“Kano, blood of Agbahime crying out for justice”: A Socio-cognitive Discourse Study of an Editorial in a Nigerian Newspaper

Abstract

As a genre of newspaper discourse, editorials have not been much explored most especially from the purview of Socio-cognitive model of CDA. Motivated by the scanty of work of this nature, this study, therefore, explores the Punch editorial on the Agbahime incident using the Socio-cognitive discourse aspect of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Editorial section of the Punch Newspaper published on November 9, 2016 was collected and analysed using socio-cognitive discourse analytical tool. Our findings reveal that the ideologies projected by the editorial are found to have been articulated through the strategies of metaphorisation, discourse participants’ identification, nominalisation, context swap and prejudices. These assisted the newspaper and by extension, the editorial writer, the avenue to project to its readers its ideological leaning or posture vis-à-vis religious extremism, terrorism, ethnicity, ethnic bigotry and government’s insensitivity to the gruesome murder of the victim(s) in question. This study argues, therefore, that analysing newspaper editorials from the purview of the Socio-cognitive Model aspect of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) has potency of enhancing a better understanding of the editorial as a genre of newspaper discourse. It further illuminates the discourse value of socio-cognitive model of CDA and provides additional useful material for the editorial genre in newspaper communication. The study also serves as useful material for media discourse pedagogy and skills.