Curbing Youth Criminality through Creative Employment: Ushafa Pottery Centre Abuja in Focus

Abstract

Pottery production, like many other forms of indigenous technology, has responded to the domestic and commercial aspirations of the Ushafa people and has affected their personal and corporate economy for centuries now. This study attempts a criminological exploration of the nexus between craftsmanship, economic empowerment and reduction in crime rate. Surveyed samples were drawn from Ushafa community and Ushafa pottery Centre Abuja. The study was aimed at assessing the contribution of the pottery center to the Ushafa rural economy in terms of employment potentials and reduction in crime rate. Results confirmed that the pottery center has indeed impacted positively on the lives of those engaged in it. It was also noted from the result that as more youth are engaged in the pottery craftsmanship, crime rate correspondingly drops. It is thus recommended that the pottery center be upgraded to serve a wider range of beneficiaries. The Government, the security institutions and policy makers are also called upon to retool in order to strategically check youth criminality via productive engagements. Finally, it is hoped that should the center deploy the uniqueness of product and aesthetic upgrading suggested in this study, the income potentials of potters would be enhanced.