Youth Restiveness and Insecurity in Jalingo Metropolis

Abstract

The resurgence of youth violence within Jalingo metropolis is alarming and complicated. This paper examined the dynamics, nature and effects of youth violence on Jalingo metropolis and Taraba State at large. The sources of data collection used in this study are both primary and secondary. The method of data collection is qualitative through the synthesis of security agencies reports and government committee reports on youth restiveness. The theoretical framework adopted for the study is social identity theory which described the identity of a person or group as the sense of who they are based on their group membership(s) in society. This informs the classification of their identity into in-group and out-group categorization. The study found that there are three major types of youth groups in Jalingo metropolis; violent youth gangs, political thugs and criminal youth groups. However, the remote and immediate causes of the youth violence include; drug abuse, illiteracy, poverty, high rate of unemployment, competition over girls, influx of migrants and political competition. The study recommends that to curb the menace of youth restiveness in Jalingo and the State at large, the family value system must be reformed for proper upbringing of children, government should make laws banning all illegal youth groups, and also initiate both short and long term economic empowerment programmes for the youths.