Constraints to Participation in Youth Empowerment Scheme of Oyo State, Nigeria (Published)
The study ascertained the constraints to participation in the Youth Empowerment Scheme of Oyo State. Data for the study were obtained from ninety youth participants in the Scheme using multi-stage sampling procedure. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means and ranks. Results indicate that the average age of participants in the Scheme was 29 years and 56% of the respondents were females; 51% of them were married; and 91.6% were functionally literate. Findings also show that the most common benefits from the Youth Empowerment Scheme were: instilling honour and integrity in the participants, improving the participants’ literacy rate, reducing participants’ economic dependency and enhancing participants’ abilities to support others financially. Received monthly stipend lower being lower than Government-approved amount, transportation problems and insufficient information on the Scheme’s objectives were the main constraints to youth participation in the Scheme. The relevant governmental and non-governmental agencies in Oyo State should endeavor to provide timely and relevant information on the Scheme to enhance increased participation of youth in the Scheme. Also, monthly stipends given to participants of the Scheme should be increased to attract more youth to the Scheme.
Keywords: Constraints, Oyo State, Participation, Scheme, Youth
Analyzing the Prevalence of Illicit Drug Use in Jordan’s Rural Towns: The Governorates of Jerash and Ajloun as Case Studies (Published)
Jordan is not typically at the center of global concern regarding illicit drug prevalence. However, in recent years – and presumably since the onset of the Syria Civil War – the prevalence of illicit drugs in Jordan has become an important issue. While the question regarding whether this presence is due to Jordan historically being used by traffickers as a trafficking hub – or whether illicit drugs have indeed gained a foothold amongst Jordanian youth – remains, analysis of this issue is necessary in order to better understand this contemporary issue. Interestingly, rural areas such as towns within the governorates of Jerash and Ajloun (in northern Jordan) are at least anecdotally said to have a high prevalence of drug use within them. While no official government data is available to illustrate the prevalence of illicit drugs per governorate, and social stigma associated with addiction prevents the opportunity for extensive interviews to take place with those struggling with addiction, a plethora of media reports are available that provide insight into this pressing issue, in addition to limited anonymous interview access with individuals struggling with addiction. Accordingly, this research article will use interviews and content analysis as methodologies to both analyze available media excerpts to better determine whether illicit drug use is indeed becoming more prevalent amongst Jordanian youth or whether the rise in the presence of illicit drugs in Jordan is due to increased trafficking as a result of border security issues related to the Syrian Civil War.
Keywords: Ajloun, Drugs, Epidemic, Jerash, Jordan, Youth
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY IN NIGERIA (Published)
Unemployment and poverty are both reflective and precipitants of plethora of contemporary societal challenges such as leadership, security, governance, etc. that are inimical to human social – existence (for engendering adequate human capacity building and material utilisation) globally. For instance, the National Bureau of Statistics in Nigeria revealed the alarming rate of youth unemployment which is as much as 50%. Considering the fact that, the current population growth rate is put at 2.8 per annum in Nigeria which accompanies an already national population of over 167 million people. Therefore, the extent to which these challenges possess to the nation is remarkably worrisome in recent times, is the escalating and worrisome rate of youth unemployment which has assumed an alarming crescendo. It is against this backdrop, the paper sees to its justification the need to see to its imperativeness with a view of given cogent attention for their needs. Hence, this paper examines “the intimate connection between unemployment and poverty, and how these two phenomena affect the youth in Nigeria”. In order to fulfill the objectives of this paper, relevant literature were consulted and established database explored for holistic and comparative study, to illustrate the mitigation and enabling factors for the realization of the objectives of youth employment and poverty alleviation if not total eradication in the society – Nigeria. With the aid of content analyses of the materials explored: this paper contend that fundamentally, there is a close nexus between poverty and unemployment with direct bearings on the critical segment of the society, particularly the youth. Also, inspite of the myriad policies and programmes initiated by successive Nigerian government such as National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), National Directorate of Employment (NDE), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Schemes in Nigeria, as lofty and laudable as they seem, their inability to affect the real target (youth), reflects the lacuna between policy formulation and implementation. The thrust of this paper therefore is its strong proposition to government at all levels to demonstrate a commitment towards responsive governance, with focus on jobs creation and eradication of poverty. In addition, appropriate authorities should endeavor to sensitize the citizens on the need to embrace birth control measures for the purpose of engendering sustainable development.
Keywords: Population and Development, Poverty, Unemployment, Youth