The successful handing over of power from the military oligarchy to a neophyte political class and the consequent returned of the nation to civil rule on May 29, 1999 has shifted attention to how to nurture the fledging democracy to maturity such that it can no longer be truncated either by internal or external forces. The stability of the nation has become the concern of all both the government and the governed. Pro democracy groups, human rights groups, civil societies and others have been greatly involved in the democratic consolidation in Nigeria. In spite of the above not much seems to have been achieved in the area of national security. The issue of national security has become a subject of debate and a serious concern to all and sundry. This is due to the various security challenges facing the country. This paper, therefore looked at unemployment as one of the major challenges to national security. The use of content analysis of secondary sources from published books, journals, official documents, newspapers and magazines was employed in this work. Maslow Human Hierarchy of Needs theory was also used to illuminate the study. It was gathered that, of numerous factors responsible for the uncontrollable rate of insecurity in the nation, unemployment is noted to be at forefront since many youths who are capable and willing to work are affected by this menace. The paper finally recommended that for the problem of insecurity to be abated, the economy of the nation should be diversified as the total dependence on crude oil receipt has done havoc to the productive sectors of Nigerian economy. The government should set up a contingency fund for agricultural and industrial development, as urgent preliminary initiative. Furthermore, the paper recommended the need for collaborative arrangement between the public and private sectors and that the educational sector should be developed through adequate funding to a stage where job seekers and graduates can stand on their own without looking for white collar jobs that are not available. Keywords: Security, Unemployment, Social Vices, Insecurity, Nigeria, Economy, Democracy Journal Reference Format: Ibitoye, M.O., Owolabi, D. & Akinlade, M.T. (2023): Youth Unemployment and National Security in Nigeria: An Exploratory Study. Humanities, Management, Arts, Education & the Social Sciences Journal. Vol. 11. No. 2, Pp 45-58. www.isteams.net/humanitiesjournal. dx.doi.org/10.22624/AIMS/HUMANITIES/V11N2P5
Among the major threats halting the wheel of developments in northern Nigeria is the rising spate of insecurity and conflicts that have now assumed various formidable dimensions in all ramifications. The waves of violence and armed conflicts have continued to take toll on the region over the last three decades, claimed over twenty-eight thousand (28,000) lives and got three million (3 million) people displaced. Despite the disheartening statistics, Peace Direct (PD), a charitable organization known for its non-violent and peace building initiatives, and having supported the civil societies in conflict zones for over a decade across the globe, has now come out optimistic that a non-violent and peaceful northern Nigeria is possible. The study examines the various instances and factors giving birth to insecurity and violence in northern Nigeria; and also the activities of Peace Direct Charity Commission (PDCC) towards ensuring truce brokerage missions, non-violent campaigns and peaceful resolutions of conflicts in the region. The study adopts a democratic peace theory to explain the need for war’s absence in peaceful settings as the paper relies on both primary and secondary sources of data with significant reliability index. The study, however, reveals the various factors aiding insecurity and violence in the region to be; a disconnect between the people and government, abject poverty, increased rate of unemployment, weak and poorly funded military establishments, interagency rivalry, low-level of intelligence gathering on the part of security agencies in Nigeria, among others. Therefore, making the region to be non-violent and peaceful; the Nigerian security agencies, social system, public institutions truce brokerage missions, and peace building efforts or initiatives must be adequately strengthened.
In the West African sub-region, the trend of trafficking in persons is widespread; and the phenomenon now attaining its peak unhindered, has actually portrayed Nigeria as a nation occupying a central position as an originating state, transit and destination for victims of trafficking. There is also evidence of internal trafficking from rural zones to cities. The menace of human trafficking in Nigerian state has taken an indescribable facet in the last two decades owing to the factors of; massive unemployment, poverty, recession in the economy, conflicts, globalization, existing weak legal system, and inadequate legislation, and political will. Trafficking in person is an organized crime and a modern form of slavery. The two methods used by traffickers to get their victims are deception and through force. Human trafficking has continued to strive in Nigeria because of shameful connivance among the Nigeria’s security agencies, Embassies, airline officials and human traffickers. The study adopts Marcus Felson and Lawrence Cohen’s Routine Activity and the Kevin Bales’ Modern Slavery theories (1979; 1999). 500 copies of questionnaire were administered to a set of purposively selected respondents with the In-Depth Interview Guide to elicit information on the subject. The study in its findings reveals that human trafficking has continued to strive in Nigeria because of connivance from the security, immigration, embassy, airline officials and traffickers while the menace has put Nigeria’s identity black in the global system. The study therefore recommended that the Nigerian government should swiftly endeavour to address the issue of massive unemployment and poverty in the state as well as create enabling environments for entrepreneurship for the citizenry; also the national laws, international conventions and protocols that have legal potencies to curb trafficking must be implemented or strengthened; and finally, fighting human trafficking in Nigeria requires more efforts to create public awareness of the crime, organize counseling, rehabilitation and re-integration program for the victims.
This paper painstakingly addresses the phenomenon of rising waves of prison or jailbreak in Nigeria. And as generally observed according to the dictates of Nigerian law, jail or prison break remains an illegal or unlawful act under which a prisoner forces his or her way out of the prison in a state. This phenomenon of jailbreaks has in one way or the other impacted negatively on the society and posed dangerous threats to national peace and security. The paper in its objectives endeavours to: highlight the series of jailbreaks that have taken place in Nigeria and the various techniques employed by the escapees; interrogate the causal factors of jailbreaks in the country; and also examine the roles of prison intelligence and dynamic security in curtailing the menace. The study makes use of the regulatory capture theory to explain the bane of the phenomena while descriptive and content-analysis techniques are adopted. With the aid of primary and secondary data, the paper is able to reveal that; corruption, ineffective Correctional Service Arms Squad and Intelligence Unit, lack of prison intelligence and dynamic security, among others have weakened the Nigerian Correctional facilities’ security and led to incessant jailbreaks in Nigeria. The paper, however, recommended; putting in place a very sensitive nature of prison information and intelligence; establishing a prison intelligence management board; adopting a multi-agency approach security strategy; and training of prison-based intelligence officers for intelligence gathering and information sharing as strategies of curtailing the rising spate of jailbreaks in Nigeria.
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