Introduction
It is generally observed that youth’s restiveness in Nigeria has been a prominent issue in recent times. There has been an increase in the occurrence of acts of violence and lawlessness including things like hostage-taking of prominent citizens and expatriate. Oil workers as well as oil bunkering, arms insurgence, cultism etc. especially in Niger Delta Region; Various forms of youth’s restiveness that are economically, political, psychologically or religiously motivated have existed for a long period of time (Elegbeleye, 2005).
Technology improved that, there is only one way of carryout management in the youth’s restiveness in Nigeria including counselling strategies. Kimball (1996) described describe counselling strategies as the process of proper planning which involves skilled personnel who will give proper enlightenment and awareness to individuals in a community in order to have positive attitudes, behaviours, with harmonious relationship with one another. Counselling is warranted when someone notices an inability to cope with in self or the environment; Research also told us that, it generally observed out of every ten people or youths in a community suffering from a mental or emotional disorder.
Anagbogn (1988) identified some of the problems among our youths as truancy fighting throwing stones, bullying and lack of participation in close activities, unhappiness and destruction of school property, extreme slyness and withdrawn behaviours. Onanuga (1983) expressed that attempt continue to be made in making counselling an essential feature of our educational, health and cultural programme in order to foster health daily interactions and instructions. He noted that providing guidance and counselling services in school and colleges will eater both for individual development walks of life.
Conceptual framework
Counselling as a part of the guidance programme is described as a process in which one person help other in a face to face encounter in other to be moral, emotional, educational, vocational or social through which the client gets to understand himself better. Counselling is one the services offered by a school guidance programme and other services including appraisal information, planning, placement and follow- up etc. (Dustin & George, 1973).
Smith (1995) stated that, counselling is a process whereby the counsellor assists the counselee to make inter-relations of facts relating to choice, plan or adjustments which he/she needs to make. Additionally, Dustin and George (1973), defined counselling as a learning process designed to increase adaptive behaviour. Ipaye (1983) viewed counselling as a programme concerning with creation with opportunities and suitable environment for their personal, social, educational, and vocational growth of an individual.
Youth’s restiveness in Nigeria has been prominent issue in recent times when there has been an increase in the occurrence of acts of violence and lawlessness including things like hostage-taking of prominent citizens and expatriate. Oil workers, as well an oil bunkering arms insurgence, cultism etc. especially in the Niger Delta Region, which leads to establishment of guidance and counselling programme in other to reduce the violence (Sokari, 2006).
Ozoh-Sulainan (2006) stated that, youth are the major determiners of peace and stability of nation and he also went further to say that the degree of disorderliness and instability in society is also determined in part by youth. Elegeleye (2005)stated that youth restiveness is a combination of any action or conduct that constitutes unwholesome, socially unacceptable activities engaged in by the youths in any community.
Types of counselling strategies
Gipson (1998) stated the following types of counselling strategies. These include:
- Directive counselling
- Non-directive counselling
- Co-operation counselling
Directive counselling: This is type of counselling that occurred directive from face to face between the counsellor and counselee.
Non-directive counselling: Is a type of counselling, student is provided youth is provided a great opportunity for free expression in which he/she could gives information to counsellor completely. These types of counselling occur indirectly to the youth (Pittman, 1995).
Co-operating counselling: Are the type of counselling where by the counsellor offers many alternative solution of a problem from which student could select the most appropriate one.
Kimball (1996) reveals some strategies that can be use in improving counselling which are as follows;
Eye contacts: As counsellor look counselee in the eyes, without stiring the communication which them they concerned off and understand the person and their situation.
Posture:The counsellor body language should communicate that they are related and not tense. This will help to put the slightly towards the counselee. (Zabin, 1994).
Gesture: these would be natural without being excessive or distractive to the counselee.
There are different ways in which counselling objectives can be achieved (Pittman, 1995):
- Advice: This involved given advice and encouragement to the youths toward positive behaviours
- By giving them re-assurance
- By given them health education counselling emotional lesson
- By given orientation
- Clarified thinking
According to Zabin (1994) there are different types of youths to be counsel which includes:
- Youths who live the street
- Youths in foster care and group homes
- Young peoples in the federal justices system
- Adolescent addicted to alcohol or other drugs
- Young people in residential treatment facilities
- Young people who have dropped out of school
- Pregnant and parenting youths.
