Papers by Ebuka Igwebuike
Journal of Language and Politics
This article examines how Nigerian female political leaders (NFPLs) exploit self-presentation str... more This article examines how Nigerian female political leaders (NFPLs) exploit self-presentation strategies to formulate and promote social justice. Using insights from critical discourse analysis and Jones and Pittman’s (1982) self-presentation strategies, and with a data set from the verified Facebook and Twitter accounts of two female ministers and three female senators, the study investigates how NFPLs systematically utilize discursive strategies such as self-promotion, ingratiation, exemplification, intimidation and supplication to present themselves as a powerful voice for the voiceless and as active alternative leaders. The study argues that the strategies help the leaders to amplify their authority by showcasing personal presence and past accomplishments, appealing to the concerns of the masses and soliciting their support in future elections. The study demonstrates that these strategies project female leaders as dynamic participants in political and public decision-making proc...
Journal of Language and Politics
Journal of Language and Politics, 2023
This article examines how Nigerian female political leaders (NFPLs) exploit
self-presentation str... more This article examines how Nigerian female political leaders (NFPLs) exploit
self-presentation strategies to formulate and promote social justice. Using
insights from critical discourse analysis and Jones and Pittman’s (1982) selfpresentation strategies, and with a data set from the verified Facebook and
Twitter accounts of two female ministers and three female senators, the
study investigates how NFPLs systematically utilize discursive strategies
such as self-promotion, ingratiation, exemplification, intimidation and
supplication to present themselves as a powerful voice for the voiceless and
as active alternative leaders. The study argues that the strategies help the
leaders to amplify their authority by showcasing personal presence and past
accomplishments, appealing to the concerns of the masses and soliciting
their support in future elections. The study demonstrates that these
strategies project female leaders as dynamic participants in political and
public decision-making processes and positively evaluate their
contributions to social change.
Journal of Asian and African Studies
‘Sit-at-home’, an annual protest employed by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to draw atten... more ‘Sit-at-home’, an annual protest employed by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to draw attention to their planned secession agenda and alleged marginalisation, has attracted widespread media attention and triggered continuous ongoing public discussions. The resistance campaigns that paralyse socio-economic activities in the south-eastern region of Nigeria constitutes ideological representations in the media. This paper examines delegitimation of the IPOB’s sit-at-home protests in the Nigerian newspaper headlines to show how discursive constructions of the events contribute to the non-conformists discourse tags of the protesters. Using Van Leeuwen’s Discourse Legitimation Approach, it draws on a dataset of 114 headlines on the civil disobedience protests from four Nigerian national newspapers, published between 2017 and 2019. The findings reveal that the IPOB protesters are generally constructed as non-conformists through four discursive strategies, namely, authorisation, moralisation, metaphorisation and discordancy. The strategies underlie value judgements and evaluations inherent in negative other representations that contribute to discrediting IPOB secessionist group in the Nigerian society.
Journal of Asian and African Studies, 2023
Sit-at-home', an annual protest employed by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to draw attent... more Sit-at-home', an annual protest employed by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to draw attention to their planned secession agenda and alleged marginalisation, has attracted widespread media attention and triggered continuous ongoing public discussions. The resistance campaign that paralyses socioeconomic activities in the southeastern region of Nigeria constitutes ideological representations in the media. This paper examines delegitimation of the IPOB's sit-at-home protests in the Nigerian newspaper headlines in order to show how discursive constructions of the events contribute to the nonconformists discourse tags of the protesters. Using van Leeuwen's (2007) Discourse Legitimation Approach, it draws on a dataset of 114 headlines on the civil disobedience protests from four Nigerian national newspapers, published between 2017 and 2019. The findings reveal that the IPOB protesters are generally constructed as nonconformists through four discursive strategies namely, authorisation, moralisation, metaphorisation and discordancy. The strategies underlie value judgements and evaluations inherent in negative other representations that contribute to discrediting IPOB secessionist group in the Nigerian society.
