as stated in the Qur’an. According to him, “For all believers, the holy month of Ramadan is a time for reflection, self-denial, spiritual rejuvenation and re-commitment to righteousness. It’s the time when people of the Muslim faith turn to their creator with a profound sense of piety, total submission and commitment to their faith” (EXTRACT H 125).

“The world should know that by the grace of Allah I am alive and will only die at the appointed time” (EXTRACT H 126).

A Bishop has thrown his weight behind capital punishment for offenders who are found guilty of murder. He said when man is not punished for evil, he does more. We over spiritualize things in Nigeria, he said (EXTRACT H 127).

“The Bible that even gives you the term forgiveness says if you kill there are offenses that you don’t ask for forgiveness. You carry knife, kill somebody and you say you should be forgiven? No! You are not worthy to live. My Bible says you are stoned to death (EXTRACT H 128).

…said unless people are punished for their crimes in Nigeria, the country will largely remain the same just as he said professing religion has no correlation with the fortune of a country, (EXTRACT H 129).

In looking at the insurgency in Nigeria as a metaphor for religion, the following words and expressions from our corpus correspond to this: … Planning massive attacks to coincide with the end of the Ramadan fasting (EXTRACT H 121), I will continue to pray until wrath of God befell on them” (EXTRACT H 122), “By Allah, we have come of age; we now have the capability to face the United States, not to talk of Nigeria” (EXTRACT

H 123), He also urged the attackers “to lay down the arms and embrace peaceful means of resolving any perceived grievances (EXTRACT H 124), The president, in what appeared to be a surprise to the audience, assumed the role of an Islamic preacher, (EXTRACT H

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125), “The world should know that by the grace of Allah I am alive and will only die at the appointed time” (EXTRACT H 126), A Bishop has thrown his weight behind capital punishment for offenders who are found guilty of murder (EXTRACT H 127), “The Bible that even gives you the term forgiveness says if you kill there are offenses that you don’t ask for forgiveness (EXTRACT H 128), “The issue of governance is not the Church

(EXTRACT H 129). EXTRACT H 121 talks about attacks being planned to coincide with

Ramadan fasting. Usually Boko Haram attacks are carried out during religious festivities and around worship centres targeting crowded areas and in this particular text fasting becomes a perfect moment for the devilish attacks. The next extract talks about the wrath of god visiting the perpetrators of violence through prayers and fasting. In extract H 123 the attackers talk about their maturity through the help of “Allah” who gives them the strength to confront super powers thus aligning their source of power to them power worshipped by the victims of insurgency. Extract H124 is more of a Biblical allusion referring to the art of laying down one’s life for the heavenly achievements. “To lay down their arms” becomes metaphoric aligning with Biblical injunctions. The visit of the former president Jonathan to victims of insurgency is likened to the behaviour of an Islamic preacher. Here the former president was said to have indulged in preaching sermons to console victims of insurgency thus presenting a metaphoric situation in the process. The leader of the sect comes out openly to declare his indestructibility by professing the power of the almighty Allah. Here the leader seems to suggest that just as the victims worship and believe in Allah, so does he worship and believe in the same Allah. This is found in extract H126. The last two extracts on this segment are karmic in nature. The first one talks about the repercussions of any actions from a religious perspective. Here a religious

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leader uses the gospel to substantiate whatever action the federal carries out in relation to attacking the Boko Haram sect.

4.5.7.4 Metaphor of War

Some of the metaphors discussed here are derived from the field of war

Members of the Joint Task Force cordoned off a part of the town and began a house-to-house search for the insurgents said to be planning to unleash terror on residents during the Eid-el-Fitr festival (EXTRACT H 130).

Hundreds of relatives of the victims were seen at the hospital morgue in Damaturu trying to identify corpses of their loved ones. Many of them were seen wailing. Alhaji Hassan Inusa, who was sobbing when our reporter spoke with him, said he lost a son in the attack while his other son was among the survivors (EXTRACT H 131).

Residents said the mayhem in Mainok was a reprisal by the Boko Haram members who accused the villagers of rising against them by establishing vigilante groups and liaising with youths coming from Maiduguri to track down insurgents (EXTRACT H 132).

Locals said about 40 people were also slaughtered at Mandarari and Malari communities of Konduga local government, along the Maiduguri-Bama road. “They did

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what they did simply because they are accusing the people of Mainok and environs of being informants of security agents,” (EXTRACT H 134).

The attackers dressed in military and police uniforms stormed the villages in four-wheel drive trucks and motorcycles. Witnesses said many people sustained injuries and scores of houses set ablaze by the attackers in all the affected villages (EXTRACT H 135).

Suspected Boko Haram fighters killed at least 43 people in separate incidents in Kaga and Kukawa local government areas of Borno State over the weekend, locals and security sources said. In the violence on Friday and Saturday, 23 people were killed in Mainok and 20 in Dawashi when the sect’s gunmen launched reprisals against the so-called Civilian JTF group, which is hunting for insurgents (EXTRACT H 136).

All of the foregrounded expressions and words in this segment of the analysis have military resemblance. Such utterances are collocationally related to war instances.

Examples are: Members of the Joint Task Force cordoned off a part of the town (EXTRACT H 130), Hundreds of relatives of the victims were seen at the hospital morgue in Damaturu trying to identify corpses of their loved ones. (EXTRACT H 131),

Residents said the mayhem in Mainok was a reprisal by the Boko Haram members

(EXTRACT H 132), Gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect have between last Saturday and Sunday killed at least 52 people… insurgents reportedly invaded the village and slaughtered 12 people…(EXTRACT H 133), The attackers dressed in military and police uniforms stormed the villages in four-wheel drive trucks and motorcycles…sustained injuries and scores of houses set ablaze by the attackers in all the affected villages (EXTRACT H 135), Suspected Boko Haram fighters killed at least

43 people in separate incidents in Kaga and Kukawa local government areas of Borno

State. In the violence on Friday and Saturday, 23 people were killed in Mainok and 20 in

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Dawashi when the sect’s gunmen launched reprisals against the so-called Civilian JTF group, which is hunting for insurgents (EXTRACT H 136). The first extract talks about an area being cordoned off thus giving an impression of an imminent invasion. And the process of carrying out such an exercise can only be carried out by the military. In the second extract we have a situation where family members of victims of insurgent activities are in the hospital trying to identify corpses of their relations who were killed in the cross fire. Again this situation paints a picture of a gloom, confusion that can only be witnessed in a war situation. In the subsequent extracts we see the use of such military and war terms such as reprisal attacks, invaded, slaughtered, attackers dressed in military and police uniforms, stormed, fighters and killed to show the extent of damage done to the populace as a result of insurgency. All of these terms are war terms with military inclinations thereby describing a confused state in a society.

4.5.7.5 Metaphor of Food

Food metaphor concretizes the insurgents’ approach to ensuring that starvation forms part of the guerrilla warfare. This they did by communicating their clear message of violence targeted at food stuff. The insurgents use lexical items associated with food as part of their war strategy. The insurgents are aware of the role food plays in humans’ lives and as such use the opportunities provided by the declaration of curfew by government to attack the agricultural segment of the economy as a way of winning the war. In this part of the analysis, we draw patterns of discourses from the fields of agriculture, economy, production, commerce to demonstrate how food metaphor plays a linguistic role in the media depiction of insurgency in Nigeria.

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Following Monday’s curfew, most residents expressed fear that their perishable goods would spoil because the restriction of movement will prevent them from selling. Malam Hassan Maidankali who sells Irish potatoes at Potiskum central market appealed to the JTF to allow them to visit their shops to properly store perishable items (EXTRACT H 137).

“We left our shops hoping that we would go back early in the morning for sales but today we are asked to stay indoors. Our concern is that our vegetables and fruits will go bad due to intense heat because the shops are too stuffy. When it happened last year no trader received compensation or assistance from government,” he recalled (EXTRACT H 138).

Malam Abubakar Inusa who also spoke to our correspondent said majority of residents depend on daily businesses to fend for their families. “Very few people in Potiskum have stored what they could eat for more than two days and even those with that kind of capacity may not have made preparations due to the short notice,” he said. But Hajia Aisha Abubakar said she is ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of security and peace. “It’s only when there is peace that people talk about business and job; go to Syria and see if people care about business,” (EXTRACT H 139).

On the highway to Maiduguri, which links Borno State with other parts of Nigeria including Kano, Bauchi and the federal capital territory, at least 9 articulated vehicles conveying cows, sheep and assorted foodstuff to other parts of the country were intercepted and set ablaze by the rampaging insurgents. Three commuter buses, 8 assorted salon cars, two commercial Volkswagen cars and many motorcycles were also affected. Survivors said most of the occupants of the vehicles had been killed by the insurgents who later disappeared without a trace (EXTRACT H 140).

100 houses, shops razed: Our correspondents who visited the town yesterday report that the insurgents bombed the local government secretariat, the military formation as well as the offices of the Federal Road Safety Corps in the town. Residents said over 100 houses, shops and other business

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premises including tractors were set ablaze by the insurgents that laid siege on the town (EXTRACT H 141).

Jonathan’s speeches: just yams no palm oil: Even the most ardent admirers of the Good-luck Jonathan agree that there is a desperate lack of inspirational words or actions emanating from the presidency, (EXTRACT H 142).

Any weapon is important in war and the insurgents devised a means of ensuring that they get at their targets by any means. This is evidenced in their use of starvation as an instrument of war by hitting at the core of human existence which is food. Most northerners are agrarian while others make a living through business of selling perishable goods. The scenario painted in this segment of our analysis where all the texts reveal a target at food as a metaphor getting at the opponents is a way of devising a means to win a war. Such evidence of linguistic reality of food as a metaphor in the texts can be found in the words and expressions here: Following Monday’s curfew, most residents expressed fear that their perishable goods would spoil because the restriction of movement. Malam

Hassan Maidankali who sells Irish potatoes at Potiskum central market appealed to the

JTF to allow them to visit their shops to properly store perishable items (EXTRACT H

137), Our concern is that our vegetables and fruits will go bad due to intense heat because the shops are too stuffy (EXTRACT H 138), Very few people in Potiskum have stored what they could eat for more than two days and even those with that kind of capacity may not have made preparations due to the short notice,” (EXTRACT H 139), At least 9 articulated vehicles conveying cows, sheep and assorted foodstuff to other parts of the country were intercepted and set ablaze by the rampaging insurgents (EXTRACT H 140),

Residents said over 100 houses, shops and other business premises including tractors were set ablaze by the insurgents (EXTRACT H 141), Jonathan’s speeches: just yams no palm

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oil. Even the most ardent admirers of the Good-luck Jonathan agree that there is a desperate lack of inspirational words or actions emanating from the presidency

(EXTRACT H 142). It is not only the perishables that are in danger but even the live ones like cows being transported into other parts of the countries are slaughtered at gun points.

As the war rages on the shops become “uninhabitable” for foodstuff just as the environment is not conducive for humans. We are told that the shops are stuffy therefore foodstuff will “perish” pointing to the vanity of war. Tractors that are used for cultivating the farmlands are deliberately set ablaze to frustrate the efforts of the farmers. And to cap it all, extract H 142 intertextually links the former president’s speeches while in government to Chinua Achebe’s comments in his epic novel Things Fall Apart. But the issues raised in this text are contrary to Achebe’s postulation. Within the African setting the yam either boiled or roasted can only be a delicacy when eaten with palm oil but ironically we are told that the presidential speeches are like yam without palm oil.As

Chinua Achebe points out, words are like palm oil with which yams are eaten.

Unfortunately they are consistently letting him down. The content of the speech bore absolutely no resemblance to the truths that stare us all in the face. Instead of making our president sound like a statesman the speech only served to make him appear clueless. His speech writers had no qualms in ignoring reality and making our president look like a person who doesn’t know what is happening.

4.5.7.6 Metaphor of Sports

Sport is calculative, competitive and clinical just like war. There is contest in sports which ultimately leads to loosing or winning. Sports reporters tend to garnish their language

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with choice of words that clearly spell out who wins or loses, who does well or fails to do well in the course of the competition. Sport is also administrative. The data analyzed in this segment of the work tend to predominantly have lexical items borrowed from the field of sports to portray insurgent activities in the media.

“There will be no biases; no sentiments and we have no preconceived idea. All we are interested in is to get to the root of the matter. We are approaching the matter with an open mind in order to get the facts so that justice would be done. “This is not the time for blame game. It is time to find the facts. We must hear from all sides of the divide so that we can establish the truth and proffer solutions to the crises.” Senator Mark stated. Committee’s lead chairman, Senator Mohammed Magoro (PDP, Kebbi), stated that the committee would do its job honestly, justly, fairly and with the fear God (EXTRACT H 143).

As the blame game continues as to who and what is responsible for the massive thieving threatening Nigeria which gets over 78 per cent of its fiscal revenue from oil receipts, it is field day for the thieves as they continue to fill their pockets with illegal oil money (EXTRACT H 144).

Nevertheless, the president now has the singular opportunity to populate his cabinet with the people he thinks can change the game, basically those that will be capable of neutralising the seven governors of Adamawa, Jigawa, Kano, Kwara, Niger, Sokoto and Rivers States. The president is determined to contest another election and with the South West impregnable, he must make a good impression and garner at least 25% of the votes in these states if he hopes to win in 2015 (EXTRACT H 145).

The semantic imports of the expressions and words in this segment are found within the field of sports. Such utterances can only be found in the area of where their relevance is felt but their domestication into the discourse of insurgency is metaphorical at least to establish the changing dynamics of insurgent activities and the reactions of the federal government in tackling the menace. Such utterances include: This is not the time for

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blame game. It is time to find the facts. We must hear from all sides of the divide so that we can establish the truth and proffer solutions to the crises” Senator Mark (EXTRACT H

143), As the blame game continues as to who and what is responsible for the massive thieving threatening Nigeria which gets over 78 per cent of its fiscal revenue from oil receipts, it is field day for the thieves as they continue to fill their pockets with illegal oil money (EXTRACT H 144), Nevertheless, the president now has the singular opportunity to populate his cabinet with the people he thinks can change the game, basically those that will be capable of neutralising his opponents (EXTRACT H 145), When he ordered the

Super Eagles would not participate in international competitions until they regained the winning spirit, he didn’t make mistake; he only reversed himself after being told about the

FIFA penalties that awaited Nigeria (EXTRACT H 146). The insurgent acts are seen in the first two extract as a game which falls within the semantic field of sports. This is closely followed by the use of the word game changer in which sense it has to do with tact in prosecuting a war by using the appropriate style and personnel to win such a war. To sustain the use of semantic terms that follow this trend we have the neutralising which is a term in football and it has to do with the ability of a striker to neutralise the defence of the opponent to score a goal. And to cap it all the approach of the former president is pictured in form of historical allusion where reference is metaphorically made to the approach he adopted in cautioning the nation’s football team. Most people believe that since the tactics worked out perfectly he could still adopt it in the military strategy of winning the war on insurgency.

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4.5.7.6.1 Conclusion of Metaphoric Depiction

With the raging insurgency in Nigeria and its attendant gruesome attacks, the number of casualties and the significance of the targets, the concept of insurgency has drastically changed media discourse in Nigeria. How exactly, however, is this new form of terrorism characterized in the media discourse from the perspective of metaphor? This section of the analysis has shown how insurgency is metaphorically characterized in Nigerian media discourse in the aftermath of the Niger Delta militancy and Boko Haram insurgency.

Based on data from select newspapers, we described the conceptualization involved, focusing on the aspect of information activating emotions. In this context, insurgency is very often characterized through metaphors and based on our knowledge that metaphors express analogical thinking by forcing us to establish a similarity relation between two conceptual domains, a specific evaluation is given, and consequently, also a certain emotional impact. In this analysis, a range of examples are presented to illustrate the role that metaphors (can) play in the conceptualization of insurgency. The analyses carried out so far have shown that through the use of metaphors in the media, the meaning of insurgency is on the one hand intensified and emotionally loaded, with the emotion of anxiety playing a decisive role. On the other hand, there is also evidence for metaphors that relativizes and trivializes, and through which a feeling of relative safety is transmitted. In many cases, the sole purpose of certain metaphors such as war, sports and foodis to indicate how difficult it is to grasp the phenomenon described. Such metaphors often convey no detailed conceptualization, which is sometimes pointed out explicitly in the discourse. From this metaphorical analysis, we can deduce that metaphors appear to play a significant role in the conceptualization of insurgency in the media discourse of the

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English language print media. Some of the metaphors employed are rather unspecific and abstract and can be used either for relativization or for intensification of emotions.

