Challenges Facing Adult Educators and Community Development Practitioners in Curbing the Dangers of Youth Restiveness in the Niger Delta

Abstract

The Niger Delta region of Nigeria have been very turbulent and unstable in the past few years .Cases of kidnapping and hostage taking of oil and gas company workers including top government officials and members of their families has been in the increase. Pipeline vandalism, local oil refining, sea piracy, looting, mismanagement and wastage of state resources have become a near normal phenomenon. The region has experienced a state of near anarchy at one time or the other as lives and prosperities worth billions of naira were destroyed. The restiveness is attributed to the neglect and marginalization of the region by the federal government of Nigeria despite the regions’ contribution of over 90% of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings through the crude oil reserves in the area. Various measures such as the establishment of OMPADEC, NDDC and the peace and conflict resolution committee have been proffered but the solution to these endemic challenges remains a far cry especially as the area still remains one of the least development region in the country. This paper x-rays the dangers posed by youth restiveness in the Niger Delta region. It dwelt on the challenges faced by adult educator and community development practitioners in addressing these problems towards maintaining peace to accelerating development in the region.

DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n6p243