Discourses of Shekau’s Illusivenes and Boko Haram Leadership as a Semiosis

Abstract

The Boko Haram sect has constituted a serious menace not only to the Nigerian society, but to the entire West African sub-region. The leadership of the organization ranging from the late Mohammed Yusuf to the “late” Abubakar Shekau has proved to be highly illusive to the Nigerian security network. While it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that the founder of the Boko Haram sect, Mohammed Yusuf had been captured and killed by the Nigerian security agencies, the second in command who later took over the mantle of leadership from Yusuf has been presented by the media as an immortal being. Even though there is available evidence to prove that Shekau was arrested in the past and killed, the media both foreign and local have continuously presented Shekau as still living. In this paper, the study demonstrates through semiotic construct the available evidence that point to the demise of Abubakar Shekau. The persistent use of the name “Shekau” has become a metaphor for illusiveness and immortality. Through the process of semiosis the paper juxtaposes the living-dead bodies of Shekau and questions the continuous use of the name to prove the immortality of the character of the Boko Haram leadership. Data for the analysis were elicited from print media reports on the activities of the Boko Haram sect. The analysis reveals that the name Shekau remains a source of strength to the members of the sect. It also points to the fact that there seems to be information which the media is hiding from the masses with the continuous use of the name “Shekau” in their reportage. The study opines that if the war against the Boko Haram sect must be won, then there is the need for effective collaboration between media practitioners, security agencies and the populace.