Abstract

The paper examines pictorial body narratives of opinion leaders in the 2015 Nigerian elections. It describes their body interactions during the Abuja Accord and renewal of the peace pact workshops and the meanings derived. The study examined the symbolic body acts of political, religious, social and diplomatic agents to determine their disposition towards non-violence elections. Adopting the qualitative research design, observation and narrative analysis were used to gather data on the phenomenon. Findings reveal the predilections of opinion leaders for the 2015 elections. Pictures disseminated messages geared towards integration and peace. Their body interaction and facial expressions tended towards cooperation, collaboration, concord, partnership, unity, brotherhood and comradeship. These constructs symbolise peace. The none-speech and verbal narratives suggest an integrating political system and paradigm shift from the politics of individualism to collectivism and nationhood. Despite the display of patriotism, there exists gender disparities in leadership, politics and peace structures in Nigeria as there was no female representative in all the pictures. The paper submits that deployment of appropriate verbal and nonverbal narratives would deflate election violence and promote peace development. Visual imagery is a social reality that has implications on violence-free elections. 

Key Words: Pictorial Body Narratives, Symbolic Interaction, Opinion Leaders, Election Violence, Political Development 

JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 13, No. 1, April 2021, pp. 84 – 96

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

About the author

*      Koblowe Obono, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Department of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

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Article Citation

Obono, K. (2021). Integrating for development: Pictorial body narratives of opinion leaders in the 2015 Nigerian presidential elections. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 13 (1): 84 – 96.