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Poverty And Youth Restiveness In Nigeria An Evaluation Of The Boko Haram Crisis
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The
youths can also acquire knowledge and are so full of future promises
and positive expectations. It is often believed that once these innate
potentials in them are fully exploited and properly channeled, only then
can their contributions to national development be immense. The youths
can also be referred to as the most committed group in the organization
of voluntary social work or community development (CD) projects in their
various localities. They often engage in these acts of nation
building during their service years in the (NYSC) that is “national youth service corps that is “National youth service corpsâ€.
As
student, they are always in the fore front as regards the struggle
against injustice oppression, subjection, subjugation and exploitation.
They therefore constitute a militant force in any political system. Many
of these activities have been recognized and acknowledged in Nigeria.
Unfortunately, however, their positive contributions have tended to be
drowned by rather frequent and sometimes violent protest actions. These
incessant protest actions are promptly suppressed by authorities and
sometimes by ruthless means.
So far, it has deduced that the youths
still remain one of the greatest asserts that any community can posses.
Potentially, they are the greatest investments for a society‟s
sustainable development and future. This among others is the reason why
it is universally acknowledged that positive fundamental and meaningful
changes ineered, ofostered and or shaped by the generation of youths in
the society.
Therefore we can now say that any culture or community,
whether macro community or a micro community i.e. big or small
community, that allows a good percentage of her youth to be misdirected
or misled, risk her future viability and survival into jeopardy. The
activities of the youth is now perceived as a social problem or menace.
This is because they have been alleged defilement of traditional “core
values†and have rather stooped or resorted to carrying out public or
societal vices.
In Nigeria today, economic problems have provided a
platform for expression of violence and conflict be it political, ethics
or religious. Most significant of such conflict is the crisis in the
Niger Delta, which at the onset was economic but has become a
hydra-headed monster that threatens the political and economic security
of the nation-youth restiveness is a despicable act being perpetrated by
a significant proportion of the youth an various communities that can
no longer be ignored. As the name denotes, it is a combination of any
action or conduct that constitutes unwholesome socially unacceptable and
unworthwhile
activities engaged in by the youths in any community. It is a
phenomenon which in practice, has led to a near breakdown of law and
order, low productivity due to disruption of production activities,
increasing crime rate, intra-ethnic hostilities, and other criminal
tendencies. In the oil producing areas in Nigeria, the communities still
lack basic social infrastructures or infrastructural facilities
culminating largely into high levels of poverty, mass unemployment,
environmental degradation and other social vices.
The resultant
future of this today, is that we have a near dicey situation in our
hands as far as youths population now abounds and there is now a
national crisis on the youth front. When considering youths questions,
they are often grouped into categories. These include the following:
The
national dimension is reflected in formal bodies such as the OPC, Arewa
youth, Massob, Egbesu boys of Africa etc. These are publicly
acknowledged bearers of structured political and economic agendas of
geo-ethnic divisions.
There is also a rise in organized youth
delinquencies in Nigeria cities today popularly known as “area boysâ€
resident mostly in Lagos. They often operate under the umbrella of a
specific city turf.
There are a number of smaller youth association in the states, local governments and towns across the country today.
There
is emergence of cult gangs on computers which has facilitated the
assimilation and sub assumption of students in the inclusive category of
the youth.
There is an increase in the number of youth and flee the
country through illegitimate means in order to make a living in other
countries, facilitated by global network.
It is often perceived that
these restiveness in youth is usually caused by certain factors which
can be individual or societal. These include: marginalization – youths
often stoop to restiveness or rather tend to be restive when they
perceive marginalization by selfish government personnel.
Unemployment: they contribute a large army of the unemployed, therefore they tend to look at their plought
as the making of a cruel society that does not seem to care for them.
Exuberance:
They often channel their raw energy into wholesome and socially
unacceptable vices. Having said this, we can see that it is only a thin
that separates poverty from youth restiveness.
1.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The
relative deprivation frustration aggression theory will stand as the
theoretical framework of this study. Dollard (1939) submits that the
primary source of the human capacity for violence appears to be
frustration aggression mechanism. According to him, anger induced by
frustration as a motivating force that disposes main to aggression.
Frustration as an interference with goal directed behaviours.
According
to Gurr, he defined relative deprivation as “a perceived discrepancy
between relative deprivation and their value capabilitiesâ€. Value
expectations are the goods and conditions of life to which people
believe they are rightfully entitled. Value think they are capable of
attaining and maintaining given the social means available
to them. He also suggests some variables that affect the intensity of emotional respond to the perception of deprivation.
The
first proposition is that the greater the extent of discrepancy the man
sees between what they seek and what seems to be attainable, the
greater their anger and consequence disposition to aggression.
A
second proposition relates to “opportunitiesâ€. Men who feel they make
many ways to attain their pals are less likely to become angry when
one‟s blocked than those who have few alternatives.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]Over the years, Nigeria was experienced series of attacks, agitations, restiveness and blests ranging from diverse regions and localities. References are; hostage thing in the south-south region, the Niger Delta militancy crisis, the Boko Haram crisis in Northern Nigeria (which is the case study of this research work) etc. most restiveness of youths has often been done under the puise of a ring or body, this makes their operational activities fast and broader. All these group exist in the divers ... Continue reading---