Intensifying metaphors play a much more important role in this process, since they communicate strongly negative conceptual patterns such as insurgency as war.

Remarkable in this regard is the conceptualization of insurgency as a journey making it an unending exercise. Through systematic reference to the effects of the phenomenon as war, a threatening scenario is established. This kind of metaphorical reference also implies the demand for investigating and combating insurgency effectively thus making a reader to get the impression that there is some hope in the future strategies against insurgency. More so, few semantic-rhetorical figures are as persuasive as metaphors, in newspaper reports on insurgency, abstract, complex, unfamiliar, new or emotional meanings are made more familiar and more concrete.

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The relic of an old Islamic caliphate becomes a metaphor for emptiness as local council officials fled and police stations were empty even as images of the dreaded “Gwoza hill” which is used for training the mobile police force which is the punching arm of the police force is now a ghost of itself. The next excerpt is an irony “that a Militants’ Kingdom becomes a University Community: The militant enclave of Gbaramatu Kingdom of Delta

State becomes a university community”. Even as the kingdom that was an epitome of

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emptiness as “Many fled their homes to seek refuge in surrounding bushes and neighbouring communities, some were killed or maimed, homes were damaged, burnt or destroyed, and the people were torn between life and death” can now heave a sight of relieve and sit in the comfort of their homes and acquire knowledge.

4.6The Use of Hyponym The linguistic term hyponym is borrowed from the Greek words hupó, which means

"under" and onomas, which stands for "name"). Hyponym can therefore be taken to mean a word or phrase whose semantic field is included within that of another word, its hyperonym or hypernym (from Greek hupér, "over" and onomas, "name").This therefore means that hyponym shares a type-of relationship with its hypernym. Using the example of the word pigeon, we can have: crow, eagle and seagull which are all hyponyms of bird

(their hypernym); which, in turn, is a hyponym of animal. For example, screwdriver, scissors, knife, hammer are all co-hyponyms of tool, but not hyponyms of one another:

‘That hammer is a knife’ does not make sense. Co-hyponyms are often but not always related to one another by relation of incompatibility. For example, apple, peach and plum are co-hyponyms of fruit. However, an apple is not a peach, which is also not a plum.

Thus, they are incompatible. Nevertheless, co-hyponyms are not necessarily incompatible in all senses. A queen and mother are both hyponyms of woman but there is nothing preventing the queen from being a mother. This shows that compatibility may be relevant. From the foregoing, we use the word Almajiri” in the report on the establishment of Almajiri schools to test the relationship between “Almajiris” and

“Beggars” within the Nigerian socio-political environment in relation to the political utterances that heralded the “that lofty project” of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s

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administration. Our focus on this particular lexical item is based on the description of the project by the president of ACF as a crazy idea and by extension his comparing it with political players in Nigeria. He calls for its immediate reversal.

However, in this extract the leader of the Arewa Consultative Forum extends the semantic concept of “Almajiri” to even those who go about lobbying for positions in government and traces the problem of the northern part of the country that culminated in the formation of the militant Boko Haram to political irresponsibility on the part of politicians. He also sees the linguistic label “Almajiri” as a derogatory term that is reserved for the poor people and downtrodden who have been perpetually relegated to the background because of the position the government has placed them. By describing the idea as a crazy is a sign of total rejection of the government offer that is aimed at sanitising the system and

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keeping the children off the streets. Based on the explanation, we can represent the

semantic description of the term “Almajiri” in a diagrammatic form as shown in the figure

below: From this figure, the term “Almajiri” is a superordinate term for “beggars” which

is the co hypernym of the superordinate term “Almajiri”. According to Shettima,

politicians are beggars because they go to “Abuja to “lobby” for political positions. These

calibres of people are political appointees while the political appendages are those who

ride on the backs of politicians that contest elections. These are: Vice President, Deputy

Governors, and Vice Chairmen in local government areas. ALMAJIRIS

Beggars

Street Urchins Politicians

Children of the poor The less privileged beggars

Political Appendages Lobbyists

Vice President Deputy Governors Vice Chairmen

Political Appointees

Ministers Commissioners Ambassadors Contractors

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From the figure above, the term “Almajiri” is a superordinate term for “beggars” which can further be subcategorised into politicians as described by Shettima Yerima.

According to him, politicians are beggars because they go to “Abuja to “lobby” for political positions. These calibres of people are political appointees while the political appendages are those who ride on the backs of politicians that contest elections. These are: Vice President, Deputy Governors, and Vice Chairmen in local government areas.

This is anchored on the premise that the value of education is that it prepares students to prosper in social entrepreneurship and creates a much needed civil society. It is therefore the responsibility of the society to establish an educational system that gives all round training to the students because those who profess to be humanists must be prepared to lead by example. This is because when a school is given a label from the outset, there would definitely be a case of economic disparities thus exposing its effect even before the programme takes off.

4.7 Conclusion

This segment of the analysis has described the representation of insurgents in the

Nigerian print media by using CDA as a platform while operating within the territories of metaphor. The analysis revealed that insurgents are given negative portrayal in the print media. The Boko Haram insurgents are depicted as faceless people and in most cases are described as ghosts. The Niger Delta militants who were initially seen as faceless embraced the federal government amnesty but were still portrayed as enemies of the society who belong to the out-group while the JTF, the FGN are portrayed as good people who belong to the in-group. The militants and insurgents are seen as specific sets of people who are individualistic and should not be associated with in the larger society.

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The government and security operatives are painted in a collectivist light and are seen as more humane and accommodating. More so, the government has a voice in the media whereas the insurgents are not given a voice; where the militants are represented they are painted in very bad light as belonging to the “other” while the government which has a voice dictates the pace and direction in which the discourse goes. Any member of the militant groups no matter his/her level of education is seen as a stark illiterate, primitive, uncivilised, unaccommodating and irresponsible.

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CHAPTER FIVE:

PRESS REPORTS OF BOKO HARAM & NIGER DELTA INSURGENCIES AS

SEMIOSIS

5.1 Introduction

There can be no words without images - Aristotle.

In this chapter we present insurgency in Nigeria as semiotic constructs to critically describe and interpret the various pictorials that have been churned out of the acts of terrorism, vandalism, kidnappings and the likes in the wake of the violence from a socio semiotic viewpoint as propounded by Norman Fairclough (1988:112). Using this approach, we identify the discourse patterns in the various pictorial representations of the crises by using significations in relation to Critical Discourse Analysis to explicate the issues in relation to the crises. This is because visual semiotics emphasizes the way visuals communicate and the system dominating their usage. As an apparatus directly associated with culture, semiotics is fundamentally diverse from the traditional criticism.

Obviously, traditional criticism primarily analyses the aesthetic object or the text according to their face values. Nevertheless, semiotics predominantly enquires into the ways through which the meaning is created rather than simply investigating what it is.

Human beings have always tried to understand and interpret the world they live in. they desire to get to know, and read, the nature, the universe, human being and his culture, which is why he needs to think about and analyze their meanings. The meaning doesn’t necessarily come out obviously, it often exists latently and waits to be disclosed, analyzed and read (Parsa & Parsa, 2002: 79). In this segment of our analysis, socio- semiotics is used as methodology by attempting to hint at the way in which an analysis

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might be done. Our aim here is to clarify the meaning construction process and its interpretation by the reader at the perceptive level and the course of shallow meaning units into the deeper levels of meaning in the selected pictorials generated from insurgency in Nigeria.

5.2 Semiotics and Pictorial Analysis

Here we focus on studies in visual and material culture, which according to Peirce’s classification of signs in terms of icon, index and symbol are useful. An icon, simply put, is a sign that is linked to a signifier through similarity in appearance. Examples here include portraits or abstract paintings where colour is, for example, black; the painting is black, refers to the colour black and can then be interpreted differently. The point is that we can gain information (or think we can!) about the signified by looking at the sign.

Take, for example, of computer icons. An indexical sign ties, as such, the signifier to the signified; the index has been described as visible sign which points to the invisible, though this may be too general. I would describe the indexical sign as the registration of the real; the sight of smoke, for example, can indicate fire, a bullet hole would refer to a specific act, or the sight of tears suggests sadness or happiness. Further, think of words such as ‘this’ or ‘big’ and ‘small’. Finally, a symbol links the signifier and the signified in a purely arbitrary or conventional way; unlike the icon or index, the link is not physical or logical. We are taught by our society to make the link between the symbolic sign and it’s signified. For example, flags, dollar signs or the most obvious example, verbal language itself. Pierce’s ideas can be useful but should not be understood uncritically.

Like objects and images, these classifications are best understood as dynamic when

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applied to images and objects.Roland Barthes (1915-1980) was the first to apply ideas of semiotics, as it developed from linguistics, to visual images, for example, food advertisements, photography and motion pictures. Barthes’ work offers a useful summary of the important aspects of semiotics discussed above. Essentially, he sought to analyze how the meanings we attribute to images are not a “natural” result of what we see; that is, images are not self-evident and universal in how we understand what we see. For example, it is very difficult to attribute meaning to a photograph without a caption or accompanying text. Further, the meanings that we do give to images are linked to culturally specific associations, though it is very necessary to note that culture cannot entirely determine our response (Potts 1996, 31). Barthes called the immediate visual impact denoted meaning (or first order or basic meaning) and the cultural meaning we attach to it connoted meaning (or second-order meaning). In other words, denoted meaning refers to the recognition of what is registered by the image or photograph (e.g. a photograph of a monk) and connoted meaning refers to the possible invitation of the image to interpret, give meaning to, the forms even against or beyond the authors’ intention. This provides a useful backdrop to look at the application of semiotics to visual and material culture and, furthermore, in terms of considering cultural meanings, we may also usefully note Barthes’ influence on poststructuralist thinking. Post-structuralism does not view language as a structure but rather a structuring process in terms of the relationship of the reader, or viewer, or consumer (Ribere 2002, 60). In this respect, there is a greater emphasis on the impact of language and the role the individual plays in creating meaning.

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5.2.1 Semiotics and Pictorial Representation

Given the root of ‘representation’ in notions of resemblance and imitation, among other factors, visual images have often been thought of as more direct and straightforward in their meaning than language itself, which varies from culture to culture. Or, in other words, there has been a strong tendency to think of visual images as not a language, as un-coded and possibly universal in their meaning. Furthermore, as a result of a pervasive link between visual art and the idea of expression, art has been thought of as more intuitive, unconscious and basic than language; therefore transcending the specifics of the culture[s] it emerges from. This, of course, is not true. In this respect it can be useful to think of visual images as text-like, though one necessarily needs to be wary of linguistic models dominating our understanding of visual representation. In the first instance, the elements of images do not have established rules, unlike words, which require them to be combined in certain ways to form a sign. Furthermore, images and meanings are not entwined as a dictionary links words with their signified; while images are linked with particular meanings, for example, allegories or images of Buddha, the meaning doesn’t require a distinctly or distinct visual language. Or, the meanings of particular images can also be explained in words and therefore we can conceive many different visual forms, none where the meaning is intrinsic (Potts 1996, 24-26). Moreover, the very possibility of visual art being understood as a sign, of being readable, was challenged by, for example, the Impressionists and, later, abstraction. The Impressionists aimed to put visual representation on a par with visual perception and abstraction could aim to act in a direct emotional manner on the viewer, free of text-like qualities (Potts 1996, 27).

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5.2 Analysis of the Boko Haram Violence with Semiotic Approach ANALYSIS 1: AN IMAGE OF A SENATOR SUPERIMPOSED ON WEAPONS.

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance Model of the the Image Sign 1 Icon The impunity displayed The smile on the face of the senator are even in the face of symptomatic of lawlessness aimed at showing grievous allegations of the younger ones that crime especially in sponsorship of terrorism politicking pays through violence. becomes iconic. 2 Index The photograph contains The photograph signifies terrorism and an image of a smiling impunity. The senator is supposed to be a role serving senator of the model who should be a shining example to the country superimposed on upcoming generation of politicians sadly he different kinds of guns becomes a promoter of violence associated indexical of a man with assorted weapons used in terrorising the alleged to be sponsoring masses. Those attributes diminish at the sight insurgent activities. The of the picture. smile on the senator’s face depicts confidence of someone in control of whatever he does. 3 Symbol Combine violence with The picture is symbolic and it carries a politics, it pays. With message for the younger generation who can assorted weapons you easily be manipulated to indulge in evil acts to can subdue the opponent have a short cut to their aspirations. Violence and thrive in politics. permeates the political landscape hence the need to resort to it to achieve one’s aspiration.

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DISCUSSION

The implication of the above picture is that one of the most notorious members of the

Boko Haram sect Shuaibu Mohammed Bama who was declared wanted by the security operatives was arrested in the private residence of the “distinguished” senator Ahmed

Zana. The senator who represents Borno central senatorial district-a state that is the hotbed of the Boko Haram was under serious watch by the JTF who stormed his residence and found out that his house was a rendezvous for members of the Boko

Haram. He was said to be in clear romance and sponsorship of the sect. The same senator was also indicted by the then commissioner of police in Borno state Simeion Midenda for discovering some Boko Haram related materials in the hands of the senator’s supporters and being a major financier of the sect. Senator Ahmad Zana is a member of the ruling

Peoples’ Democratic Party who defeated the then incumbent governor of Borno state Ali

Modu Sheriff to become a senator thus gaining political notoriety in the process.

The smile on the senator’s face is a clear demonstration of impunity even in the face of insecurity and violence sponsored by the same senator. His half-closed eyes in the picture suggest dazedness and a relapse from certain chemicals that tend to control the brain thus giving him the impetus to engage in the act of sponsoring terrorist attacks without any form of regret. Although his white dressing is supposed to be a sign of purity but the manner in which his chest is opened smacks of irresponsibility and eagerness to relate with the delinquent in the society thereby aggravating insurgency through sponsorship.

The different kinds of guns at the background portray the senator as a man of violence, a sponsor of criminality and a financier of terror. In still images, whether in painting or

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photography, the most significant technical characteristic is to add “the sense of motion” into the picture. One of the contributing elements is the depth of field, that is, the technical codification of the background, middle and frontward image. On the frontward image appears the picture of a man and assorted guns this kind of pictorial arrangement directs the attention of the reader onto the background by creating a depth of field.

Indeed, at a connotative level, anger, frustration and hatred are clear indications of the picture due to the number of lives that have been lost and properties destroyed. The other element contributing to the sense of anger is the smile on the senator’s face depicting nonchalance and outright impunity. The picture of the senator was taken in an open space demonstrating the fact that his deeds may be in secrets but they are not as secretive as he thinks. That his actions are not hidden in the prying eyes of the security operatives and the masses thus making room for the preference to the outdoor photographing in opposition of indoors. Besides, the elderly ones are the ones who make money, acquire wealth and then sponsor the young, vibrant and energetic youths to perpetrate violence in the society.

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ANALYSIS 2: A BURNT POLICE STATION IN BORNU STATE

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance Model of Image the Sign 1 Icon The picture shows the level of The significance of this picture is carnage caused by the Boko that it shows the vanity of Haram sect. the picture is an insurgency and calls for dialogue as iconic form of a disturbing a way of resolving conflict. scenario and therefore calls for caution. 2 Index This is a burnt down police These are signs of the effect of station in Bornu state. The insurgent activities as reported in destroyed items on sight: Police the media. The police officers at the vans, a motorcycle, the scene are securing an empty space. barricades for protection are indexical of destruction as a result of insurgency. 3 Symbol Violence should be avoided With the depiction of this picture in because it can only aggravate a the media, the practitioners are situation. calling for calm and projecting the negative effects of insurgency.

