Security and the idle Youth

Benson Lee
Aug 22, 2017 · 3 min read

What do we say is the fate of an unemployed youth who lives in an environment or community where terrorism is considered a lucrative way of earning or an occupation? where politics and religion are intertwined with the aim of divide and rule?

Youth participating in political violence

Nigeria today is a country where youths are unhappy, frustrated to an extent that one can sense this anger and frustration in the atmosphere, these situations are like social or time bombs which are already exploding to our faces and could get out of control even as the economy of the nation gets messier as the years go by. The inadequate employment opportunities for educated and employable youths in the Northeast is contributing to this ugly menace that is bedeviling our nation and affecting our security of lives and properties today. Violent extremism is gaining acceptance among the general populace, whether people are cunningly being misled into believing false promises, or forced and threatened to partake in evil activities when their grievances are exploited into increasing violent extremism in the Northeast.
An idle hand is the devils workshop as the old adage says, it is not surprising to find out that there is an up surge of diverse violent crimes in the region, the youths are living in poverty, destitution and can no longer handle common responsibilities like other youths in their prime circle due to lack of opportunity for building healthy livelihood, to this end, some have taken their destinies into their own hands and will not relent in dishing their enormous energies to participating in crime and violent activities such as robberies, kidnapping, cultism, terrorism/insurgency and a host of others.

Some other youths who are honest enough to engage in legal economic activities for survival are forced to hawk pure water on the streets, become gatemen to the wealthy politicians and business men, or as the case maybe stay unemployed at home because there is no job or employment opportunity for youths to get engaged economically, thereby making it hard for young men to marry in their prime and settle down with their families, or even engaged economically in a way that will get their minds off the cultures of violent extremism. At a summit hosted by the white house to counter violent extremism in February 2015, president barrack Obama remarked that “when people especially young people are feeling entirely trapped in impoverished communities where there is no order and no path for advancement, where there is no educational opportunities, where there are no ways to support families and no escape from injustice and the humiliations of corruption, that feeds instability and disorder and makes those communities ripe for extremist recruitment” (Anonymous).
Those situations and conditions that will bring the feeling of being trapped with no opportunities for growth or employment, presence of injustice and inequality that makes youth vulnerable for radicalization and possible recruitment into extremism must be addressed or the aforementioned elements will give rise to the same evil minions that will come back as hunt us the more. The time to do this is now for they say a stitch in time saves the nine

#CounterViolentExtremism
#NotAnotherNigerian.

)

Benson Lee

Written by

A Gospel Music Artiste, Teacher, Humanitarian, #NEIEFFellow #NotAnotherNigerian

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade