Stopping the Militancy and Youth Restiveness in Oil Producing Communities: The Case of Niger Delta Communities in Rivers State, Nigeria

The problems of oil exploration/exploitation companies with their host communities have always been a recurring decimal due largely to oil companies not being true to their corporate social responsibilities and government’s insensitivity to the plight of host communities as a result of the environmental degradation, and agricultural and economic disarticulation of the host communities embedded in oil exploration and exploitation. Consequent upon these is youth restiveness and militancy. It is these issues that necessitated the study. The sample size of the study was 393. Data was gathered using questionnaire and was analyzed using simple percentage. The theory of general welfare and policies was employed to explain the phenomenon. Cross-sectional survey was deployed. The findings showed that 77.7% of the respondents believe that environmental degradation, poor corporate responsibilities by oil companies, and favoritism to some locals are the major reasons for youth restiveness and militancy, and that oil companies and government should be more proactive to the yearnings and aspirations of the host communities in order to stem the level of violence and general social disorder in the oil producing communities of Rivers State as occasioned by the effects of oil production.