DISCUSSION

The Boko Haram insurgents launched an attack on that particular police station in the north-eastern state of Borno and burnt dawn the entire station. Ammunitions of various

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kinds were carted away by the insurgents before setting the station ablaze. The security officers who ordinarily should ensure the safety of lives and properties were chased away by the terrorists while the resistant ones were killed. Just like other assaults that have been launched in the country this particular one was more devastating in the sense that ironically security personnel gave way for the insurgents to have a fill of the entire station with the armoury under the control of the menacing terrorists. In the picture there are burnt motorcycles that the police officers were using as a means of logistics. The security officers at the venue of the incident are an epitome of a helpless race and generation of security “experts” who can easily be over powered by any set of bandits. The three security officers walking away from the burnt station are walking away from the troubles of their lives showing a kind of protest in the face of the challenging security situation.

The other three personnel who are carrying and pointing their guns are “protecting” an empty space---a burnt down station still secured by helpless police—what an irony. The houses in the background look like shanties---a typical example of how Nigerian police stations look---abandoned by the government and untaken care of by the security agencies. This is a clear case of negligence and abandonment which gives way to porosity and exposure to the risk of the nation. The police officer carrying a gun is expressing anger, frustration and anguish---his departed colleagues a clear testimony to his feelings. The ashes on the background signify gloom, mourning and defeat in the hands of “a more sophisticated terrorist gang” over a national security. The colours of the

Nigerian police force painted on the drums are a case of abandonment and defeat---the police station here is an epitome of the entire Nigerian security outfit. The dog on the background is searching for what to eat thus reducing human habitation to the abode of

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dogs where humans are no longer needed. For abandoning the station to become a safe haven for dogs is a metaphor for a failed state in the hands of monsters and man-made disasters orchestrated by man’s inability to curtail the excesses of a group of gangsters.

ANALYSIS 3: DEAD MEMBERS OF THE BOKO HARAM

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance Model of Image the Sign 1 Icon The crowd witnessing the mass Though there is a universal grief burial of the insurgents is iconic- over the dead of human beings but signalling joy over the defeat of this particular scene is an occasion the insurgents. The presence of for joy. The revelation in this picture the security operatives at the is iconic of the inability to reveal the scene is a sign of warning to identities of the sect members. other members of the sect. 2 Index The picture shows dead Insurgency is an exercise that can be members of the boko haram sect defeated through coordinated efforts in different age strata, dressed in of the security operatives. The different colours and lying triumph of evils of insurgent downward. Security vehicles are activities is temporary while parked at the extreme end of the dialogue holds the key to a peaceful background. There are people resolution of crises. standing afar and watching the scenario. The background seems to be a forest. This scene is indexical of a temporary defeat of the boko haram menace. 3 Symbol This picture is a symbol of an The self-acclaimed invisibility of the endemic menace that permeates sect is unrealistic. There is always the entire society. It is also a an end to every act of impunity; symbol of an end to a though it might take long but the day troublesome escapade of a sect. of reckoning is sure.

DISCUSSION

All the victims in the picture are lying face down. Apart from the very first victim who is lying sideways with his hands tied to the back before execution. With his hair tousled and he is wearing tattered clothes that have been torn into rags as a result of the struggle in the course of the battle that led to his dead. His clothing has no identifying qualities. His face is hidden and thus his identity is hidden---a faceless individual---meaning that anybody can be a member of the dreaded sect. This anonymity of the victim creates a national interest. He could be anyone. He could be anybody’s father, anyone’s son, brother, or friend. The anonymity of the victim yields to national outrage and could have

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created a sympathy and anger on a larger scale than if his face had been clearly shown.

The different types of cloths the victims are wearing is a clear indication of the different faces of people who belong to the Boko Haram sect. the colours also represent the different set of people in the society---the innocent, the culpable, the real members and the forced ones who joined out of fear. The police officer on the extreme end of the picture standing close to the vehicles but carrying a gun and facing the victims is an example of the die heart security personnel who believe that an enemy even at the point of dead is not dead until s/he is buried. His mission is to ensure that none of the victims resurrects to come back and torment the masses. The emotion on his face is communicated to the viewer and conveys the outrage that he is feeling. His arms firmly held on to the gun are a pointer to his readiness to crush any uprising that might emerge.

He sees the dead as something they deserved and has no apology for the actions of the executioners---thus he is expressing a loss that is inevitable. The vehicles that are packed there at the background are symptomatic of the various sympathizers that come to a tragic scene some to mock others to sympathize while those who have open sympathy cannot express it for fear of being caught and executed as a result of the perceived affiliation. To the extreme left is a woman who is standing in the foreground and is looking away, showing disinterest or confusion. Her face is hidden, which shows ambiguity and rebellion. All the people are standing under the shade provided by trees thus demonstrating their believe in living with the comfort of mother nature while the insurgents who are lying on the sun is a case of rejection and abandonment---family members now openly deny any knowledge of the culprits. The culprits are seen here pictured in the bush thus revealing their clandestine activities that are shrouded in

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secrecy. The bush becomes a metaphor for a fence that prevents/separates the insurgents from the other members of the society. The “fence” then becomes the site of controversy, but the “barricade” also raises questions about the society, the land itself and the occupants. What is the motive behind the bush being a place of abode for the insurgents?

Could it be a case of societal rejection or ideological projection? If they had chosen to live a normal life, the insurgents would not have died in such circumstances but their preference for insurgency at the expense of civility brought them to their untimely dead.

This photo communicates the anguish and frustration that the country felt in reaction to the shooting of the insurgents on that fateful day. The anguish on the face of the woman represents the emotions and internal turmoil that the parents of the insurgents who had been brain washed through the process of corporal mortification has been made to go through. That anguish was propelled to a national level due to the anonymity of the victims who are seen here facing down thus pointing to the fact that the members of the

Boko Haram sect are faceless, unknown and without identity. Though this victory is a temporary one for the nation’s security outfit for more ferocious attacks have been launched in the recent past and the insurgents are still not ready to give up the fight.

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ANALYSIS 4: OCTOBER 1ST BOMBING AT ABUJA

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Image Semiotic Significance Model of the Sign 1 Icon Images of burning cars, buildings This is iconic of a devastated security network, which is hit at and a very thick smoke and flame its core, a pointer to insecurity in emanating from the inferno, at the the country. background, white house facing the fire. 2 Index The bombing of Police Headquarters The bombing of the police in Abuja by Boko Haram headquarters is indexical of the height of impunity of the Boko Haram insurgents. 3 Symbol Nigerian security network in This symbolises insecurity in the shambles, the very heart of the moment of turbulence. nation’s security under heavy attack by Boko Haram.

DISCUSSION

On the 16th of June 2011 a suicide bomber who was said to be trailing the convoy of the then Inspector General of Police Hafiz Ringim rammed his car into the Luis Edet headquarters of the Nigerian police force. There were reports that the bomber and a traffic police officer who stopped him at the gate and prevented him (the bomber) from

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entering the premises got killed. But there were however conflicting reports as per the number of casualties that died in the attack. Some days later, the Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack. In the photograph, the flames and the thick smoke are blowing to the right in the wind. Dark, heavy smoke is coming off the flames and is hiding the background in the top right corner. The flames are chaotic and look like they could not be contained, but yet they are very focused in the specific area surrounding the environment. The thick smoke is rising above the towering whitish building thus denting the colour of the building---a metaphor for a stain which has come to stay with the

Nigerian society despite all efforts being made to curtail the excesses of the militant Boko

Haram. The vehicles under destruction are a testimony to the name of the sect group

“Boko Haram” anything that emanates from the western world of civilization is evil and therefore should be destroyed. The direction of the smoke into the building and not away from it is a clear indication that even the natural environment understands the message of the insurgents---seeking to destroy whatever is western to impose a sharia law style of governance in Nigeria. The white colour of the house under destruction is a symbol of neutrality or peace. At the far background are people who are looking on, observing the act that is occurring in front of them, but doing nothing to stop it.

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ANALYSIS 5: INSPECTION OF THE POLICE HEADQUARTERS AT ABUJA

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance Model of Image the Sign 1 Icon President Goodluck This is iconic and calls for a more Jonathan being led by the serious cautious approach to the Inspector General of police issue of Boko Haram insurgency. and other security personnel in inspecting the bombed police headquarters 2 Index Presidential inspection of The presence of the president at the bombed Police the scene of the bombing is Headquarters in Abuja indexical of the seriousness of the act. 3 Symbol Security and the president in This is symbolic of a temporary a state of confusion defeat of a security outfit that is meant to secure the entire nation.

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DISCUSSION

From the picture in focus, we see the Inspector General of Police pointing to the level of destruction carried out by the Boko Haram sect on the force headquarters in Abuja.

Though in his full regalia as the police helmsman, the IGP seems to be non-challant in his message to the president is this evident in his own view being focused on the president rather than the place where he is pointing. This is indicative of the attitude of Nigerian civil servants who take delight in doing what is known in the civil service parlance as

“eye service” thus trying to impress the president at the expense of the damage done to the nation’s security outfit. The president is not even helping matters as his eyes are neither focused on the IGP nor the damaged building. His thoughts are rather on some other imaginary things bothering his mind. A critical look at the president’s vision suggests confusion, incompetence, frustration and regret. Whether he is regretting his acceptance of the mantle of leadership as president or regretting the attacks by the insurgents or his incapacity to prosecute the sponsors of terrorist attacks in the country, it is left for him and the thoughts that are going on in his mind that he seems to demonstrate a carefree attitude to the issues at the moment based on the semiotic realization of the picture presented here. The picture of the IGP is very clear but that of his next in command is partial thus revealing the incompetence of the police force in combating the menace of terrorism in the country. The army officer in the picture is only revealed by the uniform, his face is hidden thus giving him anonymity. This goes to show that it is not the known police force that will put a stop to the menace of terrorism by the Boko Haram sect but an unknown security outfit which could be the Army, Navy or Air force. The members of the presidential entourage at the background look confused and frustrated.

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They also look helpless as the leadership does not seem to know where the solution to the crises lies. The man in the crowd who is putting on white is looking away from the scene of the incident. To him the present leadership does not have any solution to the crises thereby making him to be smiling in that picture in the face of the security challenges.

The president shrugs his shoulder either saying he cannot withstand this act or that it is none of his business or even as a way of expressing surprise and shock.

ANALYSIS 6: A B/H LEADER BEING MONITORED BY THE NIGERIAN ARMY

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources Semiotic Significance Model of in the Image the Sign 1 Icon A desperate situation The challenge of the sect leader of his in search of an elusive closeness to the security operatives is fugitive iconic of the search for a fugitive whose rampaging militancy is worrisome. 2 Index The Boko Haram The pictorial representation is leader purportedly indexical of the notoriety of the leader surrounded by of the sect. it also exposes his alleged Nigerian soldiers invisibility. 3 Symbol Confusion in the This is symbolic of the confusion in military the military at the time of the search for the sect leader. His audacity is exposed through the lexical items on the picture.

DISCUSSION

With the message “I am here very close to you; I dare you to get me if you can the Boko

Haram leader Shekau announced that he and his group are the soul perpetrators of last

Monday’s bombing” the Boko Haram leader seems to have acquired a notorious, illusive and invincible status where he can challenge the security operatives at will without any iota of fear. The security officers are well kitted and combat ready for an “enemy” who professes invincibility thus substantiating the claim that members of the sect are everywhere and can hardly be seen. They are faceless but can unleash terror at will and go unchallenged. The background is inside a thick forest with a blue sky overlooking the soldiers and the terrorist leader---a clear indication that the mercy of God is upon both the terrorist and the innocent. The fact that Shekau’s picture is in front of the soldiers shows that he is always a step ahead of the Nigerian security personnel thus fuelling the information that he is in control of information from even within the army, the executive and the legislature;---an escape route for him always. And for openly stating that he

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carried out the attack on the police headquarters and that if the security can they should come and get him is an open confrontation from a man who operates with impunity and at will.

ANALYSIS 7: A PRESIDENTIAL MEDIA CHAT UNDER WATCH BY THE B/H

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance Model of the Image the Sign 1 Icon Terrorists have their ears The attentive nature of the insurgents in Aso Rock. is iconic---they are getting information from the seat of power. 2 Index President Jonathan in a The pictorial representation is media chat where indexical of the challenges of terrorist are listening to insecurity in the country at the time. him The attention being paid to the presidential media chat is indexical. 3 Symbol A government without This is symbolic of a nation that is secured information with not secured even at the highest level. regards to terrorists

DISCUSSION

In this picture we see the president in a media chat whie the militants inside the bush are attentively listening to the presidential comments. The leader of the sect Shekau’s hands are folded to the back with an AK47 riffle crossing his chest. He is focusing on the president as he speaks as if saying in his mind “I know what he is talking about” but I cannot be moved. Other members of the sect are holding tenaciously to their weapons

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and paying attention to the media chat. But the president seems to be vehement in his gestures as his two hands are pointing to his chest saying “I am in control and on top of this security challenge; we shall over come”. But the looks on the terrorists face is that of confidence and the assurance that at the end of the battle they (militants) will triumph.

The bush where they are standing seems to be far from where the president is addressing the nation but they are not separated from the rest of the people by distance because their network is spread over all sectors and facets of the economy thus prompting the fear that

“Boko Haram members are all over the place in the president’s administration”.

ANALYSIS 8: BOKO HARAM LEADER IN A PRESS RELEASE

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance Model Image of the Sign 1 Icon Boko Haram enjoys the creation The book being held by the sect leader is iconic; though the sect And beauty of western education abhors westernization their liking for and civilization education is absolute. 2 Index Boko Haram leader holding a At least the sect leader carrying a book “Boko” which is “Haram” book is indexical of a movement that and backing two brand new jeeps somehow believes in the western in company of his lieutenants. education. This is ironical. 3 Symbol A contradiction of the sects’ This symbolises an ideological ideological stance contradiction on the part of the sects, who though do not like western education but takes delight in using western materials.

DISCUSSION

In the above picture there is a deviation from the usual style of the Shekau that appears on videos. In this frame, he is not backing the armour tanks as always but is rather backing a Honda jeep and another one that looks like a Land Cruiser Prado jeep. He is also holding a typed document---a “Boko” which his ideology says is “Haram” that western education is a sin. But looking at the above picture, the scenery violates all the believes that Boko Haram stands for. It is an irony that the same person who condemns the acquisition of western education is pictured here carrying a book which epitomises western civilization. Again the same person drives porchy cars and wears expensive clothes all produced through the knowledge of western education. Just like chichidodo the bird in Ayi Kwei Ahmah’s The Beautiful Ones are not yet born, that hates excreta but lives on maggots, Boko Haram hates western education and western civilization but benefits from the same knowledeg that they love to hate.

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ANALYSIS 9: THE B/H LEADER MOCKING THE MASSES IN A VIDEO

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance Model of the Image the Sign 1 Icon Boko Haram leader This posture is iconic of mocking the Nigerian mockery of the security outfit by state and her security a sect that terrorises a nation. outfit 2 Index Boko Haram leader taking This is indexical of deviance, a salute from an imaginary defying all the military strategies audience of the nation to stamp his authority and acclaimed supremacy in the face of the challenge of insecurity. 3 Symbol A demonstration of This symbolises deviance in the callousness and brutality face of insecurity by the in the face of security insurgent. challenges

DISCUSSION

The Boko Haram leader is flanked by his subordinates in that picture where he is

“hailing” his followers and taking an imaginary salute from his cohorts. The three armour tanks at the background provide security and confidence for the insurgent leader while his lieutenants provide a back up in case of any eventualities. The right hand that is raised up is a symbol of acceptance of whaever role his followers have been playing and a further encouragement to continue in their nefarious activities. The Boko Haram flag

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flying at the back of the “soldiers” is a symbol of authority that legitimizes their actions as “an independent” republic of Boko Haram; a country devoid of corruption and moral bankrupcy. The other leaders of the sect that are covering mask are invincible and have no identity but the leader Shekau who is not masked is saying “you have known me, you have known my identity but you cannot get me”. His boldness gives him the courage to go about unmasked knowing quite well that he cannot be caught.

