Episode 85 – The Mahmuda group and the landscape of jihadist violence in Nigeria
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Dr. Michael Nwankpa discusses about the Mahmuda group and the landscape of jihadist violence in Nigeria with James Barnett.
James Barnett is a researcher with expertise in African conflict, armed groups, and military history, particularly in Nigeria and the Horn of Africa. In addition to being a fellow at the Centre, he is a non-resident fellow at Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD West Africa) in Abuja, Nigeria. He is also a PhD candidate in political science at Oxford University.
James has lived in Nigeria for several years. He has extensive research experience, including working across all regions of Nigeria and reporting on conflict in Somalia, South Sudan, and Ukraine. He has worked as a consultant with organisations such as the World Bank and United States Institute of Peace; led research and authored studies funded by the European Union and Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO); and served as an international election observer in Nigeria during the 2023 presidential elections. He has also provided consultancy services to humanitarian organisations and the private sector.
James was a 2020-21 Fulbright fellow at the University of Lagos and a 2016-17 Boren Scholar at the University of Dar Es Salaam. His writing has appeared in popular magazines, edited volumes, and academic journals, and he has been quoted widely in international media and appeared on television programs such as BBC News. He holds a BA with highest honors in history and Plan II from the University of Texas and an MA in war studies from King’s College London.
About the Podcast
The Conflict & Development in Africa podcast brings experts from Africa and the world as guests to discuss critical conflict and development issues that affect Africa. Our guests include practitioners, academics, journalists, researchers, policy makers and advocates that are renowned and are nationally and internationally recognized for their work, expertise and contribution to conflict and development issues in Africa. Our audience includes policy makers, governments, researchers, students, businesses and anyone that is interested in conflict and development issues in Africa.
About the Host
Dr Michael Nwankpa has an extensive experience spanning over a decade studying, researching, writing and consulting on conflict and development issues in Africa.
Michael Nwankpa has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Roehampton, London, UK. He has held several research fellowships including as a Rice University Fellow and a terrorism research Fellow (past) at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Response to Terrorism (START), University of Maryland. He is currently a fellow at the Royal United Service Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI) and a research fellow at the Geneva-based Centre on Armed Groups. Dr. Nwankpa has extensive experience studying counterterrorism and counterinsurgency strategies, advising relevant government development departments and security agencies, and consulting for multilateral organizations. Michael is the author of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, 1999-2021: A Militarized Democracy (Routledge 2022) and co-author of the seminal work on Boko Haram, The Boko Haram Reader: From Nigerian Preachers to the Islamic State (Oxford University Press/Hurst 2018). He has written several articles and is currently working on three book projects.