Euphemisation and dysphemisation as manipulative strategies in the Indigenous People of Biafra’s (IPOB’s) secessionist discourse

Abstract Although Biafra secessionist agitation has been studied from many perspectives, striking linguistic strategies used in the resistance discourse of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) deserve careful study. This paper discusses euphemisation and dysphemisation in IPOB’s secessionist discourse and evaluates their ideological features with a view to highlighting how the group (re)constructs realities in an attempt to control public perception of its agitation. Excerpts from IPOB’s press statements reported in three Nigerian national newspapers – Daily Post, The Punch and The Sun – between April and August 2017 are descriptively examined using the socio-cognitive model of critical discourse analysis. The findings reveal that euphemisation and dysphemisation dominate IPOB’s discourse and manifest four broad discursive strategies, including legitimisation, exaggeration, denial and storytelling. It is further demonstrated that these manipulative strategies elevate late Biafran soldiers, separatists and the Biafra goal; while the Nigerian Government and its agents are demonised. The study concludes that dissident groups, just like dominant groups, exert ideological and social control through linguistic structures with prefabricated meanings.