IDEOLOGY AND SEDUCTIVE RHETORIC IN THE DISCOURSE OF THE #ENDSARS PROTEST: LANGUAGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA NARRATIVE

Abstract

Building on the critical stances and debates by different scholars on ideology and rhetoric, this study sought to provide an understanding of the practical rhetorical operations of ideology as it functions in the #EndSARS protest. The study examines the pervasive, persuasive, and passionate discourses in light of rhetorical skills and the growth of social media in modern society. It advances a theoretical position on the ideology and rhetoric in the language of the social media narrative. The study examines how a social group, the EndSARS protesters, deployed three significations of rhetoric — performatively, metaphorically, and visually — to achieve their social goal. Adopting Rhetoric Theory and Social Judgment Theory as its theoretical framework, the study reveals that the #ENDSARS protest succeeded through the ideological tool of resistance and rhetoric. This study concludes that rhetoric is a powerful tool for achieving social struggles and aspirations. The study recommends that social movements adopt visual rhetoric, utilising images, videos, and symbols to convey their messages. Visual content can be more engaging, memorable, and impactful than text alone.