English Studies at NBU, 2022
Discourses on herding have focussed on the "exact" representations of the social actions of itine... more Discourses on herding have focussed on the "exact" representations of the social actions of itinerant herders who clash with farmers while grazing on supposed cattle routes. Media coverage on the herdsmenfarmers conflict has deployed ideologically laden terms to represent herding as trespassing on farmlands and herders as foreigners and trespassers. Using van Leeuwen's Representation of Social Actions and Actors model and Martin and White's Appraisal Framework, this paper examines how different trespassing-related terms (i.e. invade, attack and destroy) were deployed in the Nigerian newspaper headlines to represent herders and their activities with a view to discussing the kinds of representations that were constructed of the nomads through the texts. Findings revealed that using transactive role allocations, nominalization, descriptivation, identification, aggregation and attitudinal lexicalization, these social actors were evaluated negatively as intruders, raiders, and destroyers. The negative othering underscores the general perception and suspicious treatment of nomads in their host farming communities.
Discourses on herding have focussed on the "exact" representations of the social actions of itine... more Discourses on herding have focussed on the "exact" representations of the social actions of itinerant herders who clash with farmers while grazing on supposed cattle routes. Media coverage on the herdsmenfarmers conflict has deployed ideologically laden terms to represent herding as trespassing on farmlands and herders as foreigners and trespassers. Using van Leeuwen's Representation of Social Actions and Actors model and Martin and White's Appraisal Framework, this paper examines how different trespassing-related terms (i.e. invade, attack and destroy) were deployed in the Nigerian newspaper headlines to represent herders and their activities with a view to discussing the kinds of representations that were constructed of the nomads through the texts. Findings revealed that using transactive role allocations, nominalization, descriptivation, identification, aggregation and attitudinal lexicalization, these social actors were evaluated negatively as intruders, raiders, and destroyers. The negative othering underscores the general perception and suspicious treatment of nomads in their host farming communities.
Linguistik Online
The media discursive representation of participants and their roles in conflict situations is the... more The media discursive representation of participants and their roles in conflict situations is the focus of this study. The Nigeria-Cameroon clashes over the oil rich Bakassi Peninsula have been reported in newspapers from the two countries. In a bid to demonstrate how social attitudes are expressed in the discourse structure of news reports, the study analyzed news reports from four newspapers in the countries published in the heat of the armed conflicts between 2002 and 2010. The analysis focused on the thematic representations, the representation of actors in the material processes and power hierarchy. Our findings show that newspapers from each of the countries presented perspectives that seemed to favour their positive images before the entire world, each claiming victim status for their key actors. In terms of the different ideologies and values that motivate the news reports, the Nigerian newspapers adopted event-oriented reporting style, thereby appealing to the value of soci...
Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa, 2020
Praise names are repositories and means through which ideologies and socio-cultural identities ar... more Praise names are repositories and means through which ideologies and socio-cultural identities are transmitted in Igbo culture. In ‘praise naming’, symbols with socio-cultural meanings are deployed to represent ideological realities of Igbo naming in communities. The symbols which are infused with the Igbo beliefs of philanthropy and display levels of stratification have not been subjected to adequate linguistic studies. This study, therefore, undertakes a critical appraisal of the strategic deployment of symbols in praise naming chiefs in selected folk songs of two popular and foremost Igbo folk musicians with a view to uncovering the underlying ideological meanings and significance of the symbols. Analysing the data through the lens of Martin and White’s appraisal theory reveals that symbols derived from five sources – plants, animals, nature, body parts and deities – construct the chiefs in terms of five images of God as protector, benefactor, saviour, dreaded being and as the al...
Critical Discourse Studies, 2021
This study examines self-legitimation and other-delegitimation in the online radio broadcasts of ... more This study examines self-legitimation and other-delegitimation in the online radio broadcasts of Nnamdi Kanu, the Supreme Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Using Theo van Leeuwen’s ...
Continuum
ABSTRACT Herding in Nigeria is associated often with invasions. This study investigates how herdi... more ABSTRACT Herding in Nigeria is associated often with invasions. This study investigates how herding and its associated invasions are metaphorically conceptualized in Nigerian newspapers as natural disasters, removal of dirt and hunting exercise. Based on instances of the use of figurative expressions in Nigerian national newspaper reports on the herdsmen-farmers dispute, the study reveals that herding is represented as invasions, and the invasions are expressed through three salient metaphors: 1) invasion is overrunning water, 2) invasion is cleansing, and 3) invasion is hunting. Analysis of the metaphoric expressions shows that herding is constructed as natural disasters through water metaphors such as ‘flood’, ‘storm’, ‘surge’ and (heavy) ‘rain’ that wash debris (farmers) into running water while ‘cleanse’, ‘sweep’ and ‘wipe out’ conceptualize herdsmen as cleaning agents that eliminate ‘unharmful’ objects. Farmers, on the other hand, are portrayed as preys being hunted, ambushed and trapped by hunters (herdsmen). The study makes a distinction between the three metaphors of destruction and the overall construction that farmers constitute an object being wiped out, washed away and hunted by herders.
