Jibril Lawal

Dr. Jibril Lawal is the Provost of the College of Continuing Education at Kaduna State University (KASU), Nigeria, and a Senior Lecturer in Arts and Social Sciences Education. He holds a PhD and an MA in English, with research interests in Nigerian and African literature, literary criticism, language education, artificial intelligence, digital humanities, and educational administration. He has extensive experience in teaching, research, institutional governance, and higher education management, having previously served as Academic Secretary, Deputy Registrar, and Registrar of the Federal College of Education, Zaria. His publications address literary studies, language education, and the integration of artificial intelligence and digital technologies into teaching and learning. He is a Fellow of several professional bodies and was recognised with the 2022 Stardom Global Award as Best Registrar of Higher Institutions in Nigeria.

My research examines the dynamic interplay between digital technology, cultural negotiation, and identity construction among contemporary Hausa youth in Northern Nigeria and the broader West African region. As one of the largest ethnolinguistic groups in Africa, the Hausa population is undergoing a profound social transformation driven by rapid smartphone adoption and engagement with global digital platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, and YouTube. My work situated at the intersection of media studies, digital humanities, and African cultural studies explores how Hausa youth leverage these digital spaces to redefine agency, artistic expression, socio-religious norms, and political participation. 

Centrally, my research investigates how young Hausa content creators and digital consumers navigate the delicate tension between traditional Islamic and cultural values (Hausa/Musulunci) and the hyper-visible, fast-paced demands of globalized digital culture. From the digital ecosystem surrounding the Kannywood film industry to viral TikTok trends, digital meme culture, and social-commerce micro-enterprises, youth are creating hybrid online spaces. These platforms serve as vital arenas for self-fashioning, economic survival, and civic discourse, particularly amidst regional socio-economic pressures. By employing digital ethnography, multimodal discourse analysis, and qualitative interviews, my scholarly work captures the nuance of how digital vernaculars, such as Hausa-English code-switching and visual symbolism—are shaping contemporary northern Nigerian youth identities. 

Collaborating with the Kansas African Studies Center (KASC) presents an invaluable opportunity to elevate this research. KASC’s distinguished commitment to interdisciplinary African studies and language humanities directly aligns with my goal of archiving and analysing West African digital landscapes. Access to the digital holdings and e-journals of the University of Kansas Libraries will be instrumental in grounding my empirical field observations within broader global frameworks of digital media theory, youth sociology, and African cultural production. 

Furthermore, I aim to connect with KU-based scholars specializing in African media, linguistic anthropology, and West African history Rahina Muazu, Assistant Professor of Islam, Department of African ana African-American Studies, the University Lawrence, Kansas, to foster intellectual exchange and potential research collaborations. The Virtual Affiliate Program will provide an ideal platform to refine my current monograph project, tentatively titled Byte-Sized Identity: Youth, Islam, and the Hausa Digital Commons. 

Participating in the KASC virtual symposium and sharing my findings with the broader KU academic community will allow me to bring contemporary northern Nigerian digital realities into global conversations on African youth cultures. Ultimately, this affiliation will strengthen cross-continental academic linkages, advance digital humanities research in West Africa, and highlight how African youth actively curate their futures through digital media.