The Youth and Socio-Religious Conflicts in Africa: The Nigerian Dynamics

Conflicts situations generally result in enormous loss of life, massive displacement, huge economic loss, socio-economic under-development and political instability. The African continent is conflict-prone and Nigeria is not spared her share of the problem. In fact, the conflict dynamics in Nigeria includes two powerful and explosive factors − religion and the youth. Thus, whether acting as precursor or fodder, they constitute the most amorphous and intractable social phenomena in the current socio-political landscape in Nigeria because of the burgeoning youth population and the religious interpretative lens. This paper argues that uneven opportunities and inadequate social and security apparatuses in the society combine well with unbridled religious fervor to engender conflicts in the nation. The study adopted the frustration-aggression theory and the methods of data collection were largely documentary. The data were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis. Recommendations include that a proper profiling of the youth population should be undertaken to address the peculiar challenges and needs of young people. Again, labor-oriented and beneficial projects should be set-up to tackle the high levels of poverty and unemployment among the people while adequately engaging the youth.