Problematising migration: news discourses in Nigerian newspaper

Abstract

This paper examines how migration is problematised in Nigerian newspapers by identifying and discussing discursive issues and linguistic devices deployed in news discourses, drawing its data from five Nigerian newspapers. Employing theoretical insights from critical discourse analysis, Nigerian news discourses problematise migration through four discursive issues of poverty, unemployment, security and immigration. The discursive issues provide the basis for Western-driven migration and uncover migrants’ experiences in their countries of destination. The paper reveals that Nigerian newspapers give prominence to negative news reportage of migration to discourage potential migrants from irregular migration while resisting the anti-immigration policies of powerful countries.