ANALYSIS 10: A DESTROYED COMMUNITY BY THE B/H

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance Model of Image the Sign 1 Icon Hopelessness, helplessness This is iconic of a helpless and despair situation. This has led to despair in the children. 2 Index A girl peeping out of a This is indexical of a generation of dilepidated building youth whose future is not certain. surrounded by ramshackled The security situation has exposed walls and buildings them to a very difficult situation. 3 Symbol A younger generation that This symbolises uncertainty. A has no future left as a result devastated environment and an of insurgency insecure society.

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DISCUSSION

The picture is that of a completely destroyed community, walls are coming down and the trees destroyed while a girl is standing in a dilapidated building and peeping out in fear, horror and anguish. The destroyed trees signify the destruction of the natural environment, the black smoke on the wall shows the lasting legacy of the Boko Haram insurgency that has come to torment the world. Outside the shattered walls is a set of chairs blown outside. This symbolises a state of rejection and torment. The girl is wearing a white cloth which symbolises innocence and purity but under heavy attack. The left over wall she is holding on to has the colour “green” which symbolises the nigerian national flag. By holding on to the green colour the girl seems to be saying that she still has faith in the nigerian dream despite the level of insurgency that has permeated the landscape. The bright sky symbolises hope and a sign of better things that are definitely to shine upon the girl. The age of the girl itself is a pointer to the fact that the insurgents are on a mission to render the younger generation homeless or cow them into submission to their own faith and ideology. This picture of the girl looking out in despair shows some teenager who is in need of help from anywhere. Her staring into space points to a believe in divine intervention.

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ANALYSIS 11: A SCENE AT THE ST THERESA CATHOLIC CHURCH BOMBING

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance Model of the Image the Sign 1 Icon Women weeping over The grief over the dead of human the killing of their loved beings is iconic. ones inside a church 2 Index Weeping, mourning and This is indexical of a calamity lamentation situation. The church which is supposed to be a secure place has become a target for terrorists’ attack thus exposing innocent worshippers to danger. 3 Symbol An irony of a place of This is symbolic of an ironic situation worship becoming a where a place of worship has become theatre of blood. a theatre of assault.

DISCUSSION

On the 25th December 2011, there was a car bomb attack at St. Theresa’s Catholic church in Madala, Suleja a surburb of Abuja the Nigerian federal capital territory where

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about forty worshippers were killed and several others seriously wounded. The Boko

Haram islamic sect claimed reposibility for the deadly attack and threatened to carry out similar attacks in other churches. In the picture we see to the extreme left a woman who is consoling the other weeping mother wearing a black shirt, a black headscaff and a black wrapper. The woman’s dressing portrays her as some one who was already mourning proir to that period of the bomb blast. Within the African cosmogony, anybody who is mourning a loved one goes about in black attire and that is exactly what the woman in that picture was doing before the calamity that befell her right inside the church. The woman who is holding her tightly is wearing a white shirt and tying the cloth which is identified as “christian women” uniform. The expression on he face is that of the shunamite widow “it is well” cry no more. This is because she is not crying and not weeping---just squeezing her face in solidarity with relations of the insurgent attacks who must have loss a loved one in addition to the pain she was going through. The woman next to the weeping mother is also in a state of agony but she was not in the church during service as she is still wearing her shower cap meaning that she rushed from the house to come and see the blast and discovered that her loved ones were gone. There is a picture of another christian mother standing at the background and watching the “drama” she is not in any state of agony. This could be that she or any of her family members did not suffer any harm. Generally the atmosphere is a chaotic one, full of lamentation, anguish and frustration. The irony is that a place of worship, joy and sharing became a place of agony, horror and lamentation.

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ANALYSIS 12: A DEFIANT B/H LEADER WITH A MACHINE GUN

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance Model of the Image the Sign 1 Icon Since he is invincible and This is iconic of insecurity in his enemies not clearly an insecure society. spelt out, anybody is a victim 2 Index Abubakar Shekau, the This is indexical of callousness insurgent leader pointing where the masses are not at his next target secure and are not sure of the next point of attack. 3 Symbol All Nigerians irrespective The projection of an ideology of their backgrounds who that is forcefully implemented do not believe in the Boko and imposed on the people. Haram ideology are not safe.

DISCUSSION

Abubakar Shekau in the above picture is wearing a military camouflag indicating that he is a “military” man though not trained in the professional word. The gun AK47 though more sophisticated than the occasional military type of gun is an indication of the use of superior fire power within the insurgent ranks. The cap he is covering is not that of the

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military but a deviation from the military code of dressing thus portraying him as a ganster. The wool cap epitimises a rasterferian cap that is used to cover their dreglogs.

The major semiotic import of that picture is the finger that is pointing at no specific individual. Whoever looks at that picture sees the finger pointing at him/her hence denoting that everybody is either a victim or will soon be a victim of the insugent menace. The background makes him invicible because it leaves no trace for guess work where the picture was taken, just ordinary colour.

ANALYSIS 13: THE KIDNAPPED CHIBOK GIRLS IN THE FOREST

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources Semiotic Significance Model of in the Image the Sign 1 Icon The Boko Haram This is iconic of an imposition of imposed on even non- ideology on the people whose believe is members of the sect. quite different from that of the sect members. 2 Index Kidnapped Chibok This is indexical of the attack on the school children in the youth who should be the leaders of bush with Insurgents tomorrow. The bush is indexical of darkness that has come to overshadow the future with violence. 3 Symbol A direct attack on the This symbolises an attack on the very educational foundation upon which the society is foundations of built i.e. the educational foundation. The northern Nigeria. capture of the female students is symbolic of an attack on feminity.

DISCUSSION

Between 14th and 15th of April about 276 female school girls were kidnapped at government secondary school in the town of Chibok in Borno state north eastern Nigeria.

The boko haram militants later claimed responsibility for the attack that left the school destroyed and only the female students taken away. Six months after the attack there was an alleged truce between the militants and the authorities of the Nigerian government; but that truce did not yield any positive result and the hopes of the girls were dashed. In that picture we see the girls siting on the ground all of them wearing hijab an Islamic mode of dressing for female Muslim even though majority of the kidnapped girls were initially

Christians. The environment is bushy suggesting a gloomy future without anything good.

At the far end of the photograph we see two members of the insurgents holding their flag and above the children a banner of the boko haram is hovering over them indicating a life in another “republic” entirely. The sunny environment is a sharp contrast from what

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obtains in an academic environment. The children are made to believe that they are not meant to acquire education but to go and get married. The colour of the dress is a symbol of mourning due to its black nature. They have been condemned to a life of perpetual mourning, suffering and want---far away from the environment of learning that reduces ignorance, poverty and primitivism.

ANALYSIS 14: ONE OF THE CHIBOK GIRLS GIVEN PROMINENCE

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance Model of Image the Sign 1 Icon Those who thought the kidnap This revelation is iconic of a was stage managed should see true revelation. The hitherto for themselves the reality in it. hidden believe that there was nothing like chibok. 2 Index A clear picture of one of the This is indexical of kidnapped girls foregrounding---the prominent picture of one of the kidnapped chibok school girls by the Boko Haram sect. 3 Symbol A revelation of an initial hidden This symbolises a helpless truth. situation whereby those who were of the view that chibok was a scam had to be confronted with the reality.

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DISCUSSION

The picture above is very symbolic because initially there was the speculation that the

Chibok kidnap was stage managed and that it was a political ploy to frighten the president. Even when the insurgents did release the picture of the kids, people were still not convinced because the picture was not so clear. It was after this particular one was released that the parents of the girl recognized her and some other students at the background that people came to believe that the exercise was not a scam. The prominent girl is wearing black which is a sign of mourning, at the background all the girls are looking the same---not happy but without any option. The little girl at the back of the bigger picture is picking dirt from her nails showing she has given up hope just to engage in senseless and trivial things. The message on the faces of all the girls is very clear--- they look lost, frustrated and in a confused state. The environment just like the one in the preceding picture is that of hopelessness, despair and agony. The hovering banner over them looks like a bat—a symbol of bad omen.

ANALYSIS 15: THE B/H LEADER TAUNTING THE SECURITY OPERATIVES

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources Semiotic Significance Model of in the Image the Sign 1 Icon The sect leader seems The show of deviance is iconic in to be saying I am in a that the sect leader seems to be in world of my own and a world of freedom, executing his above the law thereby threats without any form of being iconic of challenge. deviance. 2 Index A picture of the Boko This is indexical of insolence, Haram leader pointing where the abusive finger is being his index finger at his used to point at the populace. enemies with his lieutenants at the background holding their banner. 3 Symbol A transfer of foreign This could be taken to be a culture---the symbol of cultural transfer---from gangsters’ style of foreign to local. abuse.

DISCUSSION

What Shekau has done here is to interweave elements of American lifestyles to paint a picture that is linked together by a common theme. That theme symbolizes the life styles of street urchins, gangsters and the different mafia styles of living that are portrayed in

American movies and hip pop songs. Within the American culture especially the blacks, the use of that finger to point at somebody translates to mean an abusive language which is unacceptable. And that style of abuse is un-African especially when it involves people who know the codes and see it as an abuse. It is however used freely among street urchins who are ignorant of the semiotic import of the sign. Intertextuality thus offers a useful theoretical paradigm to explain the close relationship between acts of this nature and the symbols they send out in texts. Intertextuality is a profound component of twentieth-

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century popular culture, and supports and explains much of the cross-media interaction of pop culture. Intertextuality can be a conscious, self-referential mode of media consumption, and as a result Umberto Eco describes a “meta-semiotic” culture or aesthetic where this is considered normal consumption behaviour. The existence of intertextuality in popular culture (indeed, in all culture) is undeniable, and dates back to the invention of discourse. In the arts, clear evidence of intertextuality can be found in films by semiotically saturated directors. Here we focus on the use of gestures because this basic intertextuality has its equivalents in other media: the diegetic use of old (and not so old) film clips in movies, popular music videos, and television shows; and the use of music ‘samples’ in popular music.

ANALYSIS 16: A VICTIM OF THE B/H ATTACKS IN A WHEEL BARROW

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources Semiotic Significance Model of in the Image the Sign 1 Icon Bloodshed, danger and This is iconic of dander, revealing gloom gloom, anarchy and violence. 2 Index An unconscious This pictorial representation of woman inside a wheel the insurgency is indexical of the barrow being taken to bombings in the Nigerian society, the hospital leading to bloodshed. The wheel barrow shows clearly that life has no meaning in the Nigerian setting. The victim ought to have been taken in an ambulance. 3 Symbol A chaotic situation This is symbolic of a chaotic situation where humans have no hope of the future.

DISCUSSION

There are two victims in this particular picture. The first is the woman inside the wheel barrow and the second the young man splashed with blood. The woman’s face is covered with cloth and she seems to be lifeless though she is lying facing down, so is probably dead, the cloth is preventing her from seeing the sky even if she were alive. We cannot see the shape of her face, the colour of her hair but from the legs we can say she is not black but fair in colour---a typical physiognomy of an Igbo woman from south eastern part of the country. The use of the wheel barrow in conveying the victim is a clear demonstration of the level of backwardness witnessed in that part of the country. No emergency ambulances to convey victims of terror attacks. Again the picture of the second victim, a young man wearing a jeans trouser and a torn T. shirt is not too clear we cannot tell whether the young man was being dragged away as a suspect or those holding him are consoling him as a result of the loss he might have incurred from the blast. His face is hidden and thus his identity is hidden as well. This anonymity of the victim

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creates a national interest. He could be anyone. He could be student— anyone’s son, brother, or friend. The anonymity of the victim yields to national outrage and could have created a sympathy and anger on a larger scale than if his face had been clearly shown.

The young boy standing and facing the camera with his red shirt tied to his jeans trouser is also not shown clearly from his face. But his built reveals anger, desperation and frustration. The emotion on the faces of all the angry young men at the scene of the incident is communicated to the viewer and conveys the outrage that they are feeling. The boys’ hands hold out, as if reaching for something that is not there. The boys look lost and are expressing a loss that they cannot fully grasp onto or understand. The body posture of the victim in the wheel barrow is similar to that of a corpse about to be buried.

The white being worn by the young man is now covered with blood. An irony of purity turned into bloodshed, a pool of the blood of his own relation. The boy standing in the foreground and wearing a Chelsea Football Club jersey is looking at the woman being driven away in a wheel barrow, showing confusion. His face is hidden, which shows ambiguity and rebellion. The boy behind him, with his face to the camera has two hand stretched out as if to render assistance. This also shows rebellion, this also conveys the idea of being shot or hurt.

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ANALYSIS 17: THE B/H FOUNDER ARRESTED AND PARADED

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance Model of the Image the Sign 1 Icon The “harmless” Boko This picture is iconic of a Haram leader under the temporary defeat of a monster weight of the law that has terrorised a whole nation over a period of time. 2 Index The picture of the Boko This is indexical of a conscious Haram founder security outfit which had arrested Mohammed Yusuf being the founder of the Boko Haram paraded naked with his sect. hands tied to the back. There are other members of his gang who have been arrested being paraded. There are spectators at the background. 3 Symbol No one is illusive or This symbolises a temporary above the law. defeat of a sect that had proven to be illusive and untouchable.

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DISCUSSION

On the 31st of July 2009 the founder and grand commander of the Boko Haram sect

Alhaji Mohammad Yusuf was captured alive as seen in this picture at the city of

Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state north eastern nigeria. Shortly after his capture he was said to have been handed over to the country’s police force by the Army that captured him. However after a short while the news began filtering out that the dreaded

Boko Haram leader had died from gun shot wounds that were sustained in a cross fire between the police and the insurgent group. There were also indications that the order to kill Yusuf in order to hide the real motive behind the formation of the sect came from above as there was no seriousness on the part of government towards unravelling the mystery surrounding the death of Mohammad Yusuf on that fateful day of july 31st 2009.

In that picture we see a Mohammad Yusuf who is well fed; not looking like a starving fighter or even a freedom fighter but a man who is well taken care of. His heavily built body testifies to this. His hands are tied to the back demonstrating victory for the

Nigerian Army and a point of waterloo for the sect group. The white cloth used in tying his hands should be a symbol of purity and sanctity but the irony is that the same cloth is tied to a wound he sustained in a cross fire between himself and the members of the

Nigerian security outfit. Will that cloth heal his wound? That would have led to the healing of the wounds of all Nigerians who were also victims of the insurrecrtion but those who hastily killed Yusuf succeeded in murdering sleep as the insurrection continues till date. The picture of Yusuf is a sharp contrast to that of his followers who are paraded along side himself at the background. His followeres are wearing different colours of dresses and different sizes; the age range is not restricted. This shows that the sect

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members come from different background, age strata and will always continue to join and solidarise with the group even after the dead of its leader. While his followers look malnourished, unkempt, dirty and emaciated Yusuf looks a complete man even at the point of danger. The soldier who is standing very close to Yusuf is a testimony to the everconscious attitudes of the security outfit to ensure that he does escape. Mohammad is neither smiling nor weeping symbolising the fact that he has no regrets over his actions.

He looks determined to carry on with his actions. At the background other security operatives are seen carrying guns while watching keenly to ensure that the Boko Haram leader does not escape. This picture presents a clear evidence of the capture and hand over of the leader of the sect before his execution. It is also an emotional appeal to human sensibilities that those who pretend to be invincible are not as powereful as they prevsent themselves because Mohammed here is pictured without all those weapons that had empowered him before now he is helpless without his lieutenants to assist him but a case of betrayal at the point of need.

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ANALYSIS 18: ALIVE AND DEAD PICTURES OF B/H LEADER

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources Semiotic Significance Model of in the Image the Sign 1 Icon All powers surrender This is iconic of surrender to a unto superior ones superior power. This “monster” had been uncovered and revealed to the masses. 2 Index Defeat and reality This is the juxtaposition of the live and dead body of the Boko Haram sect leader. The sect leader had proven to be illusive, indestructible and untouchable but the picture is indexical of a defeated “champion”. 3 Symbol The end of an era? This symbolises the end of an era. This dead was meant to put an end to a rampaging militancy but the reality is that the insurgent activities were on the increase after this acclaimed murder.

