Coaxing and coercion in roadblock encounters on Nigerian highways

Abstract

In Nigeria, the government is trying hard to establish a liberated and developed democratic state through the elimination of corruption and injustice. Nigeria's citizens are aware of this and try to see the realization of this aim despite the hardships that prompt such injustices in the first place. However, remnants of these illicit deeds are still perpetrated, not only in action, but also in talk. This study focuses on one instance of illegitimate practice, exchanges between drivers plying the highways of north-eastern Nigeria and the security personnel manning highway checkpoints. A critical discourse analysis of these encounters, recorded via unobtrusive observation, reveals that illegitimate dealings are perpetrated in seemingly innocent conversational exchanges, wherein illegal acts are discursively shielded. In addition, security personnel exhibit their power in the language they use and by that means underhandedly extort money from drivers. The study reveals the underlying relationship between coercion and social control as manifested in discursive power representation.