• Marginalization: The notion that young people turn to restlessness due to their perception of marginalization by ‘selfish’ elders in the scheme of things in communities seems to have gained ground. In order to get their share of the accrued benefits for society, they resort to taking on their elders head on, culminating in rampant unrest in most of our communities today.
• Unemployment: Unemployment is a hydra-headed monster that exists among young people in all developing countries. The unemployment rate in Nigeria was last reported at 23.9 percent in 2011. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has pegged the figure for Nigerians unemployed in the first half of the year at 23.9 percent, up from 21.1 percent in 2010 and 19.7 percent in 2009.
Agriculture Minister Dr. Akinwumi Adesina noted that Nigeria’s unemployment rate is spiraling, growing at a rate of 11 percent per year. According to him, “the youth unemployment rate is over 50 percent.” Our unemployment rate is spiraling upwards, fueled by the wave of four Million young people entering the labor force each year with only a small fraction being able to find formal employment.
The rising tide of unemployment and fear of a bleak future among young people in African countries have made them vulnerable to manipulations by agent provocateurs.” These include aggrieved politicians, religious demagogues and greedy multinationals who employ these young people to achieve their selfish goals It is clearly evident that the absence of job opportunities in developing countries is responsible for youth restlessness with disastrous consequences.
This leaves in its wake; low productivity, intra-ethnic hostilities, unemployment, poverty, prostitution and environmental degradation.
• Exuberance: Very often young people are described as full of youthful exuberance. This raw energy has lately been channeled into unhealthy and socially unacceptable enterprises that threaten the very fabric of the community. Also the issue of the availability and accessibility of drugs on street corners that predisposes young people to abnormal behavior when under its influence adds to the concern of young people.
Some disgruntled leaders, elders, and politicians in our society are also believed to resort to recruiting youth to settle scores or use them against perceived enemies. With this trend, the activities of these young people have degenerated into pure crime. Once these youth are mobilized for these nefarious activities, they become uncontrollable and society suffers.
• Poverty
Poverty connotes inequality and social injustice and this traumatizes the poor. More than 70 per cent of people in Nigeria are in abject poverty, living below the poverty line, with a third surviving on less than US$1 a day. This number includes an army of young people in the urban centers of Nigeria who are struggling to make a living selling chewing sticks, bottled water, scarves, belts, etc. The sales per day and the profit margin of such goods are so small that they can hardly live above the poverty line. Disillusioned, frustrated and despondent, they look for an opportunity to express their anger against the state. Scholars have long concurred that there is a link between poverty, loss of livelihoods, inequality, and youth restlessness, as evidenced by the many violent protests against power savages in Nigeria.
• Inadequate educational opportunities and resources
Quality education has a direct relationship with prestige, greatness and national cohesion. The knowledge and skills that young people acquire help determine their degree of patriotism and contribution to integration and national progress. Between 2000 and 2004, about 30 percent of Nigerian youth between the ages of 10 and 24 were not enrolled in secondary school (Population Reference Bureau, 2006). Perhaps the prohibitive cost of acquiring an education is to blame.
The aftermath of this situation is that thousands of young people roam the streets of the cities of Nigeria. Those who manage to complete secondary school do not have opportunities for tertiary education. Denied the opportunity to reach their potential, they are disoriented and easily available for antisocial actions.
Worse yet, some of those who struggle to enroll in various educational institutions drop out due to a lack of basic learning facilities. This situation is attributable to declining government resources at the federal and state levels as a result of an economic collapse.
• Lack of Basic Infrastructure
Most of the rural communities and urban slums in Nigeria do not have access to drinking water, health facilities, electricity, communication facilities, industries and commercial facilities, etc. Behind the social unrest and youth concern in the country is the agitation for the equitable distribution of resources.
• Inadequate flow of communication and information
Communication creates space to share information. It helps people express their thoughts and feelings, clarify problems, and consider alternative ways of coping or adapting to their situation. Such exchange promotes social cohesion.
People must have access to communication facilities, to communicate with the people who make the decisions that affect them. Unfortunately, people in Nigeria rarely participate in decision-making processes on issues that affect their lives.
