A SEMIOTIC STUDY OF THE END BAD GOVERNANCE PROTEST PICTURES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examines how protest images employ visual symbols and
gestures, among other non-verbal elements, to convey complicated
socio-political concepts. This research concentrates on 10 purposively
selected visuals to interrogate the imagery, symbolism, and cultural
histories they invoke around forms of resistance and change. The
research is aimed at investigating the visual signs along with their
interconnections to uncover the implicit meanings that protest images
convey. It also seeks to discern the emotional and mental impact that
these pictures produce not just on subjects but on observers as well.
These images show that protest visuals are not only symptoms of
discontent but play their part in battling governance failures. The study
deepens our understanding of the investment in visual culture and
political engagement, providing insight into how images impact
contemporary social justice movements. The research outcome presents
the semiotics of protest pictures as providing new perspectives on visual
communication in political activism and offers a critical engagement
with how ideology operates visually via photography, especially within
the context of Nigeria. The study, therefore, confirms, in another form
of assessment, the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words by
showing pictures depicting ranges of characterization that went beyond
what could be done with all our word lists.