Encyclopedia of Mobile Phone Behavior, 2015
Beeping (also known as “flashing”, “missed call” or “buzzing”) is a behavior associated with mobi... more Beeping (also known as “flashing”, “missed call” or “buzzing”) is a behavior associated with mobile phone users, typically in the developing world. It is a behavior that involves a user dialing the number of another user, allowing the phone to ring a few times, but quickly canceling the call before the other person can answer. Despite being a common and established mobile phone human practice, beeping has not received adequate attention from scholars as some other behaviors associated with digital technologies, such as cyberbullying, mobile phone addiction, sexting, phone-sharing, and usage while driving. This article, therefore, offers a historical and analytical overview of existing research on the use of a beeping system as a cost-reduction strategy opposed to SMS/text messaging. It provides a solid empirical basis for an informed discussion of the social uses and social effects of the practice of beeping in no-cost communication, especially in developing countries.
SAGE Open
African traditional drama has been researched from several perspectives. But there are hardly stu... more African traditional drama has been researched from several perspectives. But there are hardly studies fully focusing on the deployment of language to achieve performance goals in particular performances. This failure may have roots in the widely held assumption that verbal language (dialogue) is not a serious element of African traditional drama. Studying language in particular performances will show that there are instances of full and effective deployment of verbal communication in the African traditional drama. This article, therefore, studies language in ewa-ọma performances. Using basic literary appreciation and critical analysis methods, with a new historicist bias, the literary and rhetorical components of language are identified and analyzed according to their space-time relevance in two performances, to demonstrate the manner of realization of dialogue and (inter)weaving of literary and rhetorical strategies. Literary tropes and rhetorical devices are effectively deployed i...
Metaphor, a significant linguistic resource for representing events, people and their actions in ... more Metaphor, a significant linguistic resource for representing events, people and their actions in conflict situations, is capable of revealing ideological positioning and inclinations of news reporters. This paper therefore examines strategic deployment of metaphors by selected Nigerian newspapers in representing refugees and their actions in the Bakassi Peninsula border conflict with a view to uncovering underlying ideologies in the representations. Using insights from Charteris-Black’s (2004) Critical Metaphor Theory and Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) Conceptual Theory of Metaphor, the study analyses instances of conceptual metaphors in the news reports on the border conflict from two Nigerian national newspapers, namely The Punch and The Guardian , published between August 2008 and August 2009. The findings reveal that metaphors of disease, dangerous water, natural disasters and confusion are deployed to conceptualise refugees as threats, impending danger and agents of chaos and soci...
Advances in Media, Entertainment, and the Arts, 2019
This chapter examines religious discourse on Facebook and brings to the fore the recurrent decept... more This chapter examines religious discourse on Facebook and brings to the fore the recurrent deceptive requests that have given rise to new forms of religious extremism and radicalism. Many Christians have turned to social media as a medium where their faith can be practiced and with the intention of enforcing it on others. One major avenue through which this ensues is in the inherent ideological requests on Facebook where members are threatened to either type “Amen” or be afflicted with curses as punishment. These misleading requests usually attract instantaneous thousands of “likes” and consenting responses that depict underlying fear. An awareness of these extremist inclinations against the backdrop of religion is crucial to the understanding and interpretation of the semiotic realities within such Facebook posts.
Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict
Nigerian media reports on herdsmen’s violence present dehumanised images of a slaughterhouse in w... more Nigerian media reports on herdsmen’s violence present dehumanised images of a slaughterhouse in which farmers are represented as animals being slaughtered by herders. Using a critical discourse analysis and appraisal framework, with a focus on the systems of attitude and graduation, this paper critically examines media representation of herdsmen’s violence as “butchering” in the form of carnism. Analysis reveals that carnist representation is reinforced through death-dealing socio-cognitive labelling, attitudinal lexicalisation and strands of carnism. Also, using attitude and graduation resources, a one-directional and horrific image is painted. The study concludes that the creation as well as consumption of such scary news cultivates cognitive prejudices and stereotypes.
