President Muhammadu Buhari has been advised to adopt a non-violent approach in tackling the increasing wave of youths violence across the country.
A Professor of Development Psychology from the University of Ibadan, Grace Adejuwon, gave the advice while delivering the 494th University of Ibadan inaugural lecture entitled, ‘Where art thou?’
Noting that although it is good to invest in weaponry, the renowned development psychologist advised state governors and the President to adopt indigenous forms of conflict settlement by engaging warring groups to de-escalate violence.
She said, “Cultures that do not provide non-violent alternatives for resolving conflicts appear to have higher rates of youth violence.”
In her presentation on youths violence in Nigeria, Adejuwon stated that “growing income inequality, rapid demographic changes in the youths population, and urbanisation have all been positively linked with youths violence.”
The don, who identified several missing links in the way Nigeria is being structured and governed, said government must urgently check the growing number of out-of-school children and substance abuse.
“Many predictors of violent behaviour are predictors of other problems such as substance abuse, delinquency, school dropout, and teen pregnancy.”
According to her, broken homes and poorly managed family conflicts contribute to juvenile delinquency and initiation of youths into violent gangs involved in armed banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism.
“Another factor is parental conflict at early childhood when there is a low level of attachment between parents and child. Other factors are low level of family cohesion and low socio-economic status of the family. Associating with delinquent peers has also been linked to violence in young people as well as membership of a gang.
“Today in Nigeria, more people are more likely being lost daily to brutal killings than recorded for the globally dreaded COVID-19. Perhaps, the tendency to derive benefit from causing harm to other people as expressed in kidnapping, banditry and ritual murders have been developed as externalizing behaviour in childhood.
Externalizing behaviour (acting out) may include physical aggression, non-compliance, verbal bullying, lying, under-controlled behaviour, disruptive behaviour, vandalism, defiance, theft and anti-social behaviour directed at others. This is a major risk factor for later juvenile delinquency, adult crime, and violence.”
She asked governments at all levels to increase social support targeted at frustrated Nigerian youths who are battling unemployment and poverty saying that provision of employment opportunities would improve their being and make them non-violent.
