YOUTH RESTIVENESS IN THE NIGER DELTA: EDUCATION AS A SOLUTION

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1 Rivers State University of Science And Technology, Nigeria From the SelectedWorks of Eric Chukweru Amadi Dr 2007 YOUTH RESTIVENESS IN THE NIGER DELTA: EDUCATION AS A SOLUTION Eric Chukweru Amadi, Dr Available at:

2 Youth restiveness in Niger Delta Amadi-Eric " 1 YOUTH RESTIVENESS IN THE NIGER DELTA: EDUCATION AS A SOLUTION BY AMADI-ERIC, C. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS RIVERS STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA. joesac2000@vahoo.con1 ABSTRACT The main purpose of the study is towards creating the environment for functional education and conscientization of the youth to becoming relevant to their environment and society. The study also seeks to make the government and companies rise up to their responsibilities in other to curb youth restiveness in Niger Delta. The instrument used for investigation is the questionnaire/ while the population of the study is 200 persons. It is a descriptive design. From the major tindinqs it is discovered that youth restiveness is mainly because of the long neglect of the peoples welfare by the three tiers of government of Nigeria and the nonchalant attitude of oil multinationals. It is recommended that the venous tiers ofqovemment and oil companies should look into the plight of the people of the Niger Delta and bring positive changes like social reconstruction. rehabilitation and social amenities as well as the creation of job opportunities/ for if these things are put in place youth restiveness will certainly be a thing of the past. INTRODUCTION The Niger Delta region has been a flash point in Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria, with a population estimated at 140 million people of over 250 dialectical ethnic groups while speaking near 400 languages. The three major tribes are Hausa-Fulanis in the l\jorth, Yorubas in the West and the Ibos in the East. The Ijaw of the south are the fourth largest ethnic group and are a majority in the l\jiger Delta region with the Urhobos, Isokos, Ibibios, Itsekiris, Ogonis, Ikwerres and other minority groups. Oil was first discovered in commercial quantities in the Ijaw community, Oloibiri in 1956 in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. Niger Delta which is the major oil producing area of Nigeria has become synonymous with youth restiveness. This is because today, the inhabitants of these communities are left with nothing but damaged farmlands and polluted rivers with no electricity, potable drinking water and other basic social amenities. It is claimed that the advent of oil business in Nigeria has not brought any tangible benefit; instead it ushered in high degradation of the Niger Delta environment, with committal poverty and much strife to the Niger Delta. Stakeholders in this area have been having a tough time trying to stem the ugly trend, with a view to wringing lasting peace and development to this area, hence the study of youth restiveness in the Niger Delta: Education as a solution. African Journal of Professional Research on Humen Development (AJPRHD), Vol 1, Nos. 9, Nov. 2007

3 The essence is to identify the problems that give rise to youth restiveness with a view to proffering solutions that will bring it under' check and guarantee prosperity in the area. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following research questions are to quide the study: 1. To what extent does lack of adequate education cause youth restiveness? 2. To extent does unemployment among the youth cause youth restiveness? Research Question 1: To what extent does lack of adequate education cause youth restiveness? Table 1: Youth Restiveness is the Result of lack of adequate ~ ~~:~ ~_ge~rrsc;>n9!j!~y.q~-~~-~~- --TsA rai-u-1sd1d--ttota I»t« '---'"-'- ---.~, ,.. _-_..--.._ "-~------~._-.-._ ~._ ~ _~._-~ - I I Yo uth restiveness is the result of I la k of adequate education among Ii Ii th ~.Y2.u t b.? ~.. _ _ ~ I Pe rcentages (%) I! R stiveness among youths causes di -ersion of their attention from education ' Percentages (%) Iii Lono-term solution to the problem of youths restiveness can be achieved through functional education.,--._----~-~---,--- --l-- Pe rcentages (%) I II L. From the table above, it is obvious that majority of the respondents strongly agree that youth restiveness is the result of lack of adequate education. Adequate education which refers to functional literacy will train the minds of the youth to thinking reasonably and objectively, it will impact them with skills that will make them self employed as well as contribute to the developmental process and not other wise. With African Journal of Professional Research 011 Human Development (AJPRHD), Vol 1, Nos. 9, Nov. 2007

