Intermediality of images: A semiotic analysis of the ‘Occupy Nigeria Protest’ images on social media

The protests that took place in Nigeria due to removal of fuel subsidy by the Jonathan administration in January 2012, tagged ‘Occupy Nigeria Protest’, have been labelled the social media revolution by the conventional media commentators in the country. For the first time in the history of the country, ethnic, regional and religious differences were set aside to confront the State in an arena without any State control: the Internet and its social communities, unrestricted, uncontrolled, uninhibited; the images, imageries and imaginations of the protestors deconstructed State authority and control − often in the face of brutal State attempts at offline suppression − and spread messages of solidarity and ‘anti-State’ forces. Using semiotic analysis and grounded within the theories of intermedialities, the findings suggest that the images on social media had played a significant role in mobilizing the protesters to come out and keep them on the street for the period of the protest.