Yahooism to ritualism: Ideological motivations for cyber fraud in selected Yoruba films

Abstract

The rapid growth of the internet and increased accessibility to technology have led to a surge in cybercrime, otherwise known as Yahoo Yahoo in the Nigerian context. With its large population and many internet users, Nigeria has become a hub for cybercriminals. This study investigates the ideological motivations and justifications for cyber fraud in Nigeria, particularly focusing on the representation of cybercrime and perpetrators in Yoruba films. From the standpoint of van Dijk’s sociocognitive approach to ideology and the Yoruba ọmọlúàbí ideological phenomenon, this study explores how perpetrators foreground ideological justifications for engaging in Yahoo Yahoo. It essentially tracks the transitioning of the activities of cybercriminals from Yahoo Yahooism to ritualism, as depicted in Yoruba films. Ideologically, Yahoo Yahoo, complemented with ritualism, is discursively constructed in the selected films as the non-political solution to the socio-economic pressures Nigerians face and a weapon to fight back against the colonial exploitation of Africa by the West.