Myth-Making and Urban Legends in Nigeria's Political Space: Implications for Public Morality

Myths and legends, generally viewed as esoteric subjects and engagements have always been considered unconscious phenomena driven by societal needs and cultural narratives. This view, however, overlooks the agency and intentionality of groups and individuals in shaping these stories. This paper argues that myth/legend making can be conscious acts driven by strategic communication and deliberate choices. This is against the background of a society that has almost repudiated its cultural heritages in favour of western models and embraced western technology as panacea to all societal problems. Using inferences from the social media and other readily available sources, the research will examine how these myths and legends help in shaping public morality. It will also interrogate how myths and legends are made as well as their influences on role-modelling. The work contends that adopting the wrong myths and legends as models for emulation have contributed significantly in giving us a wrong sense of public morality and positive values. Content analysis was used in interrogating the selected stories