Youth, Political Parties, and Peace-Building Process in Nigeria (Published)
The Nigerian Youth cannot be ruled out in the study of active contribution to the Nigerian political system, national stability, cohesion, and development, due to their orientation, attitude, and reactions to national issues. Political parties are the avenue for electing representatives of the people and to this effect, the Nigerian Youth have been trying to take a meaningful hold of the Nigerian parties by trying to be major political gladiators. Premised on this background, this paper is set to discuss the conceptual meaning of youth, political parties, and peacebuilding. In the same vein, it will establish the connection and relationship between youth partisanship and peacebuilding in Nigeria. Moreover, the study seeks to examine the pivotal roles the Nigerian youth play in enhancing peacebuilding and national stability as members of political parties in Nigeria, whilst also attempting to determine to what extent the youth have been contributing to conflicts and peace-building in Nigeria. The data for this study were collected through primary and secondary sources. The primary data were collected through the Interview with Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Direct Observation (DO), and participant observation. In addition, youth organizations, amongst others, were interviewed. The secondary sources include books, journal articles, periodicals, magazines, and other publications relevant to the study. The data were analyzed using a qualitative approach. The peace-building theory was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study. The findings of the study revealed that the Nigerian Youth, in these contemporary times, have been actively involved in partisan politics and that a significant correlation between Youth participation in politics and the peacebuilding process in Nigeria is well established. Now that the youth have been brought into political parties for more participation in the civic roles that they have been excluded from in the time past, there is a need for initiating programs and policies to better understand the roles of youth in political parties and the peace-building process. The study recommends that the Nigerian youth be properly enlightened and adequately equipped in peace and peace-building processes.
Keywords: Community development, National Stability., Political Parties, Youth, peacebuilding
NDDC, CONFLICT, PEACE-BUILDING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION (Published)
After over 54 years of the discovery of oil and gas in over 500 communities in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, the people are still “poor, neglected, under-developed and backward” resulting from suffocation occasioned by the Nigerian State, and the hazards and conflicts associated with oil and gas exploration / exploitation. This was followed closely by the prolonged, unfruitful peaceful negotiations that the people, spearheaded by the youths, have in recent times resorted to violent disruption of oil installations, kidnapping, hostage-taking and militia activities in the region. This paper is focused on the appraisal of the efforts of the Federal Government’s interventionist Agencies over the years with specific emphasis on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2001 and 2010. This appraisal is imperative since the mandate of NDDC is to “resolve conflict and build peace” thereby restoring the confidence of the people in the region. It is the conviction of the author therefore that, the paper is significant in several respects and the findings and recommendations will to a significant extent forestall the looming war which in turn will guarantee peace and sustainable Community Development in the region.
Keywords: Community development, Conflict, Niger Delta Development Commission, Peace – Building