"Regrets for leaving the 'zoo'?": Regret construction strategies in the online discourses of Nigerian migrants

Authors

Dr Oluwafemi Bolanle Jolaoso Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria
Dr. Ezekiel Opeyemi Olajimbiti Federal University Lokoja, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34050/elsjish.v4i4.18819

Keywords:

Nigerian Migrants, Regrets Construction, Discourse Strategies, Online Discourses, Positive and Negative Regrets

Abstract

Regret, a cognitive phenomenon capable of revealing a person's disposition about certain realities, is conceived as a tool to unpack Nigerian migrants' perceptions about the country. This paper examines discourse strategies of regrets' construction in the online discourses of Nigerian migrants. The data consist of eighty-eight responses of Nigerian migrants downloaded from the NAIRALAND where many Nigerians in the diaspora expressed their regrets about leaving the country. These were subjected to qualitative-descriptive analysis, using van Dijk's (2007) model of discourse strategies. The findings uncover two forms of regrets constructed in the discourse: positive and negative. The positive regrets' construction characterizes "not leaving early" regrets; positive self-appraisal and negative representation of the country. Frustration experience in the foreign countries and juxtaposition of specific circumstances in Nigeria to contemporary experiences elsewhere frame negative regrets' construction. These were constructed through discourse strategies such as presupposition, implication, lexicalization, hyperbole, illustration, metaphor and disclaimer. These Nigerians' use of language in this discourse indexes hopelessness, visionless leaders, lawlessness and economic hardship. The study concludes that while the views of Nigerian migrants may not be true, perhaps, the government may urgently look into these views and act to convince other Nigerians to prevent the exodus of prospective Nigerian migrants which could lead to brain drain.

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Author Biographies

Dr Oluwafemi Bolanle Jolaoso, Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria

Dr. Oluwafemi Bolanle Jolaoso is a lecturer in the Department of English and Literary Studies, Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. He is a Member of African Association for Japanese Studies and a Fellow of the Institute of Policy Management Development. He has published a number of peer-reviewed articles in his area of scholarship in reputable local and international journals. His areas of research are Pragmatics, Stylistics, Discourse Analysis, Semantics and Comparative Literature with interest in New Media Discourse, Political Discourse and Migration Discourse.

Dr. Ezekiel Opeyemi Olajimbiti, Federal University Lokoja, Nigeria

Dr Ezekiel Olajimbiti teaches in the Department of English and Literary Studies, Federal University Lokoja, Nigeria. His research areas are pragmatics, discourse analysis, semantics and sociolinguistics with a special interest in children’s discourse, political discourse, popular culture and internet pragmatics.

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Published

2021-12-28

How to Cite

Jolaoso, O., & Olajimbiti, E. (2021). "Regrets for leaving the ’zoo’?": Regret construction strategies in the online discourses of Nigerian migrants . ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 4(4), 515-526. https://doi.org/10.34050/elsjish.v4i4.18819