PRAGMATIC ACTS IN SELECTED PLACARDS ON THE 2024 END BAD GOVERNANCE PROTEST IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study seeks to investigate the pragmatic acts in selected placards
on Nigeria's 2024 End Bad Governance protest. Previous studies on
pragmatic acts have focused more on courtroom discourse, religious
discourse, political discourse, business discourse, EndSars Protest
2020, the Subsidy Removal protest in 2012, among many others.
Based on the domains of the language mentioned above, the
pragmatic acts on protest placards have not been adequately
represented in linguistic scholarship. Protest is an indication of
conflict. Conflict arises against perceived discontentment and
disagreement between groups of persons. Language is an important
tool which the protesters used to channel their grievances to the
appropriate authority. The data for the analysis were sourced from
social media platforms such as Facebook and Google engine search.
50 placards were downloaded and subjected to linguistic analysis
using Jacob Mey's (2001) aspects of Pragmatic Acts Theory as its
theoretical framework. Certain linguistic features such as demanding,
appealing, advising, informing questioning, directing, and inciting
were identified. The findings revealed that the #EndBadGovernance
placards performed many pragmatic acts, such as demanding,
appealing, advising, informing, questioning, directing, and inciting
and they conveyed a deep message to the rest of the world about the
plights of Nigerians in their current state. The study concludes that
the linguistic items the protest's aim and forecast the government's
reaction and experiences as evident in the demonstration and
consequent response.