Conspiracy Theories and their Impacts on Peace and Security: A Case of Nnamdi Kanu

Abstract

In as much as language is a free gift of nature and it is made specifically or mere importantly for communication, language users should endeavour to utilize its communicative functions wisely and not to deceive the populace or to put them into confusion or state of doubt. In the most recent time, it has been observed that language users no longer give or utilize the informative functions of language. At any societal events, a lot of fallacies go with it. These theories tend to deceive rather than inform. They tend to confuse rather than explain. These have made humans to lose count of useful information. This attitude has negatively influenced the society and therefore requires urgent intervention. Here lies the importance of this research which investigated the various conspiracy theories underlying Nnamdi Kanu and also analysed their security and peace impacts. Six coversations were selected from the conspiracies surrounding Nnamdi Kanu from the internet. They were analysed using the ideational theory of semantics and J.L. Austin’s theory of “How to do things with words”. After the analysis, it was discovered that most of these conspiracies were formed based on people’s belief, to deceive people, and to create confusion, which can lead to anarchy in the society. Some recommendations, which include setting policies that will monitor what is posted on the social media, were made. Conclusions were also drawn.