A SOCIOLINGUISTIC REPRESENTATION OF BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AS A REFLECTION OF POLITICS, RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM, AND TERROR
Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria has been attributed to many reasons for its persistent rise in the various attacks on government facilities, killings of human beings, and bombing of security formations. Daily, the Nigerian society continues to witness different terrorist attacks carried out by members of the Boko Haram sect. In this study, we examine the phenomenon from the perspective of politics, religious extremism, and terrorist activities. In essence, the study is a retrospective-sociolinguistic explication of the activities of Boko Haram during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration when the activities of the sect were still confined to the North East and by extension, the government reactions at that time. Unlike today that Boko Haram has spread to almost all parts of the country with their heinous activities as represented in the conduct of the “herdsmen” and “unknown gunmen” the previous administration witnessed insurrections in only one region of the country. Data for the study were elicited from newspaper reports on the activities of the terror group in that era. The analytical framework is anchored on the theory of sociolinguistics. Findings reveal cases of politicization of sect activities, filaments of religious ideology, and cases of extremist-terrorist activities.
Keywords: Sociolinguistics, Representation, Boko Haram, Politics, Religion, Terror
