ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN SOCIAL ACTORS' RESPONSES TO THE #ENDSARS PROTEST

Abstract

Studies on the #EndSARS protest have examined the movement from a non-linguistic standpoint, providing perspectives on the human right violations leading up to the stifling and abrupt end of the protesters’ activities, the potential consequences of the government’s response in relation to foreign ties with global communities, and the economic implications of the protest on the nation. There exists a gap of knowledge in linguistic-related studies on the protest, especially on the techniques protesters employ in establishing meaning and building solidarity with the audience in the communication processes. The study, therefore, examined the engagement strategies in the responses of social actors to events following the #EndSARS protest, and James Martin and Peter White's Appraisal framework constituted the theoretical framework. For data, two newspaper reports on the Lagos State inquiry panel on the protest and the Nigerian government's response to Cable News Network (CNN) were purposively drawn from two Nigerian newspapers, and the analyses were carried out using a descriptive approach. The results showed that of the three selected social actors, only two efficiently engaged readers, providing lucid evidence to corroborate stance in the meaning-negotiation process. Negative connotations were evoked to disclaim, condemn, and disendorse other social actors in the entrenchment of propositional values, and authorial presence was extensively engaged to reveal authors’ evaluative stance.