Kingsley Jima
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Personal Information
Kingsley Jima holds a BA in Politics and International Relations from the American University of Nigeria, and an MA in Global Studies from the Universities of Leipzig and Vienna as part of a Joint Master Degree. His doctoral research revolves around television reporting on banditry in Northwest Nigeria. Titled “Politics of the Unknown Gunmen”, the project analyzes why journalists use the term “unknown gunmen” to refer to perpetrators of violence when affected communities insist that they know the people and groups in question. The study of affected communities has brought Jima face to face with an underlying, un- and anti-official discourse that highlights the communal identity of the perpetrators and identifies them as Fulani—an interpretation that is gaining prominence across the Sahel and causes increasing intercommunal polarization. Jima has previously worked as a UN intern and as a research assistant for several peer-reviewed journal articles with Prof. Bill Hansen at the American University of Nigeria.
Politics of the Unknown Gunmen: Television Reporting on Banditry in North-west Nigeria
This study aims at unravelling the ‘mystery’ behind the media usage of the phrase ‘unknown gunmen.’ My research fundamentally seeks to address the question of why the vague phrase ‘unknown gunmen’ is predominantly used by Nigeria’s major television houses. There is hardly any prior research on the factual or journalistic (re)presentation by television houses in Nigeria, regarding their use of the nomenclature ‘unknown gunmen’ in addressing the multiple violent attacks in the North-west. My research focuses on the theories of framing and the ideal of objectivity in journalism in relation to the political conspiracy theories that concern the persistent use of the phrase “unknown gunmen” as a generic term used by television houses to describe violent activities in Northwest Nigeria. This study would shed light on the complex interrelationship between the phenomenon of banditry, media narratives and popular suspicions or conspiracy theories. The idea is to triangulate different kinds of perspectives and information to highlight the ways in which different groups and social categories deal with the complexities of banditry in North-west Nigeria.
Professional Background
| Since 2022 | Doctoral Candidate (Political Science) at the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS), University of Bayreuth |
| Since 2021 | Research Associate on the project “Politics of the Unknown. Conspiracism and Conflict” at the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence, University of Bayreuth |
| Since 2021 | Member, Erasmus Mundus Students and Alumni Association |
| 2019 - 2021 | M.A Global Studies: A European Perspective, Universities of Leipzig (Germany) & Vienna (Austria) |
| 2020 -2021 | Intern – United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Vienna |
| 2018 – 2019 | Broadcast Journalist: Viewer Communications Limited, Abuja, Nigeria |
| 2012 | Presidential Scholarship Holder, American University of Nigeria |
| 2012 – 2016 | B.A Politics and International Relations, American University of Nigeria |
| 2016 | Graduate Intern: The Atiku Center, American University of Nigeria- Worked in collaboration with Human Rights Watch, USAID, UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations that work for the wellbeing of vulnerable groups in Adamawa State, Nigeria. |
Research/ Publications/Mentions
1. “Boko Haram: Religious Radicalism and Insurrection in Northern Nigeria” (2016). In: Journal of Asian and African Studies (JAAS) 52 (4).
2. “Poverty and ‘Economic Deprivation Theory’: Street Children, Qur’anic Schools/almajirai and the Dispossessed as a Source of Recruitment for Boko Haram and other Religious, Political and Criminal Groups in Northern Nigeria”. In: Perspectives on Terrorism 10 (5).
3. Master thesis: “Northern Nigeria’s Protracted Social Deprivation and Violent Extremism: Investigating the Connections of the Almajiri Phenomenon to the Recruitment/ Membership of Dissident Groups in the Post-Colonial States of Kano, Maiduguri and Yola in Northern Nigeria”.
Contact
University of Bayreuth
Cluster of Excellence “Africa Multiple: Reconfiguring African Studies”
Hugo-Rüdel-Str. 10, Room 307/308
95445 Bayreuth
Email: Kingsley.Jima@uni-bayreuth.de or kingsley.jima@aun.edu.ng
Phone: +49 1573 1990814 (Calls)
WhatsApp: +234 803 682 7078