4 -~- _.-._~ ~~ -~,-.- Youth restiveness in Niger De/ta Amadi-Eric 3 adequate education youths will discover their strengths and weaknesses, including their innate abilities which when developed properly will make them functional members of the society. This type of education is a veritable tool that channels the strengths of the youth to 'positive and innovative thinking that will result in great inventions and achievement, and there is no way their attention will be diverted again to social vices. Research Question 2: To what extent does unemployment among the youths cause restiveness? Table 2 UnemploY'ment among the Y'outh causes restiveness. ----T _._ SIN Respondents I ----i SA r--u--~sd 0 Total Iv Unemployment among the youth causes restiveness _-...~~._--~'--- -'~' '---~ ~ ~ ~~~ _-,...- ~. ~----'-~ Percentages (0/0) , v Idle youth are prone to social v ices Vi Y ~ !-----, Percentages (0/0) Lack of means of livelihood causes youth restiveness Percentages (0/0) --f '--' " --,-----, Table 2: From the analysis of table 2 which describes the extent to which unemployment among the youths cause restiveness, most of the respondents are of the view that unemployment causes youth restiveness. This is a fact because an idle man is the devil's workshop. Besides, when a youth is in need and there is no means of achieving this need, the possibility is there for getting this need met by all means. Youths who are not gainfully employed are prone to social vices because they will just be loitering around without any sense of direction and become victims of crimes and instruments to be used as thugs and body guides during and after elections. There will be no room for youth restiveness if youths are gainfully employed by government and companies and engage their strength and time in some creative things that will enable them financially stable and able to meet their needs. SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS African Journel or Protesstonnl Research on Human Development (AJPRHD), Vol I, Nos, 9, Nov, 2007

5 This study has shown the views of people interviewed during the research. The-respondents are of the opinion that education is a solution to youth restiveness. In the sense that with functional education the youths will be gainfully employed by the oil companies and Federal Government, which will enhance a smooth relationship between the community and the oil companies and as such developmental projects will be completed and there will no longer be conflict that will cause the loss' of lives and properties. It is based on this fact presented that one can make bold to say that education is an instrument for social reconstruction and rehabilitation of the youths and individuals generally to becoming functional members of the society by contributing positively to the economic, social and political development. DISCUSSIONS From the major findings of this research work, we have seen the causes of youth restiveness and possible ways of curbing them. It discusses how education can be used to curb youth restiveness in the Niger Delta. EDUCATION AS A SOLUTION TO YOUTH RESTIVENESS The fact that Education is a tool for solution to the Youth Restiveness in the Niger Delta areas cannot be proven otherwise. As a process of socialization, it is the key to a better society. The various ways in which Education achieves solution to Youth Restiveness will be discussed here under. EDUCATION FOR PEACE Education as mentioned earlier is the key instrument for empowering people to achieve the vital goals of social transformation, improved wellbeing and productivitv for the development of Niger Delta. But education and it's attendant increase in productlvitv that result here from, are impossible in the absence of peace. People can hardly be educated in periods of strife, tension and war. The necessary conditions for human productivitv can hardly exist in situations of war and conflict. Whereas, real and enduring peace is impossible in the absence' of sustainable human development, peace is impossible in situations of deprivation, want, discrimination, poverty, etc. Here in lies a curious paradox; you cannot have sustainable human development and its benefits in environments where there is no peace, neither can you have peace in situations where there is no sustainable human development. The awareness of this fact will be created to people, through education, promoted through seminars, group discussions, radio and television programmes, film shows, dramas, songs and other resources of information. With this conscientisation (creating awareness) the masses will embrace social stability democracy and good governance that are also African Journalof Professional Research on Human Development (AJPRHD), Vall, Nos. 9, Nov, 2007

6 Youth restiveness If7 Niger De/ta Amedi-Eric 5 essential tools for peace. Where social stability is obtained through free and mass participation, it makes for effective planning and implementation of development progrmames. The indicators of social stability include: 1. Absence of social turmoil. 2. Security of life and property 3. Predictability of life styles and activities; 4. Minimization of civil dissent, strife and riots; 5. Minimization of strikes, lock outs etc. EDUCATION FOR DEMOCRACY In a way, a link also exists between social stability, democracy and good governance. The essence of democracy is the respect of the power of the people's right to participate in the running of the affairs of their social polity and to freely choose those who will lead them. Democracy is about political freedom and the ability to exercise that freedom in dignity and with responsibility. Democracy is thus participatory, empowering and liberating. It is about enabling people at different levels to be actively involved in decision making and making information available to them to make the decisions rationally. Good governance on the other hand is characterized by respect for the wishes of the governed, protection of their rights within the limits of the constitution, their freedom from arbitrary arrests, harassment, brutality the putting in place of sound macroeconomic policies that permit full actualization at the individual and social levels, transparency, and integrity. Accountability and responsibility in the use of public funds and other resources entrusted to the care of those chosen to govern or to lead. Democracy and good governance are therefore inseparable, the latter being one of its main manifestations. Equally good governance produces a happy and contended populace. People who see their leaders as being fair, decent, accountable, honest and responsible invariably respond with signs of greater commitment to the twin goals of nationhood and nationalism. They respond with greater additive effects on the incidence of social stability. It is also correct to claim that education produces good leaders and good followers: two key ingredients in good governance. Political participation is higher when the electorate is literate; political apathy, indifference and withdrawal are, as a rule, uncommon among the literate. In exploring the relationship between peace, social stability, democracy and good governance on the one hand and sustainable human development on the other hand, it is necessary to suggest that education offers the way forward since with education, it is possible to build peace, African Journal of Professional Research on Human Development (AJPRHD), Vol 1, Nos. 9, Nov. 2007

