An Analysis of Maddtimes Online Cartoon on Political Conflict: A Study of the Wike-Fubara Feud

Abstract: Political cartoons use imagery and text to comment on a contemporary social issue. They may contain a caricature of a well-known person or an illusion to a contemporary event or trend. Political cartoons serve as a powerful communicative weapon and form an integral part of Political Communication. Many studies have been carried on iconographic analysis of certain political cartoons. However, this work focuses on a particular cartoon by MaddTimes that was laced with irony, having no text, which depicts the Wike-Fubara feud which attracted so much media attention across the country. The cartoon which served as primary data was obtained from the official Facebook page of the magazine. This cartoon was chosen as it was the only one made about the Wike-Fubara Feud available to this researcher. It was particularly chosen as it generated hundreds of likes, comments and shares, due to its relevant sociopolitical theme, visual im¬agery, no-text nature, and as it was relevant to the study. The Connotative Meaning Theory, Framing Theory and Visual Rhetoric Theory were the theories on which the study was anchored. Findings revealed that through cartoons, intense political developments can be explained in the simplest of terms, while also presenting the true picture of occurrences. Keywords: Godfatherism, MaddTimes, Political Cartoon, Wike-Fubara.