Abstract:
This paper examines the effect of unemployment on the behavior of the university graduates in Ado-Ekiti and their immediate environment. Hanging the study on strain theory of Robert K. Merton, It is observed that Nigerian society places much emphasis on goals without making adequate provision for the means of achieving them; the tendency is to resort to deviant means. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed, using simple random sampling to select four political wards out of the twelve in the study site; accidental sampling method was employed to pick 100 respondents from each of the political wards selected. Responses were solicited through questionnaire. Data gathered were analyzed with SPSS (statistical package for social sciences). Frequency tables were generated and hypotheses tested using chi-square to discuss the relationship between unemployment and criminal behavior among graduates in Ado-Ekiti. The study emphasized the urgent need for government to encourage the establishment of local firms and industries, develop agricultural sector to absorb the mass of unemployed youths and give out revolving loans to graduates to start up their own businesses. The paper concludes that there should be introduction of entrepreneurship and vocational training in to all levels of educational curriculum in Nigeria for versatility and skills acquisition.
Machine summary:
Olusegun Ajayi Department of Sociology, Faculty of the Social sciences, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria Received 1 July 2014, Accepted 5 September 2014 ABSTRACT: This paper examines the effect of unemployment on the behavior of the university graduates in Ado-Ekiti andtheir immediate environment.
Frequency tables were generated and hypotheses tested using chi-square to discuss the relationship between unemployment and criminal behavior among graduates in Ado-Ekiti.
/ Figure 1: Nigeria Unemployment Rate Source: Trading Economics Many Nigerian graduates have struggled to build up their life styles and have entered into different commitments just to be on the right path to success.
Most of them have families and aged parents as dependants, their statuses and self-concepts as future leaders, potential workers and expected family bread winners are threatened and dashed by unemployment leading them to deviant or criminal options Statement of the Problem Nigeria is blessed with abundant material and human resources but the nation has mass of unemployed individuals.
The Nature of Criminal Behavior among Graduates Table 5 indicates that unemployment was identified by almost have of the respondents [49.
0 Source: Field Survey, 2013 The Relationship between Unemployment and Criminal Behavior In table 8, majority of the respondents 81.
Research Hypothesis 3 Ho: = There is no significant relationship between graduate unemployment and criminal behavior.
The study shows that Nigerian graduates have the requisite skills to be employable, this finding was supported by Aregbesola (2008) where he argued that unemployment rate in Nigeria is a waste of human resources.