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DISCUSSION

On the 17th of september 2014 the leader of the Boko Haram whom the media had described as an impostor was finally unmasked and brought to the level of mortality at the cool city of Konduga in Adamawa state. After an encounter with the sect members that lasted for several hours, the captured members of the sect were told to send a text message to their leader that they (insurgents) had routed the Nigerian army. On hearing this information the much illusive Shekau came out to celebrate victory with his couragious foot soldiers. Unknown to him, the Nigerian soldiers were said to have laid an armbush for him. With the clear message of victory over his enemies, he proceeded from

Sambisa forest to Konduga to claim victory an an exercise that resulted in his being killed and paraded in the above picture. Having encircled him in the battle Shekau was said to have jumped out of his armoured tank and ran away but he was spotted and shot in the leggs by the Nigerian army thus putting an end to the era of mimicking the voice of the

“Shekau” who had been killed several times. This is because each time the Nigerian security outfit “killed” a Shekau another one resurrected to continue with the job of terrorising the masses. But this time the operation could not be faulted even though another Shekau has been spotted in some videos down loaded into the internet by some experts to proof the immortality of Shekau. There are two pictures merged into one in that image. The first one is the garrulious Shekau with his mouth widely open in his characteristic manner of mocking the nation and her people. In this particular one he is lively in his full regaliar as a garrisone commander of a fugitive sect that takes delight in sucking the blood of the innocent. There is an AK47 gun across his chest showing that he is a man of courage who cannot be seen but can only be heard. The cloth tied to his head

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is made of different colours proving his chameleonic desposition at all times. His ability to deceive and transform in order to lay claim to immortality. The second picture betrays all of these acclaimed features. Shekau’s hands are tied to the back symbolising helplessenss especiallly in times of need. His chest that is usuallyy covered with clothes and a gun double crossed is left bare revealing his hairy chest. The moustach and the hair on his chest likened him to an animal that is unkempt. His mouth is open even at dead symboising a lier and a cheat who could not trick the Nigerian army. The body looks severed symbolising a shattered ideology and the fact that his dead body is lying on a tarred road is a semiotic import of the sect having come to a cross road. This picture clearly epitomises defeat, a shattered ideology and a frustrated mission that leads nowhere. The cap that is removed from his head is a symbol of defeat, powerlessness, deceit and the end of a game. Even at the point of dead, Shekau’s hands seem to be clinching a trigger this is evident in the muscles in his arm that are accentuated, showing the power that he could exert over his victims. His motionless body is a testimony to the game of hide and seek he had played over time. The vest Shekau is wearing could not protect him thus becoming an irony because this is the time he needed the vest bullet proof to protect him but he could get the help.

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ANALYSIS 19: A CAPTURED ARMOURED TANK OF THE B/H INSURGENT

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance Model of the Image the Sign 1 Icon A soldier driving the The capture of the armoured tank Boko Haram armoured is iconic of a temporary defeat tank used in terrorising over a monstrous sect. the process the people. is purely iconic. 2 Index Boko Haram armoured The picture shows a Nigerian tank seized by Nigerian soldier driving the Boko Haram soldiers. armoured tank around town where the villagers are seen in jubilation mood at the capture of the weapon of mass destruction. The armoured tank is painted in the Boko Haram colour with some Arabic inscriptions. This is indexical of a defeat of a monster. 3 Symbol An end game? This symbolises the end of an era. The terrorising experiences in the hands of the Boko Haram sect are temporarily put to a halt.

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DISCUSSION

After the successful killing of the Boko Haram sect leader Abubakar Shekau, on the 17th of september 2014 the Nigerian soldiers mounted the armoured tank that was always driven by the sect leader as a proof of their outing that resulted in the dead of the dreaded sect leader. Apart from the armoured tank, other rifles were recovered and transported to the headquarters of the Nigerian Army for further investigation. The two people on that tank are soldiers of the Nigerian Army. The armoured tank bears inscriptions of the Boko

Haram sect but being driven by two soldiers of the Nigerian Army---an indication that finally the much illusive Shekau has been unmasked and brought to justice. The soldier on the tank is holding a gun and pointing at any object that tries to pose a threat. The crowd on the background jubilating is an indication of acceptance of the superiority of the Nigerian armed forces over the Boko Haram. There is a young man to the right hand side of the armoured tank who is taking photographs of the jubilant masses; the young man is dressed in a long white gown symbolising peace and the end of a tumultious era.

Even the green leaves at the background are paving the way for the superiority of mother nature as the seem to be bending to pave the way for the blue sky that looks cloudy--- about to shower rains of peace and acceptance. The crowd is jubilant and following the

Nigerian army showing that it is in the direction of the Nigerian armed forces that they people prefer to follow and not in the direction of the primitive Boko Haram who are of the view that western education is a sin. Does this signal the end of an era? Is this the end of the insurgents’ struggle or an avenue to regroup and launch a come back?

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5.3 THE NIGER DELTA DISCOURSE AS A SEMIOSPHERE

In this segment of our analysis we see the Niger Delta crises in terms of ‘ecological’ representation. This involves the interaction of different semiotic structures and sign systems in relation to the environmental degradation that pervaded the Niger Delta region before the granting of amnesty to the militants by the federal government. Semiosphere refers to ‘the whole semiotic space of a particular culture a situation that mirrors more than one level at which one might identify a semiosphere - at the level of a single national or linguistic culture, for instance, or of a larger unity such as “the West”, right up to “the species”’. The concept of a semiosphere, which is really a formation of discourses, or a discursive formation, offers a more unified and dynamic vision of semiosis than the study of a text or mediated human practice as if it existed in a social and cultural vacuum.

5.3.1 A Social Semiotic Approach to the Niger Delta Discourse

Often times, semioticians give priority to the historicity and social context of signs and systems of signification, which are not fixed but are constantly changing over time.

Seeking to establish a wholeheartedly ‘social’ semiotics, Robert Hodge and Gunther

Kress (1988: 1) declare that ‘the social dimensions of semiotic systems are so intrinsic to their nature and function that the systems cannot be studied in isolation’. While formerly the emphasis was on studying sign systems - language, literature, cinema, architecture, music, and so on - conceived of as mechanisms that generate messages, what is now being examined is the work performed through them. It is this work or activity which constitutes and/or transforms the codes, at the same time as it constitutes and transforms the individuals using the codes, performing the work; the audience or consumers who are, therefore, the subjects of semiosis. This is a semiotics concerned with stressing the social

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aspect of signification, its practical, aesthetic, or ideological use in interpersonal communication where meaning is construed as semantic value produced through culturally shared codes. In semiotic analysis, meaning is not ‘transmitted’ to us - we actively create it according to a complex interplay of codes or conventions of which we are normally unaware. Through the study of semiotics we become aware that these signs and codes are normally transparent and disguise our task in ‘reading’ them. In defining realities, signs serve ideological functions. Deconstructing and contesting the realities of signs can reveal whose realities are privileged and whose are suppressed.

5.3.2 Faircloughian/Wodakian Approach To Socio-Semiotic Construct.

In 1997 Fairclough and Wodak distinguished three broad domains of social life in which media discourse significantly constitutes society and culture: representations of the world, social relations between people, and people’s social and personal identities. By

2004 it was argued in the influential journal Social Semiotics that we need to move beyond the obsession with analyzing static texts to a new active paradigm of semiotics for re-searching media-related social phenomena: The proposed new paradigm is disarmingly simple: it treats media as the open set of practices relating to, or oriented around, media. The new paradigm decentres the media text for a reason: to sidestep the insoluble problems over how to prove “media effects” hidden assumptions about “media effects” abound in media analysis and everyday talk about media. Indeed, they are hard to avoid if you start from the text itself. Why else study the detailed structure of a media text as your primary research focus unless you can plausibly claim that those details make a difference to wider social processes? But it is exactly this that is difficult to show. This

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shows that the question we ought to be asking is: ‘what, quite simply, are people doing in relation to media across a whole range of situations and contexts?

5.3.3 The nature/culture of photographs in Niger Delta Discourse

There has been a common understanding, from the inception of photography onwards, that the photograph, even more than any other kind of picture, constituted a natural sign par excellence-or, more exactly, it was taken to be so intimately associated with the object depicted, with no distance being involved, that it could not even be considered a sign. To Fox Talbot, photography was "the pencil of nature"; and those who denied to photography the capability of being art, thought the photographic plane was produced, for good or for worse, as a direct emanation of the motive itself. Indeed, the idea of photography being an emanation detaching itself from the object´s (or at least the subject´s) soul was taken quite literally by Balzac, at least as his theory of spectres is recounted in Nadar´s memoirs.

However, Barthes may have been the first to state explicitly the respects in which the photograph could be supposed to be more close to its object than other pictorial kinds.

Only photography, is able to transmit a message, without using either discontinuous signs or rules of transformation. That a drawing, on the other hand, must be coded (that is, comparatively conventional) appears, in his view, from three considerations. First, the rendering of the object in the drawing is dependent on historically variable, and systematic, rules of transposition. In the second place, no object can be transposed to the drawing without a selection having been made beforehand from all the properties

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possessed by the object in the real world, and this selection gives rise to style; whereas photography is unable to intervene in the internal details of the object it renders (and thus,

Barthes would seem to say, lacks style!). Third, drawing ability has to be learnt, as must the use of any other code (but photography, Barthes apparently implies, is innate!). These arguments, which may certainly be somewhat naive, should not be rejected offhandedly.

Instead, let us have a look at them in turn, beginning from the rear end. But it is interesting to note, before we go on, that the historical nature of drawing is doubly affirmed: both in the characterization of its working principles (first aspect), and when the necessity of their inculcation is claimed (third aspect). Actually, this historical character is again included in the second aspect, when it is said to produce style. And even more deep down, what is implied by all three aspects is really that drawing allows a choice, even if that choice is historically fixed: but even so, that may not really be the same thing as arbitrariness in the sense of Saussure, which to structural semiotics only makes something into a sign (and we will return to this issue below). There is something true, of course, in the observation that the ability to draw has to be learnt, whereas photography may seem to be a possibility open to everyone without any preceding training. Gubern (1987b:46) comments on the apparent paradox of chirographic photography being nowadays much more common than a techno graphic one. Small children presumably always begin to draw, but if we ignore it they would do it spontaneously, without incitement from parents or teachers (Gardner 1973; 1980); but it is even less obvious if we should expect babies to start taking photographs all of their own. In fact, to the extent that a photograph may be produced, as the Kodak slogan goes, simply by pushing the button, the child should be able to discover the method; but on the

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other hand, the functionality of the camera would seem to be much less apparent than that of the pencil, and thus harder to detect. Of course, not even Barthes would argue that the ability of take photographs is really innate; but like the ability of decode pictures generally, to acquire it may require experience of the world, rather than experience with pictures.

On the other hand, if we take drawing ability to imply the capability of producing the illusion of a likeness, a lot of inculcation may be necessary for someone to gain this ability, and may not even be sufficient, as most of us have been trained to draw at school for years, and are yet unable to draw in this strong sense of the term. But then again, if some stronger requirement than being able to push the button is put on photography, we should certainly discover that some degree of training is indispensable However, it seems to be a fact than any one of us may pick up a camera, decide on a motive, and produce at least a rough likeness, while being unable to do the same thing using pen and paper. If drawing ability requires training and photography less so, then this is not a fact about the nature of drawing and photography, but a consequence of their different nature. That is to

Barthes´s third aspect is not really on the same level as the other two. So now we should inquire into the possibility of some of the other aspects being the requisite cause for the different need of training. Actually, we are not concerned with two independent phenomena: rather, what we have in the case of drawing, according to Barthes, is a set of rules for mapping perceptual experience onto marks made with a pen on paper; and these rules imply a particular segmentation of the world as it is given to perception, picking up some (kinds of?) features for reproduction, while rejecting others, and perhaps

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emphasizing some properties at the same time as others are underplayed; and all this takes place under given historical circumstances, which are responsible for varying the emphases and the exclusions. Stated in this way, the theory certainly seems feasible. The question is would it not also be valid for photography?

ANALYSIS 1: NEGLECT IN THE ND & ND MILITANTS IN A BOAT 1A 1B

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance Model of the Image the Sign 1 Icon Both pictures are iconic The message being communicated here is of; a depiction of an clear: the need for development of the environment that caters region to avoid confrontation with the for the nation’s wealth but militants lacks the presence of government. 2 Index The first picture is This is a communicative strategy of indexical of the essence of alerting the both the government and the the Niger Delta struggle; leaders from the region that their neglect and abandonment excesses can be challenged, confronted of projects. The second and curtailed through militancy. picture shows Niger Delta militants in a boat with assorted weapons indexical of a group that is willing and ready to confront any challenge to its struggle for social and economic emancipation. 3 Symbol These pictures are They symbolise the need for a change symbolic of the that will bring about a lasting solution to restiveness in the Niger the Niger Delta agitations and struggle. Delta region as a result of negligence and underdevelopment.

DISCUSSION

The story of the underdevelopment in the Niger Delta region seems like a fairytale to those who only read about the situation without having pictorial evidence. For those who hear the commentary on the radio, they believe it is one of those make believe fictional tales. But in this picture we see a realistic portrayal of events that culminated into the armed struggle for the equitable distribution of resources in the Nigerian state. The road here is not motorable even as the driver is seen swerving from one side to the other. In the picture we see a truck swerving from one side of the murdy road to the other. The pool of water on the road resembles the mirrage that is usually seen on tarred roads in the

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urban areas and that disappear when approaching them. This particular pool is not a mirrage and does not disappear but remains stagnant. This is a metaphor for the stagnation that has bedeviled the Niger Delta region right from the time oil was discovered in 1956. Thetrees on both sides of the road are a testimony to the rural nature of the region despite the dollars burried in the soil. The human being on the road is carrying a load on its head. We cannot say whether the person is male or male---a symbol of un-anonymity of the farming population of the region. The road looks slippery, thus an epitome of an under developed region begging for government attention. After years of environmental degradation, the Niger Delta youths constituted themselves into various groups of militants who decided to blow up the oil installations, kidnap the white oil workers and threaten the Nigerian state. Insurgency became so uncontrollable that the

Federal Government resorted to violence which did not solve the problem but aggravated the scenarior until the government of the Late President Umar Musa Yara’dua granted amnesty to the militants who accepted the gestures on the condition that developmental strides of the Federal Government will get to the Niger Delta region and there will be equity, justice, liberty and fraternity in terms of distribution of resources.

The boat that is being used by the militants can be likened to the ark used in the Old

Testament of the Bible to bring hope to the children of Israel. While that particular boat was a symbol of peace, this one epitomises violence, lost hope to chance and a desperate move to recover lost grounds. The militants in the boat are all masked indicating a hidden identity. The red robbon tied to their arms is a symbol of danger. The water from the ocean being splashed in their front is supposed to be a healing balm but this one

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symbolises a torrent of violence---a restive ocean in search of vengeance. The white cloth overshadowing all the militants is supposed to be a symbol of peace but it is contrasted with the black cap which serves as a mask to cover their identity portraying them as men of violence and desperation. At the far end of the picture we see a forest symbolising people who have left a bushy environment to bring militancy closer home. It means they had operated from the forest and the government remained adamant so they decided to bring the message closer home. In spite of their militant nature the splash from the ocean is still fresh, whitish and calm telling them there is always peace in a negotiation than violence which could lead to tears and more casualties. The blue colour of the boat at the back of the militants is a symbol of peace, hope and consolation. But the look in their faces is a contradiction to all of these promises---a determination to finish a mission embarked upon whether for good or bad. The stature of the militants portrays them as people whose minds are made up---a wild and dangerous people determined to revenge any form of wrong done to them.

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ANALYSIS 2: MASKED NIGER DELTA MILITANTS

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Image Semiotic Significance Model of the Sign 1 Icon The militants, the assorted riffles, the The assorted riffles are iconic of boat and the sea are iconic. violence, the boat is an instrument of movement the mask is lack of identities of the perpetrators of militancy in the region. 2 Index The picture has masked members of This portends danger. The boat inside the Niger Delta militant group. There the sea epitomises turbulence. are two at the background with one given prominence. They are carrying assorted riffles. The index finger being pointed by the militant is indexical of stern warning. 3 Symbol This pictorial depiction is a symbol of The picture symbolises the endless unrest and militancy in the region. struggle, militancy and armed struggle in the region.

