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LAGOS, NIGERIA
2014
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ADA PETER (NEE OBANUA) Ph.D.
Dr. Ada Peter has almost a decade of teaching experience and working as a researcher on
communication and conflicts in Africa. As a discourse analysis expert and a lead researcher of
investigations on the effects of communication on social change in developing nations, she is
currently a guest researcher at one Europe’s leading institute on Africa Studies (Nordic Africa
Institute) in Sweden investigating with Stuart Hall’s lens, the reproduction of conflicts in Africa
and the press. That is, how exactly the international press are involved in the continuity of the
system of conflicts and insecurity in Africa.
The principal settings of her study are a variety of regions in Africa (Central Africa: DRC &
CAR; North Africa: Egypt, Libya, Sudan and South Sudan; Horn of Africa: Ethiopia & Somalia;
The Great Lakes: Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda; West Africa: Liberia, Burkina Faso, Mali,
Nigeria, Sierra Leone) that have experienced or are experiencing varying degrees of violencecriminal violence, election-related violence, armed conflict, short term crisis-in different political
contexts-restrictive and collaborative contexts. Her areas of interest include mass culture, media
semiotics and conflict studies.
Building upon anecdotal, but substantive evidence, she hopes to assess which detailed textual
structures and strategies are brought to bear by journalists in the discursive reproduction of the
framework that authenticates regional conflicts and terrorist activities. Her discourse analytical
approach pays attention to the major levels of news discourse structure, such as topics, overall
schematic forms, local meanings, style and rhetoric, as well as their relations with cognitive
processes of production and understanding, and their socio-cultural and political contexts.
She has received several regional and international grants on these projects. Recently, Dr. Peter
was invited to participate in the June 2014 Brown International Advanced Research Institutes
(BIARI) at Brown University institute with a focus on Human Security and Humanitarian
Response: Increasing Effectiveness and Accountability in the Age of complex Emergencies.
Most recently, she was awarded the 2015 African Guest Researcher Scholarship at the Nordic
African Institute, Uppsala, Sweden based on her ongoing research on Conflicts in Africa and
Competing Narratives: Implications for UN-AU Coordination in Peace Operations in Africa
(2000-2010).
She has contributed to strengthening research capacity for governance and security in SubSaharan Africa, in a United Nations University of Peace book project on governance and security
in Sub-Saharan Africa.
She has completed a wide range of World Bank Institute courses on Violence, Conflict and
Fragility. She also completed the Good Governance after Conflict: Guiding Principles course
offered by the United States Institute for Peace, an Academy for International Conflict
Management and Peacebuilding.
Educated in one of Nigeria’s prestigious Universities, Dr. Peter hopes to be instrumental in
defining how and where the press can contribute to reproducing ‘a peaceful Africa’.
Dr. Peter holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from Covenant University. In addition, Dr.
Peter has a proven record of designing and analysing research related to media production and
consumption. Her doctoral Thesis on Media Literacy was conducted using experimental
technique, which is sometimes problematic in the social sciences. However, she skilfully dealt
with all concerns associated with experimental research in social sciences and came out with a
successful thesis and the first of its kind in the Department. Her experience in designing,
implementing, and analysing qualitative data earned her a scholarship from the CODESRIA
Child And Youth Institute in 2013.
In addition, Dr. Peter has received awards and honors for contributing to educational
development by helping administrators, teachers and students understand how to be prepared for
risks in various communities highly prone to communal conflicts and “natural” disasters in the
North Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Her unequivocal commitment to educational
development is strongly motivated by evidence from literature (Johnny Mad dog) that education
is a veritable mechanism for curbing recurrent violence and economically empowering displaced
persons to rebuild their societies. Her commitment to humanitarian work epitomize a truth
intrinsic to the African saying Ubuntu: “My humanity is bound up in yours.”
AWARDS, HONORS AND GRANTS

2015 African Guest Researchers Scholarship Award for research on Conflicts in Africa
and Competing Narratives: Implications for UN-AU Coordination in Peace Operations in
Africa (2000-2010). Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. Nordic African Institute, Uppsala Sweden.

2014 Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. A Brown
International Advanced Research Institute grant for collaborative research on Human
Security and Humanitarian Response: Increasing Effectiveness and Accountability in the
Age of Complex Emergencies, Providence, Rhode Island USA

2014 United Nations University of Peace and International Development Research Centre
(IDRC) book project contributor on governance and security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Addis
Abba, Ethiopia.

2013 South-South Institute on “Democratic renewal versus neoliberalism: towards
empowerment and inclusion” jointly organized by Latin America council of social
sciences (CLACSO), the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in
Africa (CODESRIA), and the International Development Economic Associates (IDEAs),
Santiago, Chile.

CODESRIA 2013 Child and Youth Institute grant for research on Social Protection and
Citizenship Rights of Vulnerable Children in Africa. Dakar, Senegal

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA)
grant for Workshop on Writing for Scholarly Publishing, 2011, Uganda

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA)
grant for Social Research in Africa, 2009. Ibadan, Nigeria

Nigerian National Youth Service Recognition and Honor, August 2007, for exceptional
contribution to education after donating school tables and chairs for 400 pupils in OkeOyi 1 and 2 Primary school. Nigeria

