A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF SELECTED END-SARS SLANG ON TWITTER

Abstract

The #EndSars was a protest that surfaced as a social movement that
vociferously agitated the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad
(SARS) in Nigeria. This research study attempts to investigate an
innovation of public protest discourse using the #EndSars tweets
and slogans as data. The study examines #EndSars' tweeted slogans and
protesters' comments. Twenty (20) online posts and comments
hashtagged #EndSars during and after the protest were purposively
collated as data for the study. Fairclough's sociocultural approach to
Critical Discourse Analysis was used as the study's theoretical
framework and analytical tool. Findings show that tweeters and
commenters employed linguistic and discourse styles such
as language, encouragement, defiance, and obscenities, amongst others,
to enhance and project their focus calling on youths' participation in
governance concerning the 2023 elections. These discursive strategies
advance language politics within the power imbalance, abuse, extrajudicial practices, marginalization, and other social injustices. The study
concludes that virtual protesters deploy slang to sensitise, persuade,
motivate and mobilise the virtual community on the goal of the
#EndSars protest, to sustain their solidarity in the struggle, and to
coordinate the demonstration.