The Evolution of Political Cartooning in Nigerian Print Media: A Visual History

Political cartooning in Nigeria has a rich and consequential history as one of the few visual art forms with a mass public audience, using visual satire and commentary to critique political power and shape public discourse across successive regimes from the colonial era to the present. This study examines the evolution of political cartooning in Nigerian print media from the independence era to 2024, analysing stylistic development, thematic concerns, and the political conditions shaping what cartoonists have been able to publish. A documentary research methodology is employed, combining systematic analysis of political cartoons from selected newspaper archives including the Punch, Daily Times, The Guardian Nigeria, and Vanguard with oral history interviews conducted with 12 active and retired editorial cartoonists. The study traces how political cartooning styles have evolved from early pen-and-ink traditions through the high-satire era of the 1980s military period to the digitally produced works of the social media age. The theoretical framework draws on visual rhetoric, political communication theory, and the history of editorial illustration as a journalistic practice. The study examines the specific risks and constraints that Nigerian political cartoonists have faced under different political regimes, and how the digital media environment has altered the production, distribution, and audience reception of political cartooning. Recent literature on African press cartoons has identified this tradition as a significantly underresearched area of visual culture history. Findings contribute to Nigerian press history, political communication studies, and the history of illustration. Keywords: political cartooning, Nigerian print media, visual satire, press history, editorial illustration