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DISCUSSION

Significant factors contribute to the problem of Niger Delta struggle. Some of these factors include: environment degradation, pollution by the oil companies that carry out exploration in the region and years of neglect, harassments and intimidation of the indigenes of the region. The inability of the youth(s) to secure gainful employments culminated in the escalation of the crises in the region. The youth(s) had no option than to carry weapons as a defensive mechanism in the face of the injustice meted out on them by the perpetrators of such acts of negligence, marginalization, harassment and intimidation. This led to the revolt that left the Niger Delta region in a state of perpetual turmoil. The picture Shows a Niger Delta militant pointing his finger at a distance or an imaginary object to signal a stop to all the “rubbish” that has been taking place in the region. The militant is masked indincatng a situation of invincibility and unidentity. Since he is not known he could be anybody---a male, female or any member of the society. The gun around the neck of the militant is a symbol of militancy and the boat that is moving symbolises a journey that cannot be stopped. The militant pointing the figer is a note of warning to the perpetratotrs of injustices in the region. The figure is saying “enough of these injustice” or a reprisal attack. The colour of the boat which is blue symbolises hope but it is blindfolded by the other militants at the background who are carrying weapons saying “we are ready for any form of eventuality” that will emanate from any form of attack that will be launched by any foreign body. The ocean which is supposed to be a sign of peace is dimishing pointing to the elusive peace in the region. The sky becomes afraid as the cloud seems to be retracting into the far heaven denoting an omnious sign of danger. The mask on the face of the militant is a sign of being not identifiable. Anybody

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can be a mnilitant to challenge the status quo of injustice and arbitrary destruction of the natural forest created by the Almighty God. This picture portrays the looming danger that has come to stay with the people of the region and the entire Niger Delta sociopolitcal landscape which is under constant attack by both the MNOCs and the militants.

ANALYSIS 3: A DEVASTATED ENVIRONMENT IN ND

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Image Semiotic Significance Model of the Sign 1 Icon The sight is iconic of destruction This picture demonstrates the and negligence. destruction of the ecosystem in the Niger Delta region. 2 Index The picture shows a burnt down This picture is indexical of an environment in the Niger Delta environment that is degraded. region. There is a woman carrying a naked baby and searching for God knows what. The shell drum on sight is indexical of the imperialist attitude of the oil explorers. The drum is not burnt 3 Symbol The picture is symbolic of the This symbolises the persistent level of destruction that occasions militancy against the Multi National militancy in the region. oil production companies in the region.

DISCUSSION

Agip has always been at the forefront of allegations of environmental degradation in the

Niger Delta region. Right from when the late Isaac Adaka Boro took up arms against

Nigeria to the gruesome murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa the company has been accused of conspiring against the people to unleash environmental terror on the people. The picture above is a clear indication of the supremacy of imperialist powers on the people of the region through their proxy companies. In the picture we see the entire surrounding completely burnt down by the activities of oil exploreers who seem to show no iota of care for the people of the region. The woman in the picture is half naked tying wrapper on her breast down while her topmost part of the body is exposed---an indication of lack of civilization in an environment that produces the wealth of the nation. The baby she is carrying is naked with brownish hair as a sign of malnourishment resulting from inadequate food, lack of basic facilities such as health care, portable water and nutritional values. The zinc that serves to protect the people from the heat of the sun and rain water

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is seen scattered on the ground an indication of a sign of complete neglect and abandonment. The trees around are completely destroyed signifying the destruction of the natural environment. There is an iron chair at the scene of the incident which shows that people were using that particular place as an abode but the chair is completely destroyed revealing the skeletal iron used in making it, a clear indication of a psychological trauma that the people are made to face. The most significant sight in this picture is the drum that belongs to Shell which does not show any sing of destruction. This is a clear picture of the imposition of imperialism on the poor people of this region by the foreign companies that represent and protect the interest of the former Colonial Masters of the Nigerian society. The drum is as fresh as ever despite it being in the middle of an inferno;an indication that all the insurgent activities in the Niger Delta region do not affect the imperialist powers in any way. They are shown here as being catalytic---being able to speed up a chemical reaction but remaining unchanged in the face of the fracas. The woman epitomises feminity that always bear the brunt of any war situation---lacking protection and always exposed to harzards that result in the continuous suffering of the human society. This picture is a portrayal of the human injustices suffered by the Niger

Delta people, nay the African continent in the hands of the super powers.

ANALYSIS 4: OIL SPILLAGE IN ND

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S/N Triadic Model of Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance the Sign the Image 1 Icon The picture shows the The picture shows the damage level of carnage caused done to the environment. by the oil spillage and the picture is an iconic form of a disturbing scenario and therefore calls for caution.

2 Index This is a devastated The spillage has caused environment through oil damaged not only to the spillage in the Ogoniland. farming land but to the The bushes are razed; the ecosystem soil is full of crude oil as a result of exploration. The land is indexical of destruction due to oil spillage. 3 Symbol Gas flaring needs to be The picture calls for caution harnessed while Oil from oil explorers spillage should be avoided because it can only aggravate a situation.

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ANALYSIS 5: GAS FLARING IN ND

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance Model of the Image Sign 1 Icon This is also an indication of The picture the damage done to damage to the eco system the eco system through oil spillage and the picture is an iconic form of a disturbing scenario. 2 Index A farmer in his devastated Environment and the ecosystem in farmland, a thick smoke danger rising to the sky and destroyed trees at the background. 3 Symbol Oil spillage should be There is need for caution avoided because it can only aggravate a situation.

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ANALYSIS 6: POLLUTED WATER FOR FISHERMEN IN ND

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance Model of the Image Sign 1 Icon Damage to the eco system Getting the eco system through gas flaring and the porous picture is an iconic form of a disturbing scenario. 2 Index A fog of smoke rising to the sky The dangers of the to destroy the ecosystem in oil ecosystem farmlands in Ogoni 3 Symbol Gas flaring should be avoided There is need for caution because it destroys the ecosystem

ANALYSIS 7: EFFECTS OF POLLUTED WATER IN THE ND

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S/N Triadic Model Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance of the Sign Image 1 Icon A cancerous scenario the Endangered species picture is an iconic form of bestiality. 2 Index Two canoe drivers and Apart from the psychological local farmers rowing their effect, physical damage is done canoe to their farm. Their to the human skin from oil spill legs are stained with oil from spillage in Ogoniland 3 Symbol Oil spill should be avoided There is need for caution because it destroys the ecosystem and humans

DISCUSSION

The findings from the semiotic analysis reveal common thematic preoccupations:

Neglect, pollution, agitation, environment degradation and despoliation. In Analysis 4 there is a devastated environment through oil spillage in the Ogoni land; the surrounding bushes are razed to the ground as a result of the search for crude oil. The abundance of crude oil; which is supposed to be a source of blessing has become more of a curse to the people of the Niger Delta region. In linguistic terms, the land is indexical of destruction due to oil spillage which has caused damaged not only to the farming land but to the

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ecosystem. The picture is a clear demonstration of the level of carnage that is caused by the oil spillage and the picture is an iconic form of a disturbing scenario and therefore calls for caution. The picture is an outcry from a helpless people whose means of livelihood has been destroyed and are at the verge of extinction. It also shows the damage done to the environment. This goes to show that oil spillage can and should be avoided because it can only aggravate a situation. There is therefore the need for caution from oil explorers.

In the second analysis, i.e. Analysis 5 we see a typical farmer in the Niger Delta region of

Nigeria in his farmland which is already devastated with a thick smoke rising to the sky and destroyed trees at the background symbolizing the fact that the environment and the ecosystem are in danger. This situation is an indication of damage to the eco system through oil spillage and the picture is an iconic form of a disturbing scenario as a result of the damage done to the eco system. There is clear neglect, devastation and degradation in the land as a result of the quest for oil exploration. It also shows that oil spillage can and should be avoided because it can only aggravate a situation. The picture therefore calls for caution. Analysis 6 shows a pool of oil from a spill on a farmland with a farmer on sight denoting a devastated Environment and the ecosystem; damage to the eco system through oil spillage and the picture is an iconic form of a disturbing scenario. It depicts an instance of environmentally despoiled eco system. As a follow up to the above,

Analysis 4 shows a fog of smoke rising to the sky to destroy the ecosystem in oil farmlands in Ogoni; depicting the dangers posed by spillage and oil exploration to the ecosystem. It also shows the level of damage to the eco system through gas flaring and

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the picture is an iconic form of a disturbing scenario. This is a clear demonstration of how quickly it is to get the eco system porous. It tends to sound a note of warning that gas flaring can and should be avoided because it destroys the ecosystem and calls for caution. Analysis 7 is more of an eye sore. Niger Delta inhabitants are not only agrarian but they are also fisher men/women. The fact that they are inside a canoe buttresses this fact. Sadly, it is not only the green environment that has been destroyed but also the water has been polluted and the fishes poisoned. The two canoe drivers are local farmers rowing their canoe to their farm. Their legs are stained with oil from spillage in

Ogoniland. Apart from the psychological effect, physical damage is done to the human skin from oil spill. This possibly paints a cancerous scenario. There is little or no form of care from the government; and the same polluted water is used for cooking, drinking and bathing. This iconic picture is a demonstration of the fact that oil spill can and should be avoided because it destroys the ecosystem and human lives. Oil explorers and prospectors should therefore exercise caution in the course of carrying out their duties.

ANALYSIS 8: A TOTALLY DEFORESTED ENVIRONMENT

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance Model of the Image Sign 1 Icon This is iconic of the non- This portrays danger to the human challant attitudes of the race in terms of their relationship power players in the nation’s with the natural environment. oil sector. 2 Index A devastated environment Apart from the psychological through oil exploration. The effect, physical damage is done to trees are completely the natural environment which destroyed signalling an end ordinarily sustains humans. to a fertile soil. This is indexical of destruction to the natural environment. 3 Symbol This calls for caution on the There is need for caution part of the oil explorers.

DISCUSSION

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As stated earlier, the entire Niger Delta environment is barren, not able to produce anything beneficial to the people of the region. The trees are destroyed, the ecosystem is destroyed and the people lack the natural oxygen provided by God the Almighty.

Everything that stood for nature is destroyed for the sake of extracting crude oil for the benefit of the entire nation to the detriment of the people of the region. The above picture is a testimony to the level of environmental degradation in the region. The burnt down trees, grasses and other ecological baggages symbilise a devasted environment. The trees are falling to the ground---a symbl of a deliberate destruction of human nature. The ground is brownish signifying a human change to God’s creation. The entire place looks deserted where humans have escaped for safety; the sign of human inhumanity to a Godly environment. The splash of oil epitomises human wickedness perpetrated by a superior power over a lesser mortal. The deserted trees are “looking up to the sky”, begging for mercy. They have no other place to “look up to” because turning to the ground symbolises defeat and extinction. The tree lying lifeless is a symbol of defeat and insesitivity to the human nature. The entire landscape is changed from its natural nature, showing a deliberate attempt to reverse the natural order of creation. There seems to be no life in this environment as any tree that wants to “live” has to look elsewhere hence, the need for a militant eruption in the region.

ANALYSIS 9: PICTURE: MILITANTS IN A BOAT WITH A WHITE CAPTIVE

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance Model of the Image Sign 1 Icon Bringing the message closer This picture is iconic because it home tends to place a call to the government and the foreign powers on the need for a closer look at the Niger Delta pathetic situation. 2 Index A boat full of militants The red ribbons tied to their gun inside an ocean watching are indexical. The guns are typical over a white captive. All the of a war situation signalling an eye militants are dressed in for an eye ideology. military uniforms with sophisticated weapons. 3 Symbol Violence the answer The white captive is symbolic of the need for peaceful resolution of the Niger Delta debacle.

DISCUSSION

The Niger Delta miltants deem it fit to bring the message of non violence closer home--- to the Nigerian government by destroying oil installations and kidnapping foreign oil workers, to call the attention of the government and the multinational oil companies to their plight. In the above picture we see a white oil worker whose identity is unknown in the tight grip of the militants. The white man is surrounded by the militants whose

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weapons are pointing at him to ensure that he does not escape their watchful eyes. The boat is in motion symbolising a journey that has no end. In the picture we see the militants surrounding a white oil worker who seems afraid of his fate. The guns pointing at him symbolise the entire western world which has the belief that they are not within the reach of the degraded environment of the Niger Delta and her people. The man is looking afraid a clear indication of the fear which is not only embeded in the black race but in the western world. The out stretched right hand seems to be asking “what have I done? And begging for forvineness---or possibly pleading for mercy or a contradiction of the thoughts going on in he man’s brain. The bomb pointing at the man is a symbol of the destruction that is trailling the western world while the red ribbon tied round the militants’ guns portray the indistructibility of the militants through the “black powers” they have acquired. The moving boat symbolises an unending journey---meaning that for as long as injustice prevails in the region the western world is not safe. The splash from the ocean is God’s mercy from abve that tries to intervene in the insurgency. The boat is seen in the middle of an ocean far from the dry land. This is an indication of the “bole ka jah” syndrome which means come down lets fight it out. The negotiations have failed catastrofically in the dry land so the battle has to be taken to a land of nowhere. The captive looks exhausted and frustrated signalling a lost battle that can only be resolved by dialogue. All the militants are masked a symbol that anybody can be involved in this struggle for as long as the imperialist powers do not see the need to liberate their former colonialist from the shackles of “slavery”. The colour of the captive’s shirt is mixed indicating a chameleonic approach to the African problem which cannot be pinned down to a particular country, entity or race but a collective effort to sabortage the continent.

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The mouth of the captive is widely opened as if he is calling for help and saying “lets leave these people alone and yield to their requests. The guns that are pointing at the white oil worker were manufactured by the western world---an indication that it is their own civilization that will lead to their extinction due to their over bearing influence on things that do not matter too much to them. This means that the more they maltreat the blacks, the more danger they face in the long run.

ANALYSIS 10: MILITANTS WITH AN AUSTRALIAN NEGOTIATOR

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Semiotic Significance Model of the Resources in the Sign Image 1 Icon This picture is The background of the picture is dark, iconic of a signalling a gloomy situation even in the situation of midst of the negotiations. Unmasking the monster through negotiation 2 Index A photo of All the militants are carrying rifles even militants with an though the picture was taken in their den. The Australian leader of the group, Asari Dokubo is standing negotiator, Steven close to the white negotiator while his Davies. lieutenants are surrounding them. This is indexical of a peace process that could lead to a peaceful resolution of the Niger Delta debacle. 3 Symbol Light at the end This process is symbolic of a perceived end of the tunnel to a tortuous struggle for an end to acts of oppressions and injustice to a people.

DISCUSSION

The leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF) Mujaheed Asari

Dokubo surrounded by his lieutenants in the struggle for the liberation of the region in company of the Australian negotiator Stephen Davies in a peace deal that led to the disarmament of the militants in the region. Before this time, violence was the order of the day where kidnapoing, bombing and destruction of oil installations reigned supreme but this picture gives a ray of hope. The picture signals the turtuous road to peace in the

Niger Delta region. Apart from the militant leader who is wearing a black T. shirt which symbolises doom in case of a failed negotiation, the rest of the militants are have on white attires to show a sign of peace and readiness for peace. They also have white headscarf on signalling a total willingness to surrender. Although the militants are carrying guns to demonstrate their readiness to return to the creeks as soon as the talks break down, the mood in their faces is that of weariness and a readiness to accept a

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normal life. The shirt Asari Dokubo is wearing has the picture of the pioneer fighter of the Niger Delta struggle Isaac Adaka Boro who is an epitome of the Niger Delta struggle.

Although this picture was taken in the bush, it signals the beginning of a long journey to the much sought after peace in the Niger Delta region which had been elusive prior to this moment. The smile on Dr Stephen Dadies’ face shows a proof of successs in his effort to ensure that peace returns to the region.

