CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background to the Study
Alimosho is considered the biggest and the most populous
local government area in Nigeria. In fact, it is the biggest divisions in the
state, hence a recent appeal by some residents of the area for more and rapid
scurity beef up. The fact that it is fast developing also makes it a sought
after area for those who are willing to start up lives in the area. Because of
its populated conideration the youths in the area find themselves in all sort
of unruly behaviours which is definetly causing social and economic restiveness
in the state.
Restiveness is now the
order of the day among youths and has become one of the global phenomenon and
those in Nigeria has been increasing rapidly day by day. Since last decade and
more there has been a proliferation of unrivalled violence, the cases of
kidnapping, abduction and wanton destruction of valuable infrastructures as
well as lives and personal properties. These are mostly the activities of youth
that are obviously antisocial coupled with enforced desire of outcome from the
constituted authority. Igbo and Ikpa (2013) lamented that this negative
development is unfortunate and has become one of the security challenges facing
the Nigerian society. These are as a result of poverty, unemployment and lack
of access to education among others that are responsible for this high level of
insecurity brought about by youth restiveness in the form of becoming area boys
and girls, cyber crime, joining scret societies and thereby killing of innocent
people. The phenomenon of insecurity has become one of the major concerns of
the citizen in Nigeria and particularly Alimosho area of Lagos State, Borno,
Niger, Plateau, Kaduna, Kano and Yobe states respectively.
Several factors can be traced to be the root causes
ofyouth restiveness. Chukwuemeka (2008) explained that here was an increase in
composite unemployment in Nigeria from 3.8% in 2006 to 4.2% in the first half
of 2011. He further asserted that structural unemployment results in talents
not being used where they are available, hence idle mind is definitely the devil’s
workshop. Similarly, Coleman (1996) observed that the more widespread and
intense deprivation is among members of a population, the greater is the
magnitude of violence in one form or the other. In the foregoing therefore, one
can argue that the unequal socio-economic development of the various ethnic
groups in Nigeria led to inter ethnic and intra-ethnic conflicts. For instance,
Chukwuemeka, Anazodo and Nzewi (2011) found that dissatisfaction of the people
of South-South especially the youths on the level of attention given to
development of their region and the damages to their ecology by oil spillage
are the major causes of the alarming rate of youth restiveness.
Today the residents of Alimosho
area have been living in a state of total panic and unrest as a result of youth
restiveness ranging from repraisal attacks by cult members, kidnapping,
killing, armed robbery. Instead what we are confronted with is total
lawlessness or anarchy. In Lagos too the youth wing of the Odu''a
People''s Congress has been credited with several killings at various locations
in the city at various times. We are all familiar with the violent exploits of
the "Area Boys" who command the streets of our major cities,
harassing, extorting and terrorizing members of the public. Thus it appears
that through all the years of debauchery, when the military held reign, an
incalculable damage has been done to the psyche of the Nigerian youth. They no
longer seem to be able to distinguish between good and bad, between virtue and
vice, and between right and wrong. They seem to have lost faith in the adult
society, in the leadership and even in their parents and teachers.
How can you demonstrate to our young people that human life is not
cheap, expendable and disposable when (in the absence of a truly functional
film censorship body) even the youngest and the most vulnerable among them are
exposed to the most outrageous celebration of violence on TV by way of
home videos? How can they accept the rule of law and respect the rights and freedoms
of their neighbours, when everyday they watch innocent people humiliated,
tortured and eliminated, while the culprits who are often well connected, go
scot-free? How can our young people be made to value human life and respect the
rights and dignity of persons when their leaders and elders have demonstrated
to them that wealth and power are the ultimate values, when these leaders and
elders would stop at nothing in the pursuit of these values, when they would
blackmail, kidnap, torture or even eliminate anyone who may be on their way to
the acquisition of maximum wealth and power. How can they accept that secret
cults are bad when they observe that access to wealth and position is often
guaranteed and safe passage through the corridors of power is often secured
through one''s enlistment in one of such adult cults as the Ogboni Confraternity
or the Rosicrucian? These are the questions that need immediate answers.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Youth all over the world are an important
segment of the society in which they live. Youths who are determined to
succeed, disciplined, focused, and law-abiding can create a bright future for a
nation. On the other hand, lawless, indulgent, and violent youths are a great
threat to national peace and security. Unfortunately, recent
media reports and personal observations indicates cases of armed conflicts,
killings, cult clashes, ritual killings, wanton destruction of lives and
properties kidnappings, lootings, pipeline destructions among others in most
Nigerian States. The issue of insecurity in the country is uppermost concern to
the Nigerian government and religious leaders. Several times, we have seen
cases of Federal and State legislators being killed in cold blood in the
country. Churches have been bombed in the Northern parts of the country. Mosques
have also suffered similar fate in states like Borno and Kano and therefore
making it impossible for one to categorise restiveness as religious. One
wonders who the perpetrators of these evil acts are. Security reports show that
most of those involved in these acts.