7 instill the democratic impulse and impart the essentials of good governance and thus pave the way for sustainable human development. EDUCATION FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION Equally with education, it is possible to empower people to be more productive to manage their environments properly and thus minimize those social conditions that lead to poverty, derivation, want, exclusion, unrest, civil strife, anomy and chaos. In other words educations can be used to achieve sustainable human development and thus peace. It is more cost effective to invest in education that gives rise to peace, social stability and democracy than it is to invest in mounting rehabilitation; exercises and humanitarian assistance for victims of war. Peace building is cheaper than social rehabilitation and civil reconstruction in a post crisis era. Wars usually involve damage to physical, social and moral capital of the affected societies, and it takes millions of dollars to repair such damages. Whereas it is possible 'to monetize the value of physical damage, social and moral damages are usually hard to calculate. Yet, their effects as well as those of the attendant psychic damage are the most enduring and debilitating. One needs only to examine the damages caused by the recent Bosnian, Rwandan, and Liberian crises to see how wasteful wars can be. The opportunily cost of conflict and wars is the lost opportunities for the setting in place of structure and strategies for sustainable human development. Investments in conflict divert limited resources to fuelllnq the burners of carnage and destruction whereas these resources could have been used to improve human welfare, build more roads, establish more primary health care centers, promote aqrlcutture and education. In short, conflict and sustainable human development are basically in oppositional relationship as conflict retard sustainable human development, and divert resources to wasteful and barbaric purposes. Whereas the returns to investments in social construction are usually positive, the returns to investment in wars are negative in their net effects. All is not lost for the human mind can build peace if it adopts a strategy for peace and tolerance. Such a strategy will focus on creating understanding on sharing, on genuine love, on caring, on trust, openness and a mastery of the destructive impulses of mankind. Such as a strategy would equally recognize the important role of equity, social justice, political participation, rejection of exclusion and marginalization as essential ingredients for peace. SCHOOL CURRICULA FOR PEACE AND HARMONY. More importantly, a strategy will stress conflict anticipation, management, and prevention and teach the emerging leadership in Africa, ways of reducing conflicts and wars, since this is the only sure path to social African Journal of Professional Research on Human Development (AJPRHD), Vol 1, Nos. g, Nov. 2007

8 Youth restiveness In Niger Delta Amadl-Erlc 7 transformation and sustainable human development which Africa so badly needs. Africans must equally invest in new efforts at devising curricula for the formal and non-formal school systems that teach people the essentials of peace, harmony and tolerance. School curricula should teach the twin values of competition and cooperation. Children should,be constantly reminded that human progress has been the result of these two virtues. Assignments and group work should thus be such as to enable children acquire these values. Teachers should also be encouraged to realize that too much stress on competition gives rise invariably to unhealthy rivalry, to tension and to intolerance, which in the long term are anti-peace. In teachinq certain subjects, particularly in the social sciences, the focus should be to lead pupils to understand the context of particular events and to develop empathy for actors "trapped" in particular socio historical contexts. The aim should be to enable learners to understand to remember and to forgive, but not to forget and certainly not to hate. School curricula; must also bring out forcefully, the relationships between development and peace. History curricula that have glorified war in the past must also be written to glorify men and women and who have worked for peace. Opportunities for children to develop positive values of cooperation, sharing and tolerance should and must also be provided in all school programmes. Education can and does lead to the enthronement of democratic principles and to the ethics of good governance. Such education as.in citizenship education, political education, awareness raising and consciousness raising and sensitization, represent ways of inculcating and sustaining the democratic impulse and ethics in both the governed and those who govern them. This crucial role of education in protecting and sustaining democracy is well captured ill the speech of the UNESCO Director-General, Federico Mayor to the second E 9 Ministerial Review Meeting in Islamabad (14-16 September 1997). When he observed; "If we invest in education. we will make democracy less vulnerable and provide citizens with more security. When citizens are educated. they are in a position to enhance and influence the democratic process': The 44th session of the International Conference on Education in Geneva in 1994 declared that the goal of education for peace. human rights and democracy is the development in every individual a sense of universal values and types of behaviours on which culture of peace is built. Such an education teaches skilled people to value freedom, the various skills to meet its challenges, personal responsibility, civic commitment, tolerance, skills in nonviolent resolution, and skills in making informed choices. African Journal of Professional Research on Human Development (AJPRHDj, vot t, Nos. 9; Nov. 2007