Journal of African Media Studies
In response to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, different religious-immune conspirac... more In response to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, different religious-immune conspiracy theories emerged to explain the increasing scary situation in Nigeria. Emerging multifarious narratives of the contagion, which are embedded in peculiar Nigerian socio-religiosity and religious economy, reconstructed the discourses into two complexities: corona disease is an invention of the devil and other dark evil forces, and corona disease is a sign of the end of times. The obvious fabrications escalated uncertainties surrounding the pandemic as well as generated anxiety and fears among potential believers who sermonize spiritual vigilance for the ‘final battle and journey’. Drawing insights from critical discourse analysis, moral panic and frame theory, this study explores discursive means through which the pandemic is represented and reconstructed as long-awaited ‘doomsday’ warning in Nigerian online communities. Findings reveal instances of varying descriptive names, lexical der...
Journal of African Media Studies, 2021
n response to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, different religious-immune conspiracy... more n response to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, different religious-immune conspiracy theories emerged to explain the increasing scary situation in Nigeria. Emerging multifarious narratives of the contagion, which are embedded in peculiar Nigerian socio-religiosity and religious economy, reconstructed the discourses into two complexities: corona disease is an invention of the devil and other dark evil forces, and corona disease is a sign of the end of times. The obvious fabrications escalated uncertainties surrounding the pandemic as well as generated anxiety and fears among potential believers who sermonize spiritual vigilance for the ‘final battle and journey’. Drawing insights from critical discourse analysis, moral panic and frame theory, this study explores discursive means through which the pandemic is represented and reconstructed as long-awaited ‘doomsday’ warning in Nigerian online communities. Findings reveal instances of varying descriptive names, lexical derivations and discursive frames that reflect counter belief and quasi-religious ideologies. The study argues that complex religious doctrines rooted in antichrist or mark of the beast view, socio-religious ideologies of dominionism and overcommernism, cultural and personal linguistic processes have all contributed in shaping and institutionalizing the viral ‘apocalyptic’ world-view of the outbreak.
Sage Open, 2021
African traditional drama has been researched from several perspectives. But there are hardly stu... more African traditional drama has been researched from several perspectives. But there are hardly studies fully focusing on the deployment of language to achieve performance goals in particular performances. This failure may have roots in the widely held assumption that verbal language (dialogue) is not a serious element of African traditional drama. Studying language in particular performances will show that there are instances of full and effective deployment of verbal communication in the African traditional drama. This article, therefore, studies language in ewa-ọma performances. Using basic literary appreciation and critical analysis methods, with a new historicist bias, the literary and rhetorical components of language are identified and analyzed according to their space-time relevance in two performances, to demonstrate the manner of realization of dialogue and (inter)weaving of literary and rhetorical strategies. Literary tropes and rhetorical devices are effectively deployed in welldeveloped dialogues to achieve a satirical goal in the performances.
Language, Gender and Politics: A Festschrift for Yisa Kehinde Yusuf., 2009
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Papers by Ebuka Igwebuike
self-presentation strategies to formulate and promote social justice. Using
insights from critical discourse analysis and Jones and Pittman’s (1982) selfpresentation strategies, and with a data set from the verified Facebook and
Twitter accounts of two female ministers and three female senators, the
study investigates how NFPLs systematically utilize discursive strategies
such as self-promotion, ingratiation, exemplification, intimidation and
supplication to present themselves as a powerful voice for the voiceless and
as active alternative leaders. The study argues that the strategies help the
leaders to amplify their authority by showcasing personal presence and past
accomplishments, appealing to the concerns of the masses and soliciting
their support in future elections. The study demonstrates that these
strategies project female leaders as dynamic participants in political and
public decision-making processes and positively evaluate their
contributions to social change.
self-presentation strategies to formulate and promote social justice. Using
insights from critical discourse analysis and Jones and Pittman’s (1982) selfpresentation strategies, and with a data set from the verified Facebook and
Twitter accounts of two female ministers and three female senators, the
study investigates how NFPLs systematically utilize discursive strategies
such as self-promotion, ingratiation, exemplification, intimidation and
supplication to present themselves as a powerful voice for the voiceless and
as active alternative leaders. The study argues that the strategies help the
leaders to amplify their authority by showcasing personal presence and past
accomplishments, appealing to the concerns of the masses and soliciting
their support in future elections. The study demonstrates that these
strategies project female leaders as dynamic participants in political and
public decision-making processes and positively evaluate their
contributions to social change.