Similarly, Unemployment is a hydra-headed monster
which exists among the youth in all developing countries. The last time the unemployment
rate in Nigeria was adequately documented and reported was at 23.9 percent in
2011. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has put the figure of unemployed
Nigerians in the first half of the year at 23.9 per cent, up from 21.1 per cent
in 2010 and 19.7 per cent in 2009. The National Population Commission (NPC) has
said the country’s population has risen from the 140,431,790 it was five years
ago when the last national headcount was taken, to 167,912,561 as at October
2011. This represents an annual population growth rate of 5.6 million people. The problem that is facing the nation is how
youth restiveness can be curbed in Nigeria. It is on this basis that this study
seeks to examine strategies for curbing societal unrest by using youth
restiveness in Alimosho area of Lagos State, Nigeria as a case study.
1.3 Research
Questions
This
research will be carried out to answer the following research questions:
i)
What are the reasons for youth
restiveness in the Alimosho area of Lagos State, Nigeria?
ii)
What are the effects of youth
restiveness on national security in Nigeria?
iii)
What are the strategies adopted by the
government in curbing youth restiveness in Alimosho area of Lagos State and
Nigeria as a whole?
1.4 Objectives
of the Study
The main objective of this study is to examine
strategies for curbing societal unrest by using youth restiveness in Alimosho
area of Lagos State, Nigeria as a case study. However, the specific
objectives of the study are:
i)
To understand the reasons for youth
restiveness in the Alimosho area of Lagos State, Nigeria
ii)
To study the effects of youth
restiveness on national security in Nigeria
iii)
To determine the strategies adopted by
the government in curbing youth restiveness in Alimosho area of Lagos State and
Nigeria as a whole
1.5 Research
Hypothesis
The research hypotheses to be tested include:
i)
There is a significant
relationship between youth restiveness and unemployment
ii)
There is no significant correlation
betwee national security and economic growth in the country
iii)
There a significant correlation
between youth restiveness and education
1.6 Significance
of the Study
This study examines
strategies for curbing societal unrest by using youth restiveness in Alimosho
area of Lagos State, Nigeria as a case study. Findings from this study will be
beneficial to the Youths, Government and all concerned Nigerians to know and
understand the functions of government to its citizens in the area of
maintenance of law and order and the protection of life and property against
external and even internal attacks. It will enlighten the government to
understand the demands and importance of the youths in the country and thereby
enabling them to engage the youths through a scheme called Youth Empowerment Programme.
This will make them to more engage and have something doing and make better use
of their lives as they say ‘an idle hand
is the devil’s workshop.’
It will also serve as a foundation upon which
further research can be made. It will therefore contribute to body of knowledge
in the area of national security.
1.6 Scope
of the Study
This study investigates strategies
for curbing societal unrest by using youth restiveness in Alimosho area of
Lagos State, Nigeria as a case study. For the purpose of reliability and
validity, therefore the respondents to be covered will be residents of Ikotun,
Idimu, Isheri, Egbeda, Iyana Ipaja, Abesan Ipaja, Aboru Ipaja, Abule Egba and
Alagbado.
1.7 Limitation
of the study
The study will be faced with a lot of
challenges and one is the problem of finance. There is nothing
like research grant to aid self-sponsored study. Consequently, there is not
going to be enough funds to print questionnaires and to also transport the researcher
to meet the desired respondents. Another one is time; the researcher is
currently busy with the demand of his academics. A lot of assignments are
available for the researcher to do and coupled with his desire to read and
learn at the same time. These are the major challenges of this study.
1.8 Definitions of Terms
The following terms were used in the course of
this study:
Government:
This refers to an institution vested with the supreme power to make and enforce
law within a state.
State:
An organized political community having supreme authority over the people in a
given territory.
National
security: is a concept that a
government, along with its parliaments, should protect the state and its
citizens against all kind of "national"
crises through a variety of power projections, such as political power,
diplomacy, economic power, military might, and so on.
Youth
restiveness: a sustained protestation embarked upon to enforce desired
outcome from a constituted authority by an organized body of youths.” It is
marked by violence and disruption of lawful activities.