How Editorial Cartoons in Nigerian Newspapers Critique Leadership and the Socio-Economic Implications of the 2023 Fuel Subsidy Removal

The removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria in 2023 marked a major socio-economic and political turning point that generated widespread hardship and intense public debate. Editorial cartoons, as a form of visual political discourse, played a critical role in interrogating this policy shift by translating complex economic decisions into accessible visual narratives. This study examines how editorial cartoons published in selected Nigerian newspapers critique political leadership and foreground the socio-economic consequences of the 2023 fuel subsidy removal. Anchored in a socio-semiotic framework, the study analyses the deployment of iconic, symbolic, and indexical signs in the construction of meaning and public dissent. Adopting a descriptive research design, the study combines qualitative interpretation with quantitative categorization to analyze ten editorial cartoons drawn from four major Nigerian newspapers published between June and December 2023. Findings reveal that cartoonists extensively employ visual metaphors, satire, irony, and exaggeration to expose governance failures, economic precocity and leadership–citizen disconnect. While iconic signs depict recognizable political actors and everyday realities, symbolic and indexical signs establish causal relationships between policy decisions and lived hardship. The study concludes that editorial cartoons function as powerful tools of political engagement, shaping public perception and sustaining democratic critique during periods of economic crisis.