Unemployment And Crime Nexus: A Critical Analysis Of Nigeria’S Situation
Gabriel Favour Eke, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Western Delta University, Oghara, Delta State, Nigeria
Mack Ebohon Oriakhi, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Western Delta University, Oghara, Delta State, Nigeria
Keywords: Corruption, Lack of accountability
Abstract
The paper discussed the level of crime rate in Nigeria as a result of unemployment. It gave a statistic figure to show that 60% of the Nigerian youth and workable adults are idle due to unemployment, while the institutions of higher learning in Nigeria continue to turnout graduates year in and out without Jobs waiting for them. The paper observed that the higher aspect of this phenomenon is that the governments of the Nigerian states both present and past have not done anything serious to combat this dangerous situation. The paper attempted to show the reasons why unemployment results to crime in that Job Loss and unemployment lowered self-esteem, sense of purpose, heightened apathy, idleness isolation and breakdown of social personality and loss of positive derivatives. The paper was of the opinion that nothing so frustrating like when a youth after spending quite a long time in the university only to find themselves jobless. This often leads to crime since they must eat and settle their bills and when this is not forth coming crime is the only answer. The paper concluded that since joblessness is a very provocative term that opens doors for crime. It thus recommended that Government of Nigeria both federal and the state should look inward to discover a way to integrate these Jobless youth parading themselves everywhere to reduce the rate of crime; secondly the Nigerian Universities system should be over hauled in order to be made more practical in the choice of courses and finally, the electoral system should be amended so that the peoples mandate are not denied of them, it is when the peoples mandate are denied them that the angry jobless youth take to crime