Postcoloniality and Framing in Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Election: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Peter Obi’s Campaign Meme
Anthony Elisha Anowu
Abstract: This paper is an explication of postcoloniality, framing and multimodal discourse analysis of the campaign memes of Mr. Peter Obi – the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential election. Embedded in these memes are postcolonial ethos that undergirds the ties between the colonised world and the colonisers. A social semiotic approach to multimodal studies, framing theory and Postcolonial Critical Discourse Analysis (PCDA) were adopted as the theoretical underpinnings for this study. The data consist of the campaign memes of Mr. Obi posted by his followers on social media especially Twitter now X. The findings reveal that the text makers deployed metaphor, contrast and presupposition to frame Obi as a deliverer of the people, succourer of the youth and a beacon of unity. All of which reflect the postcolonial experiences of Nigeria as a nation.
Keywords: Postcoloniality, framing analysis, multimodality, postcolonial critical discourse analysis, Obi, Nigeria, presidential election