A SOCIOCOGNITIVE STUDY OF THE MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF 2022

Flooding has been a recurring natural disaster in Nigeria, with the 2022 flood being one of the most devastating in the nation’s history. This study investigated the linguistic and discursive strategies employed in media representations of the 2022 Nigerian flood discourse, focusing on their role in shaping public perception, framing narratives, and revealing underlying ideologies. Utilising a qualitative research approach, 90 purposively selected media reports, out of which 50 excerpts were extracted and analysed, with a specific focus on those covering Delta, Edo, Kogi, Ebonyi, Anambra, Benue, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Abuja—the most severely affected regions. The study adopted Teun van Dijk’s socio-cognitive theory as its framework, emphasising the interplay between language, cognition, and societal structures. The study revealed that the media employed linguistic tools such as actor description, argumentation, and evaluation to construct narratives that project dominant ideologies, shape social identities, and highlight power dynamics. The media assigned blame, constructed authority, evoked empathy and amplified the urgency of the flood crisis through language use. These strategies influenced public perception, reinforced systemic inequalities, urged collective responsibility, and advocated proactive governance. By analysing the linguistic elements and socio-cognitive dimensions of the flood discourse, this study contributed to the field of critical discourse analysis by demonstrating how language was used to frame societal crises and influence public discourse. It underscored the importance of language as a tool for critiquing, shaping, and mobilising responses to disasters in a way that aligned with Nigeria's complex sociopolitical landscape.