WhatsApp chats and attitude expressions of insecurity in Nigeria

This study investigated WhatsApp posts on insecurity issues in Nigeria
to understand how Nigerians discuss and express concerns on matters of
insecurity. In recent years, Nigeria has experienced an unprecedented and
heightened level of insecurity challenges. These challenges, ranging from
insurgency, assassinations, abductions, kidnappings to armed robberies have
been matters of grave concern to Nigerians. Not only has the country suffered
immense setback, but these have also left citizens traumatised, leaving in their
trail countless deaths, maimed citizens, rapes, loss of properties, displaced
communities and residents, and attacks on schools, students, police, military
facilities and personnel. Consequently, the Nigerian citizenry have taken to
different social media platforms to express their concerns. Through the lens of
Content Analysis, the current study examined WhatsApp communications to
identify common lexes and themes, the social reality created by those themes/
categories as well as the projected underlying attitude of Nigerians regarding
insecurity in the country. While the outcome of the research indicates that
the choice of language resources in expressing concerns on insecurity is
premised, first, on the subject matter and then, on the psychological state of
the discussants, lexes that denote trauma, insecurity and violence are more
predominant than other lexical categories identified in the study.