Substance Abuse And Youth Restiveness In The Niger Delta Region South-South, Nigeria
Nlemchukwu Emmanuel
KENNETH ADINDE PhD
PROFESSOR ELEAGU GREENE IFEANYICHUKWU
ANUKA ANTHONY O
CHIKE G. ONYEACHO ESQ
Keywords: Drugs, Niger Delta, Restiveness, Violence, Youths
Abstract
The spate at which youths consume hard drugs in Niger Delta Region, South-South Nigeria has assumed an alarming proportion. Such antisocial behaviour seems to have culminated into violence; particularly youth restiveness in the from government region, extending to criminal behaviours like kidnapping, armed robbery, gang-raping, militancy, electoral violence among other social vices. Youths’ restiveness has become opium with which the Niger Delta Youths make agitation and secure their demands. Scholars have linked youths’ restiveness to insecurity and religious intolerance. However, none or few of these studies have investigated hard drug consumption as a causative factor to youth restiveness in the region. This is the gap that this study was poised to address. The study was cross sectional. The sample size was 180 youths purposively selected across three states in Niger Delta region. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire. Frequency and percentage were used for analysis. The chi-square test of relationship was adopted for the study. The study found that youth restiveness is not caused by consumption of hard drugs rather the deprivation meted on the youths., The study recommended among others that government should design and develop programmes and policies aimed alleviating youths’ poverty in Niger Delta region.