ANALYSIS 11: MILITANTS IN SEARCH OF SHELTER

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Semiotic Significance Model of the Resources in the Sign Image 1 Icon The need to The condition under which the struggle was surrender and carried out was not palatable and the embrace peace iconicity in this picture is that it shows a people who are tired of a struggle that hardly gives them the desired results. 2 Index A photo of a These pictures demonstrate the fact that militant in search even though the militants were living in the of shelter camps in the bush, they were not comfortable and were constantly searching for the comfort of the home. Here the militants are seen covering themselves with fresh leaves. This is indexical of the need for settlement. 3 Symbol A turning point This process symbolizes the saying that home is the best and ultimate comfort in humans.

DISCUSSION

After the negotiation with the Australian negotiator Dr Stephen Davies, the Niger Delta militants became uncomfortable with their lifestyles in the creeks. They were at some point in search of a comfortable habitation which could give them a sense of belonging and an identity. Even the leaders in the region became worried about the future of their youths who were scattered in the bush in search of a future that was elusive The militants themselves became polarised in their ranks as they became disorganised. In the picture above we see one of them covering himself with green leaves as a means of shelter. The eyes are reddish and the skin is darkish without clothes to cover up. This is a point of desperation---a cry for help from the appropriate authorites. At the background a female is standing facing a young militant whose future looks bleak and hopeless. The plantation around them is greenish symbolising a “welcome home” beckoning. The dry leaves of the

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plantain also say a lot about the struggle in the forest which has no hope for the young human rights fighters.The young militant in the picture is a symbol of weariness with his brownish eyes telling the story of tiredness. His shattered clothes epitomises a struggle in the wrong direction while his shattered gun is a sign of defeat in the face of more sophisticated weapons of the Nigerian military officers. The rope used in tying his cartridge is white a sign of peace amd surrender. The leaves on his head symbolise peace even though they serve dual purpose---a form of shelter and a sign of surrender. His gun is no longer pointing at his captive(s) or an imaginary space but at the sky calling on

God’s intervention. And the look on his face is a striken cry for help. The young girl at the background seems to be preventing the militant from carrying out any further action signalling an end to militancy and the need to embrace her---a symbol of emotional engagement and a refrain from hostilities. The girl’s arms are spread out to embrace the young chap; being a call for a humane behaviour. The dry leaves at the back of the militant point to the result of the struggle that only yielded defeat, destruction and anarchy. One of the militant’s eyes is hidden; a point to the readiness to still hide his identity and return to the creeks if the negotiations fail to yield positive results. But the widely opened eye is a readiness to embrace a new life and rejoin other members of the society to clearly see through the proposed amnesty programme. His left hand is relaxed to sue for peace but because of the uncertainty of the government promises, the right arm is still holding tenaciously to the AK47 riffle as a sign of protest in case of any eventualities. The environment is bushy meaning the militants are used to this kind of lifestyle and can return at the slightest provocation. The picture is a portrayal of the deceit that characterises the Nigerian approach to dialoge to the enemy and the wiseness of the

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“enemy” in learning the tricks of the Federal Government in not surrendering totally for fear of being disarmed and dealt with. So there is the need to have a backup.

ANALYSIS 12: MILITANT LEADER FINALLY UNMASKED

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S/N Triadic Semiotic Semiotic Significance Model of the Resources in the Sign Image Icon Sounding a note of This picture is iconic. The Militant leader is warning over sounding a note of warning to the perceived breach government signalling a call for of agreement reinforcement of his “boys”. 2 Index A photo of a The picture shows the Niger Delta militant militant Leader, leader Asari Dokubo in the court premises Asari Dokubo with his lawyer, Festus Keyamo at the background and security operatives. The demonstration is indexical of a process that is about to degenerate into chaos through government’s inability to keep to terms of agreements. 3 Symbol Ready to renege. This process symbolizes the fact that the contractual agreement that brought the peace process could collapse anytime and the reversal to the status quo is imminent.

DISCUSSION

At the promptings of the Australian negotiator and the federal government’s willingness to grant amnesty to the militants who were ready to surrender, the Niger Delta militants willingly gave up their arms and surrendered. This led to the unmasking of the hitherto masked “tormentors in chief” of the region. In this picture we see one of the leaders of the notorious groups Alhaji Mujaheed Asari Dokubo raising his hand to sound a note of warning to the Federal Government on the dangers of reneging on their promises of taking adequate care of the militants as well as the people of the region. He seems to be granting an interview with a journalist. He is also wearing a T. shirt with the picture of

Isaac Adaka Boro the originator of the Niger Delta struggle as a symbol of the hardship the people had gone through and as a reminder of the willingness of the militants to return to the creeks to do what they know doing best---militancy. In the picture we see

Asari Dokubo raising his right hand to sound a note of warning to anybody---in this case

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he is referring to the Federal Government that any attempt to default in the amnesty, the insurgency will escalate in an unimaginable proportion. He is however flanked by two men one of them a representative of the federal government that is an officer or the warder that takes care of prisoners and the other his personal lawyer Barrister Festus

Kayamo. While the attention of the warder is focused on Asari Dokubo, the attention of

Keyamo is focused on the warder---a sign that all is not well at that scene. This symbolises the fact that if paradventure Asari is taken away from this venue to the prison yard, his lawyer Festus Keyamo is ready to file a law suit to challenge the arrest and detention. The picture on Asari’s T. shirt says a lot about the unending struggle symbolised by the image of Isaac Adaka Boro whose uprising in 1966 spurred up the sensitization campaign about the marginalization of the people of the Niger Delta region.

The expression on Asari’s face is that of anger, betrayal, frustration and a total desbelieve in the “lofty” promises which he seems to be saying will only purchase a shortlived victory for the Federal Government. The sky is not clear but cloudy testifying to the belief in the happenings at the moment. The black T. shirt Asari is wearing is a sign of disbelief, gloom amd a societal tragedy—of a people purposely sidelined as a result of greed, corruption; avaries. His unkempt outlook is a sign of neglect that his people have suffered over the years. This picture is an expression of disbelieve, hidden ulterior motives and a clandestine move by a corrupt government to foist its might on a people who believe they are fighting a just cause to liberate their people from the manacles of societal incarceration and man-made bondage suffered through years of neglect and marginalization, environmental despoliation and degradation; a society that is built upon wealth but lives in abject penury.

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ANALYSIS 13, 14, 15 SHOW MILITANTS’ SURRENDER AND INSPECTION 13 14 15

S/N Triadic Model Semiotic Resources in the Semiotic Significance of the Sign Image 1 Icon Fulfilling their part of the This picture is iconic. The bargain Militants surrender is iconic of a successful peaceful process in the Niger Delta region. 2 Index Niger Delta militants in This is indexical of the different shades surrendering fulfilment of the militants’ part their arms to the military of the bargain---to surrender to during the amnesty government for reintegration programme. The factional into the society. leader Ateke Tom demonstrating his expertise of handling a machine gun. 3 Symbol It is all over for us, waiting This is symbolic of for the Federal Government effectiveness of the amnesty programme initiated by the Federal Government.

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DISCUSSION

After all the shenanigans on the part of the militants and the Federal Government, in

2009, the militants finally sheath their swords and embraced the amnesty programme.

They did this by first surroundering all the weapons at their desposal and signing a pact with the Federal Government that they would not return to the creeks to torment the people, destroy oil installations or kidnap anybody again. In the above picture, we see a group of the ex-militants relinquishing their illegally acquired arms and amunitions to the security operatives under the close watch and inspection of the representatives of the government. Picture B13 shows a group of ex-militants turning in their weapons. They are dressed in military camouflag, red beret and white T. shirts. Some are dressed in black clothings but all on the same mission. Picture B14 shows one of the militant leaders

Mr Ateke Tom demonstrating his capability to handle a sophisticated machine gun in the presence of security operatives. This is a mere civilian operating a heavily mounted gun to the admiration of the security experts. Picture B15 shows a military officer inspecting the already surrenderd weapons while others are standing by watching his routine check and inspection. The three pictures have the same thematic preoccupations---the need to trust the Federal Government, surrender arms and ammunitions and embrace the amnesty. Pix B13 shows the ex-militants wearing military uniform as a sign of militancy and red berets to match—a symbol of danger in the days ahead. All the militants in that picture are wearing dark eye glasses a way of hiding their real identities. They look rugged and wild a pointer to the fact that they are ever ready to upturn any decision that does not favour them. The desperation in their eyes epitomises a forced “marriage” a compulsion to do the needful not necessarily in their interest but for the sake of national

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peace and security. In pix B14 Ateke Tom is demonstrating his capability to handle the gun to show that insurgency in the region was actually carried out by those surroundering the weapons and not by some proxy individuals as was the suspicion in some quarters. At the back of Ateke Tom are two men who appear very symbolic. The first is carrying an anti scot missile which could be used to shoot down a plane, to demonstrate the kind of weapons used by the militants. The second person is smoking what looks like a wrap of indian hemp---the thickness of the smoke from his mouth testifies to this suspicion. This is a picture of crudity and ruggedness, an epitome of a gang that did not have a feel of government presence around. Pix B15 is that of surprises, shock and admiration. The soldier in the middle of the picture is inspecting the weapons though is backing the camera but pointing at the weapons in awe. His exression is that of fear though being a military man. The spectators look surprised at the number of guns encycled by the militants. The question running through their mind could be: why and how did these

‘bandits ‘ acquire these weapons?

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ANALYSIS 15: FINALLY UNMASKED LEADER OF NDPVF

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance Model of the Image the Sign 1 Icon A return to normal life This picture is iconic. The Militant surrender is iconic of a successful peaceful process in the Niger Delta region. 2 Index Picture of Alhaji Asari This is indexical of the beauty of life Mujaheed Dokubo outside the creeks. granting interview to the media. He dressed in the Niger Delta attire, and looked well fed. 3 Symbol Total reintegration into This is symbolic of effectiveness of the the society amnesty programme initiated by the federal government.

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DISCUSSION

In this picture the amnesty programme had kicked off and the leaders of the various militant groups presented their “boys” for various training programmes. Some went to schools abroad, others were admitted into different institutions of learning in the country.

Others were made to undergo various trade trainings. In this interview Asari seems to be acknowledging the success of the programme. His physique testifies to this. Asari dokubo is the centre of attraction in this picture. Almost everybody around him wants to listen to what he is saying about the amnesty programme and the attitude of the federal government towards the success of the programme. His dressing is ypical of an Ijaw man.

This is a changed Asari from the one once identified with the usual camourflag, red beret and carrying of guns to a gentle man. The eargerness to listen is experienced in the journalist who throws the ethics of his profession to the wind by grabbing two microphons in his two hands maybe to ensure that if one audio fails, the other will makeup for the loss. The others are taking photographs of this “elusive” “monstrous”

“invincible” being. The face of militancy in the region is finally revealed; no more tricks or invisbility.

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ANALYSIS 16: MILITANTS IN A CLASS ROOM, MEANING: BACK TO SCHOOL.

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance Model of the the Image Sign 1 Icon The willingness to get This picture is iconic. The Militants’ integrated back into the presence in the school environment society outside the creeks is a pointer to the success of the programme. 2 Index A group of militants in This is indexical of the success of the a class room amnesty programme where militants were sent to schools of their choices to learn crafts. 3 Symbol Covering lost grounds This is symbolic of effectiveness of the amnesty programme initiated by the federal government.

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DISCUSSION

As stated above, some of the ex-militants were sent abroad for further studies. Others went to learn trade where they settled with large sums of money to commence their personal businesses while others chosed to remain in Nigerian schools and learn how to put their lives back on track. The picture above was taken of a group of militants in a school in Nigeria.In the picture all the militants are wearing white knickers, white T. shirts white canvas, white socks and an identification number card boldly put round their necks. The whiteness of unforms symbolises purity and the identity is a symbol of recognition in the larger society—no more invisibility. The ex-militants are sitting in class backing each other to ensure that they concentrate in their academic work and become better citizens in the society. This is also an avenue to ensure that they engage their individual senses in proferring solutions to societal and individual problems. The prominent one in this picture is a symbol of the destruction that has ravaged the Niger

Delta youths. He holds the ball point akwardly as if he is afraid of it. He could grip gun tenaciously but for the ball point he looks scared; even when he tries to write, he keeps the distance between the pen and the exercise book unusually far; and with his lips tightly compressed, it is probable that the fighter is frightened. In fact it further suggests that he is wracking his brain. The business of academics does not require strenght but here we see real physical power in the struggle to construct a sentence. But is the amnesty a success story?

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ANALYSIS 17: MILITANTS BOMB DELTA STATE GOVERNMENT HOUSE

S/N Triadic Semiotic Resources in Semiotic Significance Model of the Image the Sign 1 Icon Reactions to the This picture is iconic. The Militants’ action exposed deceit of is an indication that the inability of the amnesty programme Federal Government through the state Governments to fulfil their promises on the amnesty programme could lead to a catastrophic end. 2 Index The bombing of Delta This is indexical of the lopsided nature of state government house the amnesty programme and the reaction to the issues. The Delta State Government house was bombed as a sign of warning to the government. 3 Symbol Back to the trenches? This is symbolic of effectiveness of the threat of the militants that any act of sabotage could take them back to the camps.

DISCUSSION

On the 21st of March, 2010 there was a post amnesty meeting between the various stakeholders to brainstorm on the progress made so far in the programme. The event was hosted by the then Governor of Delta State,Emmanuel Uduaghan. The programme had

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barely started when two bombs planted at the venue were detonated. The blast shattered parts of the building, the glasses, windows, doors and even the cars driven by the guests.

As the occupants of the building ran outside for safety, a car parked outside loaded with bombs went up in flames. All the guests scampered for safety. Three governors of south- south states were in attendance at the time of this blast. Three days after the blast, the

Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed responsibility for what it called “the deceit of endless dialogue”. Those blasts put a stop to a dialogue that would have led to a roadmap which would have culminatedinto a focused, robust and strategic planning for the success of the Niger Delta amnesty. The thickness of the smoke from the blast is a sign of protest. Its rising up to the sky is an epitomy of the Multi national oil corporations that had destroyed the ecosystem in the region prior to the granting of amnesty. The timing of the bombing is a deliberate attempt to register grievances in a wrong way and manner thereby frustrating a lofty plan. The shattered cars on the road is a sign of blockade that prevents the free flow of traffic---a terrorist attack that is aimed at subjecting people to submission. The security operatives at the scene of the blast are standing helplessly showing the unpreparedness of Nigerian security outfit in to handle emergencies. The destruction caused to the ecosystem in this blast points to the fact that the environmental despoliation in the region is at times carried out by militants to blackmail the oil companies and intimidate them into submission.

5.4 Relevance of Triadic Model to Pictorial Analysis

In Peircean triadic model of semiotic analysis, a representamen can refer to its object by virtue of its relationships of similarity and contextual contiguity. The sign is therefore

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called (1) an icon, (2) an index or (3) a symbol, respectively. The reference between a sign and its object is iconic if the sign resembles the object. For example, the feeling produced by playing a piece of music is the icon of that piece of music. Likewise someone's portrait is the icon of that person, and a model is the icon of a building. A drawing of a glass is the icon of a glass, but if it is placed on a crate, then it belongs to the pictogram code and becomes a replica of the signifying 'fragile' through iconic portrayal of a specie (a glass) that is part of a genera (fragile objects). The reference between a sign and its object is indexical if the sign really is affected by the object. For example, the position of an anemometer is caused by the direction of the wind; it is the index of the wind direction. A knock on the door is the index of a visit. The symptom of an illness is the index of that illness. An index cannot have a representamen, because there is only

"sameness" in firstness, and no contextual contiguity; therefore, an index is always iconic. An index may have as its representamen a sinsign, as in the examples above, or a legisign, as in certain words known as "indexical" words ("this", "that", "I", "here"). A sign is a symbol when it refers to its object. Passwords, tickets to a show, banknotes, and the words of a language are symbols. The symbolic rule may have been formulated by convention, or by cultural habit. A symbol's representamen is necessarily a legisign, but the legisign cannot really act until it is embodied in a replica, and from that point on, the symbol implies an index. According to Peirce, a sign may be simple or complex. Peirce does not define the sign as the smallest unit of signification. Anything or phenomenon, no matter how complex, may be considered as a sign from the moment it enters into a process of semiosis. The process of semiosis involves a triadic relationship between a sign or representamen (a first), an object (a second) and an interpretant (a third). The

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representamen is a thing that represents another thing: its object. Before it is interpreted, the representamen is a pure potentiality: at first the object is what the sign represents. The sign can only represent the object; it cannot furnish acquaintance with it. The sign can express something about the object, providing that it is an object with which the interpreter is already familiar from collateral observation (experience created from other signs, which are always from previous history). For example, a piece of red paper that is used as a sample (= representamen) for a can of paint (= object) indicates only the red colour of the object, since it is assumed that one already knows all of its other characteristics (packaging, content, usage, etc.). The piece of paper shows that the paint in the can is red in colour, but it says nothing about the other characteristics of the object.