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Kwara State, Nigeria, July 2007 award
for contribution to educational development in poor communities in Kwara State
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCE PAPERS
Presentations at Seminars, Workshops and Conferences:
Peter, A.S., Olafisoye, D. & Sobowale, I. (2015). Doughty Bombings: Competing Media
Narratives of Boko Haram Insurgencies in Northeast Nigeria. Archbishop Desmond Tutu Centre
for War and Peace Studies Annual Conference, Liverpool Hope University, United Kingdom
Peter, A.S. & Sobowale, I. (2015). The Future of Political and Economic Conflicts in Africa: Is
the Continent ready? 25th International Business and Management Association Conference
(IBIMA). Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Peter, A. S. (2015). Media Literacy and Black Adolescents. International Communication
Association (ICA) 65th Annual Conference. Puerto Rico
Peter, A.S (2014). Conflicts in Africa and the Press: Implications for UN-AU Coordination In
Peace Operations In Africa (1990-2013). International Symposium on Governance and Security
in Africa, Addis Ababa
Peter, A.S (2013). Who has propelled democracy? Neoliberalism pitfalls and the press:
implications for alternatives (1990 - 2012)? South-South Institute on “Democratic renewal
versus neoliberalism: towards empowerment and inclusion, Santiago de Chile.
Obanua, A.S. (2013). Women, Peace and Security: Reviewing SC Resolution 1325. National
Model United Nation conference A, New York
Obanua, A.S. (2013). Resource Scarcity and its Relation to Conflict. National Model United
Nation conference A, New York.
Obanua, A.S. (2013). Achieving Peace and Stability in Somalia. National Model United Nation
conference A, New York
Obanua, A.S. (2013). Out of the mouths of babes: Poverty from the perspectives of African
children living in conflict regions. CODESRIA Child and Youth Institute Dakar, Senegal
Obanua, A. S. (2009). The Role of Ora-Media Literacy In Salvaging Indigenous Culture From
The Stifling Lasso Of Globalization. Being a paper presented at the China Association For
Intercultural Communication & Association For Chinese Communication Studies International
Conference organized by Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China.
Obanua, A. S. (2008). Effectiveness of Trado Media Inside the Global Village. SACOMM
Conference. University of Pretoria, South Africa
Publications
Ekeayanwu, N.T & Peter, A.S. (2014). Children, Youths and Mediated Violence: A Reflective
Evaluation of Some Selected Theoretical Models. Accepted by ACCE publications
Peter, A. S., Sobowale, I. A. & Ekeanyanwu, N. T. (2013). Theory of Planned Behaviour:
Measuring Adolescents Media Literacy and Alcohol Drinking Expectancies. Covenant Journal of
Communication, 1(2), 118-129.
Peter, A. S. & Ekeanyanwu, N. T. (2013). Book Review: The Elements of Journalism. Covenant
Journal of Communication, 1(2), 196-201.
Obanua, A. S., Ekeanyanwu, N. T., & Okorie, N. (2011). Information Literacy, ICT and Today’s
Work Place: A 21st Century Synergy? Indian Journal of Media Studies, 5(1), 1-9.
Okorie, N., Ekeanyanwu, N. T., & Obanua, A. S. (2010). The Influence of Facebook Usage on
Self Disclosure and Romantic Relationship among Young Nigerians. Indian Journal of Media
Studies, 4(1), 31-43.
Obanua, A. S. (2008). Communication and Harmony: Tradomedia and its Effects on Social
Change in Developing Nations. China Media Research Vol 4 /4.
Obanua, A. S. & Ekeanyanwu, N.T. (2012). Media Literacy: Controlling the Media Effect
Process. Omu, F. I. A. & Oboh, G. E. (Eds.) Mass Media in Nigerian Democracy. Benin:
University of Benin Printing Press City [ISBN: 978-032-169-1]
Ekeanyanwu, N.T, Kalyango, Y. & Obanua, A. S. (2012).Global News Flow Debate in the Era
of Social Media Networks: Is the U.S. Media Still the World’s News Leader? European Scientific
Journal. 8(3)
Obanua, A. S.(2010). Depiction of Substance Use in Big Brother Africa International Journal
of Social Sciences and Humanities Review Vol.1 No. 3,
Obanua, A. S. & Ekeanyanwu, N.T. (2010). The Theory of Triadic Influence, Media Literacy,
Adolescents and Alcohol Advertising in Lagos State International Journal of Social Sciences
and Humanities Review, Vol. 1. Number 3, Pp34-39,
Obanua, A. S. (2009). Exposure to Television Advertisement and Products Preference among
Primary School pupils in Ota. Journal of Communication and Media Research Vol. 1 No. 1.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION AND PEER RECOGNITION
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Assistant Editor, Covenant Journal of Communication
Expert Reviewer, African Council for Communication Education
Member, International Communication Association (ICA) USA
EDUCATION & TRAINING
World Bank Institute on Violence, Conflict and Fragility, 2014.
United States Institute for Peace on Good Governance after Conflict: Guiding Principles, 2014
Ph.D., Mass Communication, Covenant University, 2013
M.Sc., Mass Communication, Covenant University, 2008
B.Sc., Mass Communication, Covenant University, 2006
BOOK CHAPTERS

Obanua, A. S. & Ekeanyanwu, N.T. (2012). Media Literacy: Controlling the Media Effect
Process. Omu, F. I. A. & Oboh, G. E. (Eds.) Mass Media In Nigerian Democracy. Benin:
University of Benin Printing Press City [ISBN: 978-032-169-1]

Obanua, A.S. & Adeyemi. A. (2011). Nigerian Television Advert Exposure and Children
Product Preference. Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller e.K.

Ekeanyanwu, N.T. & Obanua, A. S. (2012). Data Analysis in Communication Research.
In E. S Apkobo (ed.), Book of Readings In Print Journalism. Benin: University of Benin
publishing House
REFEREES
Professor Onuora Nwuneli ([email protected])
Dr Oluremi Abimbola ([email protected])