Abstract
This study examines how ideological meanings are embedded in selected editorial discourse on the farmers-herders conflict in Nigeria. The research corpus is based on eight selected editorial excerpts from four prominent and widely circulated Nigerian online newspapers. They include: The Punch, The Tribune, The Sun and Leadership. These editorials were published from January to December 2018, corresponding to the peak of the conflict. This study adopts a qualitative interpretive design, drawing on Fairclough’s (1995) Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework and Althusser’s (1971) Theory of Ideology. This study investigates how editorial discourse constructs representations of actors and events involved in the farmers-herders conflict in Nigeria. Similarly, it reveals discursive strategies employed in the media narrative of violence, accountability and responsibility. The findings establish that selected editorials rely on emotional expression, evaluative language, and collective labelling that frame conflict in binary terms. The study provides insights into how discursive strategies support ideological representations that probably shape public perceptions and sustain existing social tensions. Therefore, this study recommends neutral language ethics in media discourse, which are essential for informed public debate and constructive conflict resolution.
Keywords: CDA, media discourse, newspaper
editorials, ideological representation, farmers-herders conflict.
DOI: 10.36349/sojolics.2026.v02i01.021
author/Abdulwasiu Alao
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 2(1) | June 2026 |
