Graduates Unemployment and Criminality in Ado-Ekiti

Subject Areas : General Management

J. Olusegun Ajayi ¹ (Department of Sociology, Faculty of the Social sciences, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria)

Received: 2014-12-22 Accepted : 2014-12-22 Published : 2015-01-01

Keywords: Unemployment, Graduates, Economy, Entrepreneurship, Vocation,

Abstract :

This paper examines the effect of unemployment on the behavior of the university graduates in Ado-Ekiti andtheir immediate environment. Hanging the study on strain theory of Robert K. Merton, It is observed thatNigerian society places much emphasis on goals without making adequate provision for the means of achievingthem; the tendency is to resort to deviant means. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed, using simplerandom sampling to select four political wards out of the twelve in the study site; accidental sampling methodwas employed to pick 100 respondents from each of the political wards selected. Responses were solicitedthrough 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 betweenunemployment and criminal behavior among graduates in Ado-Ekiti. The study emphasized the urgent need forgovernment to encourage the establishment of local firms and industries, develop agricultural sector to absorb themass of unemployed youths and give out revolving loans to graduates to start up their own businesses. The paperconcludes that there should be introduction of entrepreneurship and vocational training in to all levels ofeducational curriculum in Nigeria for versatility and skills acquisition.