CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1     Background of the Study
Crime is one major problem, and a burning issue in which every society particularly a developing one is faced with. Nigeria as a developing country faces her own share of social, political, economic and cultural problems at different regions which have in no small measure affected the well-being of the populace. One major cause universally agreed is the rising or increasing nature of unemployment.
It is commonly observed for most countries that unemployment and crime rates are positively correlated, but it is much more unclear whether the relationship means that unemployment causes crime, crime causes unemployment, or other factors cause either or both. In other words, the sign of the correlation is clear but the direction of the causality is not. One direction of the causality, unemployment affects crime, has received wide attention in the literature, but the reverse one has been largely neglected (Calro – Armengo and Yves Zenous, 2003).
The theoretical underpinning of the causality notion was developed some thirty years ago by Becker (1968), Stigler (1970) and Ehrlich (1973) among others. In Ehrlich’s model, individuals divide their time between legal activities and risky illegal activities. If legal income opportunities become scarce relative to potentials gains from crime, the model predicts that crime will become more frequent. Increased unemployment could be such factor.
Government the world over try to curb crime rates and if possible, eradicate crime. Similarly, unemployment, an economic disease, is a problem which government tries to reduce. It is noteworthy that wherever there is unemployment, especially at a high rate, there is a tendency for crime rate to increase dramatically this is because people are easily lured or compelled to criminal tendencies in the face of frustrations, poverty and loss of hope in earning a decent living (Egunjobi, 2003). According to Becker’s economic theory of crime, unemployed people are deprived of legal income and thus, they tend to derive some income from illegal activities. Many models of crime suggest that the unemployed and individuals with low wages face strong urge to commit crime.
The Niger Delta region particularly Cross River State is severely hit by criminal activities and unemployment despite the abundant human and natural resources available in the region, a situation World Bank describes as unemployment in the midst of plenty (World Bank, 1996). The rise in criminal activities among youths in the Niger Delta region has been fuelled by extreme poverty and underdevelopment, discontent with the international oil companies, oil spillage, environmental damage and corruption by government officials which ensure little development reaches the host communities. Unemployment on the other hand is evident in the Niger Delta as Eboh (2009) opined that over 60% of the youths in the region are unemployed. The streets are littered with youth hawkers who ordinarily would have found gainful employment in some enterprises (Okafor, 2011).
It is upon this background that this research work is intended to ask the following questions:
To what extent does unemployment affect criminal activities in Niger Delta region particularly Cross River State?
How can the government reduce unemployment rate in the region with eventual reduction in criminal activities in the region?
How can the vast natural resources of the Niger Delta region be managed to fully benefit the communities.