Socio-economic Causes and Panacea to Youth Restiveness in Rivers State, Nigeria

Causes and panacea of youth restiveness in Rivers State of Nigeria was analyzed by this study. The random sampling method was used for data collection from 146 respondents. The questionnaire was used for data collection. Data analyses were achieved with frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Result showed that 66.4% of the respondents were males. The mean age of the respondents was 28 years. Findings showed that 45.9% of the respondents were unemployed. The major cause of youth restiveness was environmental degradation with the highest mean of 2.00. This was followed by unemployment and corruption with the mean of 1.90 respectively. Major damage caused by restive activities was illegal oil bunkery and oil theft with a mean of 2.8. The most effective panacea for reducing restive activities was provision of skill acquisition and employment opportunities with 49.3% response. This was followed by good governance with 49.0% response. In order to reduce youth restive activities in the state, the study recommends provision of skill acquisition and employment opportunities for the youths. Good governance by the political leadership in the state was also recommended.Keywords: Causes, Panacea, Youth, Restiveness, Rivers State, Nigeria