This article is about the manifestations of similarities between two seemingly distinct groups of Nigerians: cybercriminals and politicians. Which linguistic strategies do Twitter users use to express their opinions on cybercriminals and politicians? The study undertakes a qualitative analysis of ‘engaged’ tweets of an elite law enforcement agency in West Africa. We analyzed and coded over 100,000 ‘engaged’ tweets based on a component of mechanisms of moral disengagement (i.e., advantageous comparison), a linguistic device. The results reveal how respondents defend the (...) actions of online fraudsters (“the deviant group”) by strategically comparing them to the wrongful acts of corrupt politicians (“the respectable group”). Similarly, the results show how respondents positioned this linguistic strategy to compare “the powerless group” (online fraudsters) and “the powerful group” (politicians) in society. Indeed, tweet responses suggest that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) generally looks downwards for culprits (i.e., online fraudsters) while ignoring fraudulent politicians. We conclude that the process by which some actions are interpreted as a crime compared to others is a moral enterprise. (shrink)

Religion and development are two ambiguous phenomena, yet we can map their creative interaction and intricate interconnectedness. In public discourse, ideas about development generally undermine the complex role of religion, or it is assumed that religion would be relegated to a matter of private belief in Africa, as secular states burgeoned, or even saw religion as an obstacle to development. Development was largely conceived of primarily in economic terms or as economic development. In contemporary era, the concept of human development (...) has come into vogue, accentuating aspects of people’s lives that go beyond the economic dimension. There is no gainsaying in the fact that religion has been a dynamic entity and remains a growing force in public life in Africa. This article critiques vague definitions of religion and development and contends that human development should be understood as including the religious and spiritual dimension of life. Drawing upon concrete examples from my religious ethnography, the article seeks to explore the ambivalent role of religion in Africa’s development, and Africa’s development within the purview of the everyday lived religious and spiritual dimensions of life. (shrink)