9 These goals are not utopian. They are realizable and once realized, the road to peace, good governance, social stability and sustainable human development would be thrown wide open.fully aware of the important role that education can therefore play in teaching peace and tolerance, in promoting social stabilily, democracy and good governance, conscious also of its powerful role as tool for protecting human rights and for alleviating poverty, the United Nations Development System (UNOS) has consistently supported programmes In education, good governances and in democracy in Nigeria. CONCLUSIONS From the study so far, we can deduce that youth restiveness is as a result of lack of functional education, unemployment among the youths, bad r-elationship between the community and the operating oil companies, lack of social amenities and incomplete developmental projects, the loss of lives and properties which will soon be a thing of the past as the government, oil companies, youths and politicians play their various roles to ensure lasting peace in Niger Delta as will be recommended. RECOMMENDATIONS From the findings and analysis of this research work, the researcher recommends the following: Firstly the Federal Government should relocate some ministries, colleges of education etc to the rural communities so that development will come to the rural dwellers. Because when this is done, social amenities like good roads, construction of bridge to link communities will be enjoyed by the rural dwellers. Also the three tiers of government should try as much as possible to absorb the youths in gainful employment and also provide skill acquisition centers for vocation in other for them to acquire skills and become self employed. Secondly, the oil companies should assists the federal government in providlnq some social reconstruction programmes for the youth, social amenities for the host community and ensure that 90% of Niger Delta youths are qainfully employed. Also the oil companies should encourage youths to' further their education by sponsoring them through scholarships. Thirdly, the youth should embrace functional education and shun restiveness for it does not pay. Can the youth show forth any tangible achievement gained through being restive? No, and so the youth should not depend on the government to do every thing for them but arise and become self-employed through the provisions of the vocational centers, involve in mechanize agriculture etc. The oil companies and the Government can never absorb all the graduates' and youths that are applicants. Youths should not allow themselves to be used by politician to cause social vices and die young while their children are abroad acquirlnq functional education to become functional members of the society while African Journal of Professional Research on Human Development (AJPRHD), Vol 1, Nos. 9, Nov. 2007

10 Youth restiveness in Niger De/ta Amadi-Eric 9 you become a nuisance to the society. Fourthly, our politicians are elected to serve the nation by positively changing the orientation and lives of our youths and not to use them as their thugs and body quldes. And so the politician should stop this shameful act and help in, rehabilitating our youths for the better. SUMMARY OF THE WORK Youth Restiveness, which is one of the identifiable social vices in Niger Delta region, has been a thing of concern over the years nation wide. The lingering situation of restiveness in these areas is mainly due to the long. neglect of the people's welfare by the federal government of l'jigeria and the nonchalant attitude of oil multinationals. This long neglect is manifested in the unequal distribution of scare resources, lack of employment-opportunities and provision of social amenities, lack of adequate education, incomplete developmental projects and unfulfilled promises of oil companies operating within the communities which leads to crisis that cause the loss of lives and properties. From the analysis and facts above, we noted that should the federal government and operating oil companies allocate the scare resources equally, provide social amenities etc we are sure of lasting and enduring peace in the Niger Delta and the nation at large. REFERENCE Akpobibio, N.O. (2003). The Lingering Crisis in the Niger Delta. Non-Government Organizations Field Work Report, April, Bright, A. (2004). Community Developments Project_Management. Owerri: Springfield Publishers Ltd. Comrade, 5.0. (2006). Curbing Youth Restiveness in the Niger s, Nether land: Rotterdam Publishers. Emmanuel, O. (2004). Deploying Oil Wealth To Reduce Poverty in the Niger Dleta Region of Nigeria: Lessons from the Chadian Model. USA: Arizon Publishers. Igwe, L.E. B. (2000). Fundamental Theories, Concepts, Principles & Practice of Educational Adm.nlstratlon, Port Harcourt: Harey Publications.: Umezulike, N.A. (2003). Rural Community Development: A Nigerian Perspective. Enugu: Cecta (l\jig) Ltd. ' Sebastian, J. (2007). Blood Oil on Niger Delta Creeks_Special Reports on the Guardian, Sunday, January 14, UNICEF, Education: The Key To Better Society. Partnership Educational Journal, January pg African Journal of Professional Research on Human Development (AJPRHD), Vol 1, Nos, 9, Nov. 2007