SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS INFLUENCING YOUTH VIOLENCE IN BABOKO COMMUNITY IN ILORIN, KWARA STATE.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
Culture is being differently approached by different scholars at different times. Thus, through their scholastic efforts, it has come to the understanding that culture varied from one community to another and that it is dynamic. It is also what man lends himself to that becomes part and parcel of him. His influences on physical and social environments and vice versa make up his culture. Thus, as man is known to be dynamic in nature, so all his activities changing nature of culture in communities. Without prejudice to the technical definitions of scholars of cultural studies, culture could simply be seen as the totality of man in his physical and social environments and vice versa. One of the most prominent activities of man after subsistence is politics and it has the capacity to make or mar a society as history has proven of ancient great nations (Albert, 1994)
Abdullahi (2003) defined youth as any person in the period between early childhood and old age. This permits further differentiation of youth stratum on the basis of seniority. For example, youth of 18-23 years, 24-29 years and 30-35 years. Anifowose, (2002) cited in Abdullahi (2003:2) provides socio-economic variation and typologies of youths: ‘male/female, educated/uneducated, employed/unemployed, rich/poor parental background, stable/unstable family environment, abled/disabled’ etc. The Nigerian Youth Policy of 1983, revised 1989 and 2007 defined youth as comprising all Nigerians between the ages of 12 and 30 years. Youth as a concept varies from culture to culture and from society to society.
Youth violence has reached unprecedented proportions in contemporary Nigeria. The country has recorded very bizarre experiences in the domain of violence committed by young people. These acts of violence embrace murder, religious uprisings, party clashes, cult clashes, shooting, stabbing, kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery, including armed bank robbery, theft, burglary, rape, rioting especially against government policies, vandalism, ethnic militancy and so on. It should be noted that these types of violence are also characteristics of what Tamuno, (1994:71) identified as urban violence.
Ethnic militancy has been particularly associated with the violent activities of youth in the past years. Complementing this view, Akinboye (2001:176) notes that youths constitute the bulk of ethnic militias in the society. For instance, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) is believed to be a youth militant arm of NADECO/Afenifere, a pan Yourba national political association, meant to oppose the military junta and press for the realization of the yoruba mandate (Anifowose, 2002:1). The Bakassi Boys are made up of youths who live under self-denial of many things like women, certain foods and certain interaction etc Daily Monitor, January 5, 2000:2), while Egbesu Boys of Africa as it is otherwise called, represents the militant wing of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC). Egbesu boys and other Ijaw youth groups have engaged in series of hostage-taking of oil workers, oil bunkering and cult clashes in the Niger Delta region (Vanguard, April 25, 2003:2).
Various factors were attributed to the state of youth violence and instability in the country. The major ones among others, include the emergence of ethnic militias as liberators, representatives, protectors and pursuers of the interests and identities of regions and groups they represent, cultist groups, elegalism,; the high spate of thriving and unchecked armed robbery and other related crimes which claimed many lives and undermined the performance of the Nigeria Police and finally, the inter and intra party conflicts that swept across the nation like harmattan fire. (Mohamud, 2005)
In another perspective, Akinwumi, (2000) observes that, the existence of militia groups as a response to the growing dissatisfaction to governance in Nigeria, the existence of a large army of unemployed youths and miscreants to which government failed to pay attention, the increasing militarization of the society, ‘the release’ of large and sophisticated arms from Sierra Leone and Liberian adventures and above all, the rise of a new corps of political elites comprising young and rich (possibly from shady deals and drug traffic persons) without adequate political education, having no ‘home base’ and therefore depending on the large group of miscreants for political mobilization.
All these violent acts have obvious consequences on human development. It is based on the above premise that this research work seeks to examine socio-cultural factors influencing youth violence in Baboko community in Ilorin, Kwara state.
