TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 CONCEPT OF DEMOCRACY
2.2 CONCEPT OF POLITICAL THUGGERY
2.3 CONCEPT OF UNEMPLOYMENT
2.4 CONCEPT OF POVERTY
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN
3.3 POPULATION OF THE STUDY
3.4 SAMPLING DESIGN AND PROCEDURE
3.4 DATA AND COLLECTION OF INSTRUMENT
3.5 ADMINISTRATION OF DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT
3.6 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 DATA PRESENTATION
4.2 DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH QUESTION
4.3 TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
5.2 CONCLUSION
5.3 RECOMMENDATION
REFERENCES
QUESTIONNAIRE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Nigeria is a country that is faced with the menace of unemployment, poverty and thuggery. For any country that want to attain social and political peace and tranquility the country has to proffer solution to the issues of unemployment, poverty and political thuggery in the country. Knowing fully well that unemployment will lead to poverty and poverty will and have certainly lead to political thuggery in the state.
Unemployment is a global challenge, but worse in developing countries of the world, with attendant social, economic, political, and psychological consequences. It contributes to low GDP and leads to increase in crime and violence, psychological effect, adverse effect on health and political instability (Njoku & Ihugba, 2011). Unemployment in not a recent challenge in Nigeria as the national unemployment rate rose from 4.3 per cent in 1970 to 6.4 per cent in 1980. This fluctuated around 6.0 per cent until 1987 when it rose to 7.0 per cent (Central Bank of Nigeria 2003; Akintoye 2003). Structural Adjustment Program was brought in place by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1986 to tackle unemployment challenge. This was a bit effective as unemployment rate declined from 7.0 per cent in 1987, to as low as 1.9 per cent in 1995. After this, it rose to 2.8 per cent in 1996, and has been growing worse since, hovering between 2.8 and 13.1 per cent between 1996 and 2000 (Njoku & Ihugba, 2011).The challenge will lead to poverty in the country.
Poverty is a social problem that leads to other social, economic and political disturbances. Poverty is a global phenomenon but it is more common among developing countries, Nigeria inclusive. Nigeria is the Africa’s most populous country. As contended by Mukhtar, Mukhtar & Mukhtar (2015: 3), apart from being oil rich, “the country also has large landmark and a lot of mineral resources which if used wisely, the country will achieve rapid political and socio economic development”. But the reverse is the case in the country because large scale corruption, poor economic policies and bad governance have rendered majority of the country’s population poor. Three months after assuming his office, the Nigerian Vice President, Osinbajo (in the Vanguard, August 20th 2015), expressed concern that over 110 million Nigerians lived below poverty line. The consequences of poverty are many and notable among the effects of poverty is violence. That is why Nigeria has been experiencing many security challenges in forms of criminal activities, violence and conflicts over the years (Omotor, 2009; Adenrele, 2012; Afegbua, 2010; Onuoha, 2014; Mukhtar, Isyaku, & Sani, 2016). The formation of youth violent groups like the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and the Niger Delta Avengers in the south-south, Bakassi Boys, in the south-east, Yandaba in the north-west, Yan-kalare and Yan-sara-suka in north-east, as well as the most notorious terrorist group, known as Boko Haram, also in the north-east (Mukhtar, et al. 2016) are all but manifestations of high rate of unemployment among teeming youths and poverty incidences in the country. While the major cause for the formation of the above violent groups in various parts of Nigeria is either poverty or unemployment among the youth population, these violent groups have many serious implications on the fate of the democratic governance in the country. Violence has taken a severe toll on Nigerian economy, its peoples’ political, social, and even spiritual lives. Crime and violence are so palpable, so pervasive and so
devastating to many Nigerians (Nwosu, 2002). It is even more disturbing to find that, the country’s political leaders are using joblessness and poor living conditions of the youths to employ them as political thugs. This manner in which members of our political class in Nigeria engage the services of jobless youths as thugs for the purpose of intimidating political opponents and their supporters during elections is growing. These youths, who are mainly uneducated or semi-literate, are often encouraged to unleash violence, cause electoral violence, break the law at will, in which virtually nothing can be done to stop them once they have made up their mind to unleash these havocs on their intended targets (Usman, 2010).
Political thuggery is an “obstaculum” to democracy and it hinders the attainment of the aforementioned referents without which democracy is worthless. For example, public accountability is a myth because Nigerians and Africans in general have not been able to hold their elected representatives accountable. Ensuring public accountability in Nigeria is not only cumbersome but problematic. Nigeria possesses a bad form of democracy which has not alleviated the country’s poverty and improves service delivery. Nigerian politicians in elective and appointed positions earn far above what their colleagues in countries like United Kingdom and America earns. Our roads have continued to claim lives through accidents because of their abysmal state in spite of billions of Naira government claimed to have spent in maintaining them. It is against this backdrop that this study is conducted to find out the relationship between political thuggery and the problem of governance in Nigeria.
Democracy is often linked to public accountability. This is why ROAPE (cited in Amuwo, 1992, P.7) sums up democracy as the participation of the powerless and the accountability of the powerful. As further exemplified by Schmitter and Karl (cited in Amuwo, 1992), democracy is an estimated system of governance in which rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by of electioneering activities in Nigeria. With some level of integrity observed in the conduct of that elections, people are beginning to have positive mind towards the institutionalization of democracy in Nigeria
However based on the on the practicability of democracy in Nigeria this study intends to investigate how unemployment, poverty and thuggery as affected the democratic structure and Nigeria as a state.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The problem of unemployment and poverty is combined together and projected in the society through the evil act of thuggery during election and after election, Primarily, the outcome of elections and government that emerges from democratic elections in Nigeria is not a true reflection of the votes of the electorates. Gen. Buhari captures this point in 1984 by noting that the shameless rigging and the widespread pervasion of the electoral process could not, in all honesty, have been said to have produced a Government of the people by the people. What we had, through the manipulated results both at Federal and State (even local government) levels, were governments imposed on the people by the scandalous use of a mixture of political thuggery and wide-scale bribery (cited in Olagunju, et al 1993). The last general Elections of 2011 became a significant improvement and Ayo Daramola in Ekiti State- were murdered in July and August 2006 respectively (hrw.org. “Election or Selection”? : Human rights abuse and threats to free and fair elections.”). Human Right Watch (a body committed to defending human rights worldwide) estimates that a minimum of 300 Nigerians were killed in violence linked to the 2007 elections although there may be other credible estimates considerably higher than this. Politics in Nigeria is war with bloodshed and diabolical devices to kill potential Opponents.
Based on the combined effect of unemployment, poverty and political thuggery this study intends to investigate the influence of democratic state of Nigeria.
1.3 Objective of the Study
This study intends to investigate the impact of unemployment, poverty and thuggery on the democratic nature of Nigeria. The specific objectives include;
1. To examine the effect of unemployment on the democratic nature of Nigeria
2. Examine the negative effects of poverty on the democratic nature of Nigeria
3. To mirror out adverse negative impact of political thuggery on the democratic nature of the country.
1.4 Research Questions
1. What are the various effect of unemployment on the democratic nature of Nigeria
2. What are the negative effect of poverty on the democratic nature of Nigeria
3. What is the impact of political thuggery on the democratic nature of the country?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
H0= Political Thuggery has no effect on democracy of Nigeria
H1= Political Thuggery has effect on democracy of Nigeria.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The findings of the study will be relevant for the following stakeholder: it will include political party members, youths and public civil servants.
The political party members will from the study be able to know the effect of political thuggery on the democratic nature of the country