Furthermore, if the interpreter knows that it refers to a can of paint, then, and only then, does the sample give him the information that this particular can of paint must be red. To put it more succinctly, Peirce distinguishes the dynamical object (the object as it is in reality) from the immediate object (the object as it is represented by the sign). In our example, the can of paint is the dynamical object, and the colour red (of the can of paint) is the immediate object. Upon being interpreted, the representamen has the ability to trigger an interpretant, which in turn becomes a representamen by triggering another interpretant referring to the same object as the first representamen, and thereby allowing the first one to refer to the object. And so on, ad infinitum. For example, the definition of a word in the dictionary is an interpretant of the word, because the definition refers to the object (= what the word represents) and thereby allows the representamen (the word) to refer to this object. But in order to be understood, the definition itself requires a series, or more accurately, a bundle of other interpretants (other definitions)... Thus, the process of

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semiosis is theoretically unlimited. We are engaged in a thought process that is always incomplete, that has always begun previously.

5.5 Conclusion of Semiotic Depiction of insurgent activities in Nigeria

This chapter is a semiotic depiction of insurgency using the different pictorials that have emerged from the discourse over time. This process of analysis exposed common filaments of emotional outrage, the portrayal of violence, neglect, betrayal, marginalization, torment, emotional and psychological trauma. In most cases the victims were depicted as powerless. The major thematic preoccupation that runs through all the photos or images is that of violence.The theme of environmental degradation dominates the Niger Delta discourse while bombing and violence run through the semiotic depiction of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northern part of the country. In all, the semiotic depiction as critically examined in this segment portrays the intrigues that characterize the activities of the insurgents and the major actors involved in the crises.

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CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONTRIBUTIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 Introduction

The analysis was carried out in two parts. The first part focused on critical-metaphoric analysis of data and narrowed down on: thematisation, representation and lexicalization thus revealing the dynamics of language use in the data. The second part examined a socio-semiotic dimension of insurgency through representation and revealed how linguistic tools help in uncovering the pictorial representation of insurgencies. Basically, the study revealed how insurgents are portrayed in the print media through the application of linguistic resources.Based on the findings in chapters four and five, we drew conclusions and made necessary recommendations that could further enhance the discourses of insurgency as reported in the Nigerian print media. As stated in the aforementioned chapters, we described and interpreted the use of language in insurgency reportage in Nigeria from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis. Chapter four explored the different features of representations of insurgency and the major actors while

Chapter five explored the semiotic dimensions to the issues of portrayal of the crises and the major actors from the point of view of signification. In order to achieve this feat, we adopted a heterogeneous theoretical framework on the assumption that there is no singular theory that can adequately account for the analysis of a particular phenomenon.

6.8 Summary of Findings

Below is a summary of our findings from the analysis in accordance with the research objectives.

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I. The study established that Print media reports on insurgent activities in Nigeria are

dominated by discourse patterns such as classification with the aim of

separating the insurgents from the larger society. This is because classificatory

tendencies are capable of projecting the “other” in a negative light thus leading

to over lexicalization of issuesand leading to polarization of the ranks of the

insurgents. This finding therefore provides a satisfactory answer to the

question raised in research question one on whether patterns of discourse are

predominant in print media reports on insurgent activities in Nigeria. Thus,

research objective one of this study has been achieved since the study has

succeeded in providing convincing evidence to prove that there is consistent

use of linguistic labels to describe the insurgents. For instance, the Boko

Haram insurgents are portrayed as primitive, unfriendly and unaccommodating

thus portraying them as enemies of the state whereas the federal government

and JTF are seen as the protectors of the masses. The Niger Delta militants are

depicted as stereotypes that cannot change in spite of any form of

advancement that the society provides. For instance, after the Niger Delta

militants surrendered their weapons and embraced the amnesty and got

integrated into the society, the media still refers to them as “ex-militants” thus

typifying them as stereotypes; a linguistic label Fowler (1991:17) describes as

‘socially constructed mental pigeon-holes into which we slot events and

individuals in order to make them comprehensible’.

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II. The study found that Print media reports on insurgent activities in Nigeria are

couched in ideological beliefs. Thus, research question two which seeks to

ascertain whether ideologies are projected in print media reports on insurgent

activities in Nigeria has been satisfactorily answered. This therefore means

that research objective two has been achieved since the study has convincingly

established that the same ideological basis of the news media representation of

insurgency holds true in the representation of the major actors-a representation

based on the ideology of exclusion and othering. For instance, a few semantic

strategies about “Others” are as prevalent as the expression of polarized

cognitions and the categorical division of people in in-group (US) and out-

group (THEM). This established the fact that insurgency reports are strongly

monitored by underlying social representations (attitudes, ideologies) of

groups, rather than by models of unique events and individual people (unless

these are used as illustrations to argue a general point); thus applying to 'good'

and 'bad' sub-categories of out-groups, for instance friends and allies on the

one hand, and enemies on the other. The ideological conceptualization of the

insurgents is anchored on van Dijk’s schematic postulation that ideological

discourse lays emphasis on: Our Good Things, Their Bad Things, De-

emphasizing Our Bad Things and De-emphasizing Their Good Things.

Insurgents are portrayed in the nation’s print media as members of the “out-

group” and so are depicted in negative ways while the JTF and government

belong to the “in-group” and are depicted in a neutral or positive manner

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where the print media sees the militants as belonging to “Them” the out-group

while the JTF and government belong to the “US” in-group.

III. The study revealed that Print media reports on insurgency in Nigeria are

embellished in signification strategies, thus, in response to research question

three which seeks to determine the existence or otherwise of semiotic

constructs in news reports on insurgent activities in Nigeria has been

adequately answered. This finding therefore addressed the issue raised in

research objective three on the signification strategies adopted in print media

reports on insurgent activities in Nigeria. Through the application of

Peaiecean Triadic models of Icon, Index and Symbol, the study uncovered

common filaments of emotional outrage, violence, neglect, betrayal, torment,

marginalization, emotional and psychological trauma pervasive in the themes

in the data. In most cases the victims were depicted as powerless people who

lacked the wherewithal to fight back thus dying in the process. The major

thematic preoccupation that runs through most of the images on Boko Haram

is that of violence, while neglect is the recurrent theme in the case of the Niger

Delta crises. The two themes put together trigger emotions both on the part of

the reporters and the readers or viewers whose reactions are those of sympathy

and the demand for a sane society.

IV. The study established that the media conceptualizes insurgency in Nigeria in

metaphoric terms such as: journey, warfare, sports, time and food. This is

because metaphors are strong source domains given that they provide a clear

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path with start and end points. Thus this study has by this finding succeeded in

addressing the issues raised in research question four and research objective

four respectively on the metaphoric conceptualization of insurgency. For

instance, the bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja the Nigerian

federal capital territory led to the “speculation” or even “revelation” that the

Boko Haram sect members were not only affiliated to the Al-Qaeda but that

they were under the tutelage of the world renowned terrorist group. This

revelation is simultaneously and intertextually reported both in the Nigerian

print media and the United States world street journal thus making the process

of insurgency a journey metaphor. In terms of time metaphor, the study

affirmed that the spatial Language of Time presents a linguistic analysis of

space-to-time metaphors where Metaphoric analysis is done in terms of the

direct motivation by basic human experiences. This motivation explains the

linguistic appearance of certain metaphors, in certain context. Refining earlier

treatments of temporal metaphor and adapting to temporal experience, the

idea of frames of reference, proposes a contrast between perspective-neutral

and perspective-specific frames of reference in temporal metaphor that has

important cross linguistic ramifications for the temporal semantics of

FRONT/BEHIND expressions.

6.9 Contributions to Knowledge

This study has contributed to the advancement of knowledge in the following ways:

I. The study established that language use in the media in relation to crises reportage

is judgmental and it is capable of causing disaffection through linguistic labels.

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II. The study ascertained that CDA is capable of exposing subtleties of power

undercurrents in patterns.

III. The study exposed the creativity of the news reporters in portraying insurgents and

militants thus revealing that language is both an agent of peace and war depending

on its usages especially during crises situations.

IV. The study is contributes to scholarship in the area of insurgent depictions from a

linguistic perspective by filling a gap in that area of study and poses a challenge to

future scholars in that field of endeavor.

6.4 Recommendations for further Studies

This study is basically a qualitative linguistic approach to the analysis of utterances as reported in the media on insurgency in Nigeria. Mostly, data were elicited from the printed version of the media outfits and some from the websites of the chosen media houses as a result of the delimitating factors encountered in the course of gathering data.

By way of recommendation for further study in the area of crises reportage from a linguistic view point, we opine that:

I. Since this study relied solely on print media reports of the crises, future

researchers in this field should widen their scope by studying the reports of

such occasions from the television and radio broadcasts to ex-ray the use of

language in telecasting of insurgency.

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II. Most of the researches done so far in the area of crises reportage, (Pam 2012,

Chiluwa 2011, 2012, 2010, Alo 2012, Oso 2013, Adejumo 2003) all relied on

textual analysis. It is our suggestion that scholars in this field should beam

their analytical search light on the use of pictorial analysis of graphics that

emanate from insurgency. Through this process it will reveal the extent to

which pictures could cause disaffection promote or curtail crises.

III. Language is constantly changing and as humans, we tend to keep with the trend of

events in the society. We therefore suggest that future scholars in this area

should venture into corpus linguistic study of the concordances that are

generated from crises reportage; this will give an insight into the frequencies

of occurrences of certain linguistic items on a particular group and the

ideology and rationale behind such usages.

IV. Finally we opine that future scholars in this field should endeavour to in addition

to the texts generated from print media reports try and conduct interviews with

the editors of those media houses to know why they report issues the way they

do and possibly interview the militants themselves to take their views on the

prevailing circumstances and their perceptions of the media representations of

their actions.

6.5 Research Implications

Through the linguistic explication of the elicited data on print media depictions of insurgent activities in Nigeria, this study is significant in the following ways:

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I. The study will bring about a better understanding of the ideologies that shape

news reports especially in crises situations and help members of the public to re-

evaluate their perception of the insurgents based on media depictions.

II. The findings and recommendations of this study are expected to add to the body

of existing literature on media discourse and media representation as well as

encourage other scholars to carry out further studies in other areas of media

discourse in terms of representation/depictions.

III. The findings of the research are expected to serve as a reference material to media

practitioners, media discourse analysts who may want to explore further, the

representation of insurgents in the media as well as assist media practitioners,

journalists and media house owners to appreciate the need to embrace self-

reassessment of their roles in the management of crises in terms of news reportage

and take steps at addressing areas of negative representation in the media.

IV. The study will assist policy makers in the media industry to re-evaluate the

criteria used in reporting the activities of the members of the “out-group” in

relation to the members of the “in-group” considering the “negative role” a

perceived negative reportage could play in news report.

6.6 General Conclusion

This research has demonstrated how insurgents are depicted in the Nigerian print mediathrough the use of language. The differences in ideological posturing leading to bombings in the north as well as the Niger Delta militants who were granted amnesty and

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reintegrated into the society still carry the negative linguistic label of “ex-militants”; a creation of the media.Classification and Polarization play prominent roles in the portrayal of insurgent activities and the major actors as discovered in this study. This is evident in the depiction of the militants as primitive, unfriendly and unaccommodating. They are portrayed as enemies of the state whereas the government and JTF are seen as the saviours and protectors of the masses. The analysis has also revealed the fact that insurgents are given negative portrayal in the print media as perpetrators of crime, violence and other social vices. The Boko Haram insurgents are depicted as faceless people and in most cases are described as ghosts. The Niger Delta militants who are not described as faceless are portrayed as enemies of the society who belong to the out-group while the JTF, the Federal Government and her allies are portrayed as good people who belong to the in-group.

The study also observed that human communication entails informing as well as controlling by means of language as noted by Kress and Hodge (1993:6) who claim that language is "an instrument of control as well as communication". In a similar vein, Van

Dijk (2000:25) argues that "if there is one notion often related to ideology it is that of power". That is that the possession of the ability to shape actions. Since the most prominent feature of the media is conveying information and interaction between writer and reader, therefore implies that there is the struggle for influence over each other and this is the exercise of power is accomplished through persuasion. The study demonstrates covert deployment of ideologies on both the government and the insurgents which is embedded in specific rhetorical strategies built into the newspaper texts which manifest in forms of: Positive self-presentation may routinely be implemented by various forms of

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national self-glorification: Positive references to or praise for the own country, its principles, history and traditions.

One of the dominant overall strategies of the war against the Boko Haram and the Niger

Delta militants is that of politics. There are several variants and components of that strategy. The basic strategy is to claim (for instance against the militants) that "the people" (or "everybody") does not support their actions. The study finds that the ideology of exclusion and “othering” which characterizes news holds true to the representation of the major actors. As such, in the representation of the insurgents and militants, the media tend to take positions that align with government’s policy and ideology. Consequently, the reports reflect the tense relations between the government, the insurgents and / or militants. From a semiotic perspective, the findings reveal common thematic preoccupations of violence, agitation, environment degradation and neglect. The study uncovers the fact that the anonymity of the victims of insurgency could create a national interest because such people could be anyone…anybody’s father, anyone’s son, brother, or friend; a situation that yields national outrage and could create sympathy and anger on a larger scale had the face been clearly shown. The different types of clothes worn by the victims clearly indicate the different faces of people who belong to the sect. the colours also represent the different set of people in the society---the innocent, the culpable, the real members and the forced. The study reveals the stagnation that has bedeviled the

Niger Delta and the essence of the struggle in the region and a demand for a halt to all the

“despoliation” that have taken place in the region. In terms of metaphoric representation of insurgency in Nigeria, the study reveals that the Spatial Language of time presents an analysis of space-to-time metaphors. Metaphoric analysis is done in terms of the direct

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motivation by basic human experiences. This motivation explains the linguistic appearance of certain metaphors, in certain context. The journey metaphor is most frequently employed as a device in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one article is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison. Journey serves as an effective metaphor because it can accurately portray many concepts from all walks of life without becoming vague.

This feat is accomplished by utilizing the inherent characteristics of the word "journey" itself, as a journey can be representative of a process, physical travel, or any undertaking involving a goal. The analysis on metaphoric images drawn from the field of religion

/sermonic discourse, such images recur in the news and constitute what we term metaphors of religion. More so, insurgency is seen as warfare…a metaphoric reference to a chaotic situation. War metaphors describe the state of the insurgency, the characters involved, the events that occur in the war and the actions taken to either win or forestall the escalation of the war. Some of the metaphors discussed here are derived from the field of war and the lexical items have military resemblance. Such utterances are collocationally related to war instances. Food metaphor concretizes the insurgents’ approach to ensuring that starvation forms part of the guerrilla warfare. This they did by communicating their clear message of violence targeted at food stuff. The insurgents use lexical items associated with food as part of their war strategy. The insurgents are aware of the role food plays in humans’ lives and as such use the opportunities provided by the declaration of curfew by government to attack the agricultural segment of the economy as a way of winning the war. Patterns of discourses were drawn from the fields of

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agriculture, economy, production, commerce to demonstrate how food metaphor plays a linguistic role in the media depiction of insurgency in Nigeria. Any weapon is important in war and the insurgents devised a means of ensuring that they get at their targets by any means. This is evident in their use of starvation as an instrument of war by hitting at the core of human existence which is food. The scenario painted in this segment of our analysis where all the texts reveal a target at food as a metaphor for getting at the opponents is a way of devising a means to win a war.

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