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Article published In: Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 24:2 (2025) ► pp.328–347

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“The youths are wiser now”

A positive discourse analysis of resistance in Nigeria’s 2023 electoral rhetoric

 | University of Salerno
ORCiD logo with link | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Published online: 15 March 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.23104.ike
Abstract
This study examines several Nigerians’ resistance to the two major political parties and their presidential candidates using positive discourse analysis. Additionally, the study critically investigates Nigerians’ support for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) during the build-up to the 2023 Nigeria’s general elections. Data for the study comprise 1000 tweets with the hashtags #Obidients, #Atikulated, #Tinubu and tweets that mentioned Peter Obi, Atiku, Atikulated, Jagaban, Tinubu, Emilokan, PDP, APC and LP between June and October 2022. The analysis reveals that tweeps construct resistance via three discursive strategies: critiquing and resisting the APC and PDP, portraying Peter Obi of the Labour Party as a political saviour, and positioning Nigerians as politically wiser. This study provides a fresh perspective on analysing Nigeria’s electoral rhetoric by identifying social media as sites for atypical resistance, social change, and revolution.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.2023 Nigerian general elections
  • 3.Resistance in political discourse
  • 4.Framework: Positive discourse analysis
  • 5.Method
  • 6.Analysis and discussion
    • 6.1Critiquing and resisting the APC and PDP
    • 6.2Portraying Peter Obi of the Labour Party as a political saviour
    • 6.3Positioning Nigerians as being politically wiser
  • 7.Conclusion
  • References
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Cited by three other publications

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2025. Religious othering in Nigeria’s electoral discourse: Towards a critical religious tolerance. Discourse & Society 36:1 ► pp. 39 ff. DOI logo
Ganaah, John, Godswill Uchechukwu Chigbu & Sopuruchi Christian Aboh
2025. Political othering and polarisation in Nigeria’s online electoral discourse: towards a culture of inter-political party tolerance. Social Semiotics ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
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2025. Branding the Ballot: How the Labour Party Shaped Voter Behaviour in Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Election . Journal of Central and Eastern European African Studies 5:1 ► pp. 132 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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