Semiotics Analysis of #Endsars Protests

Abstract

The #EndSARS movement of October 2020 constituted a watershed moment in Nigeria's socio-political landscape, propelled by mass mobilization and a sophisticated semiotic architecture of protest discourse. This study interrogates the linguistic and visual signification systems deployed during the movement through the theoretical frameworks of Saussurean and Peircean semiotics, augmented by Barthesian myth theory. The analysis examines how slogans, symbols, imagery, and digital modalities articulated resistance, constructed collective identity, and contested hegemonic state narratives. Findings reveal that protest discourse functioned simultaneously at symbolic, indexical, and mythic registers, transmuting vernacular expressions such as "Soro Soke," "End SARS Now," and "We Are Tired" into instruments of ideological insurgency. Visual signifiers including the clenched fist and the blood-stained national flag reinforced solidarity by reconfiguring national iconography through frameworks of collective trauma and aspirational futurity. These semiotic productions achieved extensive circulation via social media platforms, facilitating transnational visibility and amplifying justice claims. The study concludes that semiotic praxis proved fundamental to the movement's efficacy, enabling Nigerian youth constituencies to reconceptualise citizenship, resist institutional violence, and articulate counter-hegemonic narratives of national identity through strategic meaning-making practices.