Temitope Ogungbemi

Biography

Temitope Ogungbemi is a critical discourse analyst whose studies engage social theories in interpreting dimension of identity, power, class and contest in post-colonial Africa. His research highlights that patterns and politics of language in discursive contexts are representative of the complexities inherent in post-colonial Africa. Temitope was awarded a doctorate of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 2018. He was also a 2016-17 fellow of NextGen Social Science in Africa, Social Science Research Council, Brooklyn, N.Y., and 2018-19 Fulbright Scholar at Penn Language Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. He is currently a lecturer at McPherson University, Nigeria.

Abstract

The Populist West: Critical subjectivity and the politics of counter-terrorism in Nigeria

The upsurge of aggression and terrorism in post-colonial Africa continues to stimulate suspicion in the superordinate status of the colonialists and the imperialist politics of foreign interventions. In Nigeria, counter-terrorism measures to combat Boko Haram Islamist terrorist groups face daunting challenges imposed on the state by conditions in West-based interventions and politics of counter-terrorism. This development exposes the overarching subjectivity of the former colony under the imperial forces of the West in policy development and territorial control. Combining insights from Latin American populism and critical discourse analysis, foreign interventions in Nigerian counter-terrorism policies are qualitatively analyzed to establish how Boko Haram terrorism in the Northeast is discursively operationalized by the West to legitimize imperialism. Data for the study comprise a set of memoranda of understanding on security and counter-terrorism between Nigeria and foreign nations. The analysis unravels West imperialist politics and the strategic positioning of foreign interventions in the formation and formalization of new empire in Nigeria.