The relevance of youth on our society
Youths occupy a prominent place in any society apart from being the owner and leader of tomorrow. They are out in the middle aged and the old age according to (Onyekpe, 2007).
Besides numerical superiority, youth have energy and ideas with a great potential in the society today.
The national youth development policies (2001) assert that the youth are the foundation of community or society.
Ozolu-Sulianan (2006) stated that, youths are the major determiner of peace and stability of a society or a nation. And he also makes us to understand that the highest of disorderliness and instability in society is also determined and cause by part youth in a society.
The causes of youth’s restiveness in Nigeria
According to Ofem and Ajayi (2008) the causes of youth restiveness in Nigeria, are as follows;
- Lack of good governance
- Inadequate training programme
- Bribery and corruption between the government officials.
- Inadequate recreational facilities
- Lack of quality education
- Lack of basic infrastructure
- Unemployment
- Lack of smooth communication and information flow
- Poverty
- Inadequate educational opportunity and resources
- Lack of good governance: Good governance id required for the development of any nation. Unfortunately, in Nigeria bad government is more common than the good once, which resulted to disjointed development of a country.
World Bank (1992) identified the main characteristic of youth restiveness which is as follows;
- Inability to establish a predictable frame work for law government behaviour in a manner which conducive to development, or arbitrariness in the application of laws and rules.
- Failure to properly distinguish between what is public and what is private, leading to private appropriate otherwise public resources.
- Exceeding narrow base for or non transparent decision making.
- Priorities those are inconsistence with development thereby resulting in misallocation of national resources.
- Excessive rules regulations, license requirement and so forth which impede the functioning of market and encouragement seeking.
- Unemployment of youths: Unemployment is a hydra headed monster which exists among the youth in all developing countries. An expert believes that the members of jobless youths are twice as high as official estimate. Ozobu-Sulianan (2006) noted that Nigeria youths are trapped by unemployment.
Zakaria (2006) believes that, the rising tide of unemployment and the fear of the future among the youths in Africa countries have made them invulnerable to the manipulation of agent’s provocations. Zakaria (2006) strongly believes that the absence of job opportunities in developing countries is responsible for youth’s restiveness with restiveness with disastrous consequences.
- Poverty: Poverty also leads to gang of youth’s restiveness in Nigeria due to the commotion of inequality and social injustice and traumatizing the poor. Aworawo (2000) andZakaria (2006), agreed that there is a link among poverty loss of livelihood, inequality and youths restiveness as evidence by numerous violent protect against the wielder of power in Nigeria.
- Inadequate educational opportunity and resources: Quality education has a direct bearing on national prestige, greatness and cohesion. The knowledge and skill that young people acquire help determine their degree of patriotism and progress. Between 2000 and 2004, and about 30 percent of Nigeria youths between 10 and 24 were not enrolled in secondary school (Population Reference Bureau, 2006). Those who manage to complete secondary school have no opportunities for tertiary education having being denied the chance to reach their potential, they are disorientated and reality available for antisocial actions (Onyekpe, 2007).
- Lack of basic infrastructure: due to the lack of basic amenities, rural communities and urban slums in Nigeria have no access to portable water, health facilities, electricity, communication facility, industrial and commercial facilities etc behind social unrest and youth’s restiveness in the community is the agitation for equitable distribution of resources.
- Inadequate communication and information flow: Communication creates room for sharing information, it helps people to express their thoughts, feelings, clarify problem, and consider alternative ways of copping or adapting to their situation, such sharing promote social cohesions.
Role of information in curbing youths restiveness in Nigeria
Information is a critical resource for individual and collective emancipation and advancement.
Sokari (2006) agree that information is necessary for people to be liberated from the shackle ignorance misconceptions economic stagnation social unrest, and political instability. According to Ifidon and Ahiauzu (2006) information is structured data causes a human mind to change its opinion about the current state of real world and contribute to a reduction in the uncertainty of the state of the system. Information is a change agents and reinforcement of ideas and opinions.
