CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Current World Population include an estimated 1.2 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years, which is about 24.7% of the world’s working age population. Worldwide youth unemployment is high, almost three times higher than the adult unemployment rate. With the economic downturn, the worldwide youth unemployment is expected to reach 25% in 2012 (International Labour Organisation, 2008).
In certain parts of the world, especially Sub-Saharan, African, youth unemployment rates can be as high as 60%. More than one third of the young people in the world are unemployed, have completely given up looking for a job or are working but still living below the $2 a day poverty line (International Labour Organisation), or have migrated. Young job seekers face increasing difficulties finding work in the current economic scenario and these have resulted in several social phenomena in the society.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the eighth most populous country in the world with a population of 154, 729,000 citizens. Our nominal GDP is $207.166 billion and we have a nominal per capita income of $140,011. Nigeria also has the second largest economy in Africa, if I may ask, is this country not blessed? Yet, it is still plagued by youth unemployment which had been one of our major problems in recent years. Both government and the private sector had discussed this issue at forums and conferences but have not found a solution to it. Its continued existence has been linked to lack of power supply and financial empowerment for youths.
Youth unemployment in Nigeria is mostly referred to as graduate unemployment and this means that only the skilled youths are seen as unemployed while the unskilled youths are not given any consideration. However, youths are not a homogenous group and their employment prospects differ according to numerous factors ranging from region to gender to schooling. These phenomena have pushed the Nigerian yoiuths to a stage of anomie and they have adopted dysfunctional methods, such as: armed robbery, prostitution, terrorism, kidnapping, thuggery, militancy, internet scam, fraudulent acts, and so on, in order to cope with the increasing trend of economy meltdown in the country.
This research will x-ray how the impact of unemployment in Nigeria has severely affected youths, using a case study of Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The study will examine the rural and urban population of people living in the area responses to unemployment predicaments and their differential variables.
1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government is an area with an increasing population of 137,100 thousand people, (National Planning Commission, 2006). The population is growing at a very fast rate with large unemployment youths living together in the population. Due to high level of unemployment in the Local Government Area, people have adopted dysfunctional methods such as pick-pocketing, kidnapping, assassination, political thuggery, prostitution, defrauding and so on, in order to provide themselves with income and enhances their societal survival.
People living in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area see these dysfunctional methods as an alternative to their unemployment status in the area, as the government have failed to provide the unemployment opportunities needed as one of the basic necessity in life.
Base on the above statements, many questions arise like, why is the rate of unemployment at an alarming rate in Ibesikpo Local Government Area; despite the area richness in mineral and natural resources, and what are the destructive effect of these social phenomena to the people of Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area?