Nigeria youths as leader of the future need access to a wide range of information which will help repost them to take their rightful place in the community or nation.
According to Onyekpe (2007) information should be geared towards aims which as follows;
- Creating the awareness that the future belong to them
- Creating in them a sense of history, especially of the noble and devoice contribution of the youths in the past to the development of many youths today’s.
- Liberating them psychologically and mentally from the control of self seeking business and political elites.
Restiveness and militancy among Nigeria youths
Youth’s restiveness is a despicable act of being perpetrated by a significant proportion of the youths in various communities that can no longer be ignored. As the name implies, it is a combination of any action or conduct that constitutes unwholesome socially unacceptable and unworthy while activities engaged in by the youths in any community. It is phenomenon which in practice has led to a near break down of law and orders, low productivities, due to disruption of production activities, increasing crime rate. Intra-ethic hostilities, and harassment of prospective development and other criminal tendencies.
The communities in the oil producing areas in Nigeria still lack basic social infrastructures culminating largely in the high level of poverty, mass unemployment, environment degradation and other social vices.
They have a new pang structure and specific city torts where they operate and defend against rural groups (Lfidon & Ahiauzu, 2008).
Goals of counselling against youth restiveness
According to the Federal Government of Nigeria, (2001) counselling is an internal part of education which is designed to assist the individual (through the use of appropriate tools and technique) to develop the ability necessary for self – direction, personal understanding self – confidence and mental maturity necessary for a healthy growth and proper adjustment.
In addition to this, Ipaye (1983) identified some of the suggested goals that should be borne in mind which are:
- To develop the skill of self, self analysis and self –understanding.
- To develop and create awareness of youth opportunities in the personal, social, education, and vocational area by providing them with appropriate useful information.
- To help students/youths acquire the skills of collecting, collating and using appropriate information.
- To assist all youths in making appropriate and satisfaction personnel, social educational and vocational choices.
- To help children and youth relate behaviour meaningful to cognitive achievement and the chance of success in life.
- Reality development of a sense of autonomy and to whip up the motivation for creativity and productivity.
- To help build up in individuals a positive attitude to fellow Nigeria’s as and sense of total commitment to the unity of our nation.
Ozohu-Sulainan(2006) stated the following types of treatment services for youth’s enrichment strategies;
- Comprehensive assessment
- Individual counselling
- Family counselling
- Life skill management counselling
- Forward together counselling
Comprehensive assessment: Treatment strategies are determine on an individual basis via comprehension assessments or substance abuse presenting needs (biological, psychological and social individuals with issues surrounding substances abuse will also be assessed using criteria’s of the American society of addictions medicine (ASAM).
Individual counselling: This is the process of building up the strengths’ of youths through working with a counsellor who help him or her develop new skills to address specific emotional or behavioural challenges.
Family counselling: these deal with the recognizing the importance of the family as a resources and foundation for the adolescents youths positive change, yes provides family counselling which assists in the development of goals and strategies for family growths.
Life–skill management counselling: These are strategic method that has been adopted by the counsellor to give or help participants use their personal strengths to enable positive growth and change. It is appropriate for those adolescents (with or without self-esteem, social skills, and anger management.
Forward together counselling strategies: forward together is an intensive out-patient program for youths 12-18 years old. The program is build on an understanding that drugs and alcohol can significance with positive family relationships, and decrease the possibility for academic and social success.
Individual’s client meet with counsellors to share information and develop a plan of care during the intake interview. One can session with professional counsellors helps clients’ problem solve to make positive life changes.
Counsellors provide internal referrals to society programs and external referrals to other community agencies as needed.
And public education, it will help to address individual’s barriers inside and outside of federal and provincial correctional facilities and also to provide information and workshops about the criminal justices system and its impact on society.
The purpose of this counselling is to explain to the child youths aspect of mental illness that their friend or family member experience.
Counselling also explores the way the mental illness effect the family member/friend interactions with the young person through youths counselling and its support before the aims of the program of counselling can be achieve through assisting the child or the youths in development of positive self – image, self-esteem, and confidence (Onyekpe, 2007).
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